You are convinced outsourcing your customer service will allow you to improve not only customer satisfaction, but also the performance of your team, but you are not quite sure when or how to implement it? 

Here are some tips and questions to ask yourself before you move forward.

When should I outsource customer service?

The right time to outsource your customer service obviously varies depending on your company's specific needs and circumstances. However, there are some common situations when outsourcing customer service may be a good option for you as it represents several advantages:

• Rapid growth: your company is growing at light speed? Then, you may struggle to keep up with customer demand…, but outsourcing your customer service can provide the necessary scalability to support the increased volume of inquiries

  
  

• Limited resources: If your company does not have the resources to build and maintain an in-house customer service team, outsourcing can be a cost-effective solution. Why? Because you will avoid the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, training, and managing customer service representatives

  
  

• Seasonal peaks: If your business experiences seasonal or periodic spikes in customer inquiries, outsourcing can help you manage the increased workload without having to hire additional staff and can provide the flexibility to scale up or down quickly based on client demands

  
  

• Lack of expertise: If you lack the necessary expertise or experience to provide effective customer support, outsourcing to a provider with a proven track record of delivering high-quality customer service can be a good option.

  
  

• ‍International expansion: you are expanding on international markets? Outsourcing customer care to a provider that offers multilingual and local support can help you better serve your clients and improve satisfaction levels.

  
  

• 24/7 support: offering a 24/7 support can be challenging for any customer service, but if your business requires you to answer nights and weekends to meet your customer needs and expectations, with an external provider you can offer a round-the-clock support to ensure that your customers always have access to help

  
  

• Cost savings: Last but not least, if your company is looking to reduce costs or improve profit margins, don’t be surprised, but outsourcing can be a real cost-effective alternative to building and managing an in-house team!

How to outsource my customer service?

Assuming you’re open to outsourcing your customer service, let’s talk about how to do it properly! 

Indeed, outsourcing customer service can be a complex process, so it's important to approach it strategically and carefully to ensure a successful outcome and for this, there are  important steps to follow:

‍1- Define your needs: Before you start looking for a customer service provider, you need to have a clear understanding of your business's customer service needs. This includes determining the types of support channels you want to offer (e.g., phone, email, chat, social, response to reviews), hours of operation, languages and any other specific requirements.

‍2- Select carefully: Once you have defined your needs, you will need to start searching for customer service providers and it can be sometimes challenging. Ultimately, the right customer service provider for your business will depend on your unique needs and requirements, so it's important to do your research, compare options, and choose a provider that is the best fit for your organisation.

And to successfully select your provider, you will need to base your judgement on different criterias such as:

• Its experience in your industry and the references he can provide from satisfied customers

  
  

• The quality of service he delivers. Consider the provider's track record of delivering high-quality customer service, including their response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction levels

  
  

• If your business operates in a global market or has a diverse customer base, you will look for a provider that can offer support in multiple languages and preferably with local agents to avoid spelling mistakes… 

  
  

• Its technology infrastructure. Ensure it can integrate with your existing systems (CRM, ticketing tools, Back-office) and processes to enable seamless communication and data sharing

  
  

• The protection of your Datas. Outsourcing customer service requires data sharing, your provider must benefits from a robust security system

  
  

• Its capacity to provide granular analytics to follow your customers service performance and make optimizations 

  
  

• Ensure you can scale the service up or down as your business changes, and can handle spikes in demand during peak periods

  
  

• Its capacity to offer flexible service options, including different support channels (e.g., phone, email, chat), hours of operation, and service level

  
  

• And of course, consider the provider's pricing structure and ensure that it aligns with your interests

  
  

Do not hesitate to request a demo or trial period to see how their service works in practice :) 

‍3- Onboard and train your provider: Once you have selected a provider, work with him to set up its service and integrate it with your existing systems and processes. You should also provide training and resources to help the provider's representatives understand your business and customer service standards. Some of them will offer you to build your knowledge base as a service and will allow you to edit it whenever you need to.

‍4- Finally, monitor and optimise your outsourced customer service. Once the provider is up and running, monitor its service performance regularly and provide feedback to help him improve.

‍Overall, the decision to outsource customer service should be based on a careful analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks, as well as the specific needs and goals of the business.

Now that you have all the keys to know when and how to outsource your customer service, it is time to find the right provider to help you in this strategic project.

‍Don't wait until you're overwhelmed with requests! Like over 200 e-merchants, trust Onepilot to outsource your customer service. Onepilot offers a fast, flexible, and easy-to-implement solution to quickly scale your teams. We guarantee 100% human and high-quality responses managed by our native agents. Contact us for a demonstration here.