The direct interaction between a customer and a company’s representative before, during and after a purchase is termed as customer service. This interaction is usually where the representative offers their assistance to the customer to answer any questions, address any concerns, etc. Customer support is available on many channels like email, text message, social media, etc. Efficient customer support service leads to an exceptional customer experience which is essential to stand out in the market.
Delivering excellent attention to clients is crucial to maintain a business reputation. For this to be possible, it is essential to have a great CRM platform. Companies like Salesforce offer one integrated CRM platform that gives your marketing, sales, and commerce departments access to everything by having one single shared view of every customer.
Quality customer service has become increasingly important over the years. For customers, it has become a major influencing factor when it comes to their purchases. It is also the best strategy to retain customers and acquire new ones.
It is important to provide efficient customer support right from the beginning as their feedback or reviews can elevate or damage a company’s reputation. Customers are also willing to spend more on a better customer service experience. Customer service has become so significant that it is now being integrated with the product being sold. In-product support is slowly gaining momentum.
Some ways through which customer experience can be improved are listed below.
# The customer support team should be friendly to the customer.
# The representatives should practice being empathetic to the customer’s plight.
# Customer service agents should be knowledgeable about the product and the business.
# The response time should be short.
# Any issue or problem faced by the customer should be resolved quickly.
# Support teams should try going above and beyond to exceed the customer’s expectations.
# There should be attempts to identify more ways to improve.
Customer service undoubtedly helps in the growth of a business; the next question to ponder is if any existing staff can be spared to take this task up. Recruiting and training employees is an expensive choice, especially when there are customer services outsourcing solutions available. It is important to keep the following considerations in mind before outsourcing a company’s customer support activities.
1. Customer support outsourcing companies commit all their time and resources to enhance their services and maintain industry standards. Outsourcing companies have years of experience in providing customer support and any company can easily rely on their expertise to raise the company’s customer satisfaction levels.
2. Some vendors provide industry-specific customer support outsourcing services. Some vendors also offer services to multiple industries with different teams to cater to each industry.
3. When it comes to customer service outsourcing, India, the Philippines, and similar countries provide high-quality services at reasonable prices as the cost of living is less. Outsourcing companies also have different payment plans set up like pay for time upfront, pay as you go, flat fee per agent, etc.
4. One of the key factors to keep in mind is if the outsourced company’s technological aspects can fully integrate with one’s company or not. Most outsourcing agencies have access to the latest technology in the field and can easily adapt to any new features.
5. They offer 24/7 services so there is no loss of a client. This can be valuable when a company has a lot of global customers and different time zones are an issue.
6. The most important thing to notice is the security aspect. Many outsourcing agencies have a strict protocol in place to secure their client’s confidential data.
7. An outsourcing company’s reputation is another important factor. Speaking to existing clients and conducting background checks can be helpful.
ExpertCallers is a specialist customer service provider with 12 years of experience. It provides highly customized and efficient customer support service to its clients. ExpertCallers offers multi-channel support in over 40 languages. Some services offered are inbound support, outbound support, up-selling and cross-selling programs, etc. ExpertCallers deals with customers in a proactive and anticipatory way to provide the perfect customer service experience.
