Customer service is a cornerstone of business success in the current competitive landscape. Most brands offer excellent products at comparable prices. But high-value customer service can be the key differentiator to set your brand apart in the market.
According to a Zendesk report, 61% of customers say they would move to a new brand even after one bad experience. You can imagine the consequences of getting complacent with it. Unfortunately, managing calls can get on your nerves and undercut daily operators.
Call center outsourcing brings the best of both worlds. You have a professional team taking customer calls to address their queries and concerns. The model saves time and money, which you can divert to growth-critical tasks. Besides saving money, organizations outsource to fill skill gaps and scale businesses.
Outsourcing call center services is not about offloading your burden and letting experts handle repetitive calls and queries. You must leverage them to unlock high-value customer service for your business. Here are a few tips to achieve the goal.
Do Your Research
A high-value customer experience doesn’t happen by chance. You need to work hard to match user expectations and shine in every interaction. Knowing your customers is the best place to start. Invest effort in market research and surveys to build a buyer persona and segment your target audience.
Research is equally crucial when it comes to choosing a call center outsourcing partner. After all, you cannot let a random provider pick such a critical process for your business. The Blue Valley Marketing team recommends looking for a partner resonating with your values and customer expectations.
A call center delivering a comprehensive set of inbound and outbound services can bring real value to your company. Besides the service offerings, check the track record, industry coverage, and pricing to find an ideal match.
Establish Clear Expectations
Since buyers are spoiled for choice, they seldom think twice about switching to another brand after a frustrating experience. Did you know that waiting on hold is the reason for 33% of customers losing patience? Having to repeat themselves to multiple support reps is also a deal breaker.
Survey the pain points of your target audience and create a business plan around them. It helps you to establish clear expectations with your call center partner. Besides finding the focus areas for improvement, set expectations regarding customer support and lead generation.
The initial plan should also outline the monthly or annual budget for call center services and the expected ROI you want to achieve. Providing these details fosters transparency and ensures the success of the collaboration.
Set KPIs to Monitor the Results
Establishing expectations is a good start because it brings your partner on the same page. But you cannot take a set-and-forget approach to call center outsourcing, no matter how credible the provider is. You must track and monitor the results throughout the journey with them.
Select relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure that your provider gives the best. The common customer service KPIs are:
- Average first response time
- Average resolution time
- First contact resolution
- Tickets handled per hour
- Tickets solved per hour
- Occupancy
- Customer satisfaction score
Decide on these KPIs with the provider from the outset. You can talk to your buyers and get feedback regarding their service and support experience. The partnership is worthwhile if all metrics are healthy. Conversely, you may ask the provider to adopt measures to improve the weak links if something appears amiss.
Consider the Human Factor
Although numbers and metrics are critical when it comes to call center customer service support, you cannot overlook the human factor. After all, it boils down to human interactions between buyers and call representatives. Ensure that agents are empathic and responsive while communicating with the callers.
They should be available when callers need help and informed enough to provide quick and effective resolutions to queries and concerns. As a business owner, you can test the interactions with regular calls, ensuring that your team is consistently delivering high-quality service. Utilizing AI agent coaching can significantly enhance this process by providing tailored training and feedback to your ai agents, helping them to develop the necessary skills more efficiently. Gathering real-time feedback from loyal customers is also a valuable strategy, as it allows you to gain insights into their experiences and identify areas for improvement, ensuring that your service continually meets their expectations.
Conclusion
Brands thrive on customer satisfaction, so serving them should be a top priority. Can you trust an outsourcing partner to ace customer service? The answer is yes, provided you find the right provider. A reputed one will go the extra mile, and you can do your bit by adopting these best practices.
The idea is to collaborate seamlessly and work on the same goals. Ensure that they know your business plan and customer expectations so that they can give their best on both fronts.
