When it comes to your customer service, should you let an external provider take the reins? 

Now seems to be the right time, especially with the proliferation of local companies that are staffed by specialists who can provide the level of familiarity customers expect. Developments in IT infrastructure have also made outsourcing a more practical and affordable solution. 

These changes address many of the previous concerns that businesses had about outsourcing their customer service. Not having to work with an offshore organization eliminates language barriers and reduces security risks, while improved connectivity has lowered costs and helped both parties stay on the same page. 

But there are still a number of potential drawbacks that you should consider. As for whether they outweigh the benefits, it depends on your individual circumstances. The following pros and cons can help you make a more informed decision. 

Pro: Cost Savings

One advantage that may be particularly attractive to smaller businesses is the cost savings associated with outsourcing customer service. 

Just setting up and maintaining an in-house call center can be expensive. Labor, training, infrastructure, and daily overheads can quickly add up, so it makes sense from a financial perspective to hand them off to another company. This is even more true if you opt for an offshore service, although there are some noteworthy cons that we’ll look into later. 

It’s also worth mentioning the fact that outsourcing offers flexibility, with pricing structures that include charging per resolution as opposed to an hourly rate. 

Pro: Language Options

Outsourcing opens up the opportunity to broaden your customer base by providing support for additional languages. This can prove to be a significant advantage in some industries. Plus, you won’t have to do any of the work associated with managing and implementing it. All you need to do is ensure that your customers know they can contact you in other languages. 

Pro: Improved Coverage

As your company grows, the need for 24/7 customer support does as well. But to have a team of agents working around the clock requires a large investment of resources. Outsourcing your customer services ensures that as many service reps as needed are available all the time. 

This has the added benefit of improving your response times, which are a major factor for customer satisfaction. Moreover, you can one-up the competition by providing after-hours and weekend support. 

Pro: Access to Infrastructure

Working with an external customer service provider allows you to benefit from their technologies and resources, which might be beyond what you would’ve been able to invest in. At the same time, you don’t have to deal with staffing concerns. You will also be afforded more time and money to put towards pursuing the main goals of your business. 

Pro: Customer Satisfaction

The above-mentioned benefits will likely lead to an increase in customer satisfaction. Improvements in response times, language options, more available channels, and an overall better product all contribute to a superior user experience. Granted, this largely depends on who you outsource to. With this in mind, let’s move on to the potential drawbacks. 

Con: Communication Barriers

If you opt for an overseas provider, you risk running into linguistic and cultural barriers that can impede your ability to work with them efficiently. The agents might also lack the cultural knowledge and fluency required to interact with your customers at a satisfactory level. 

Of course, this won’t be a problem if you choose a local company, but they are more expensive. 

Con: Quality Control

Your customers have likely come to expect certain standards that are strictly upheld in your business. This is key to running the type of well-oiled machine that maintains a reliable reputation. 

When a department as large as customer service functions remotely, it’s difficult to ensure that the guidelines you’ve laid out are being followed. The customer service provider may not consider your brand values when dealing with requests, and it only takes one subpar interaction for serious consequences to arise. 

This is why it’s important to find a company that knows how to and is willing to align with your values and commit to providing good service with your mission in mind. 

Con: Security Risks

Employees who work in-house are more invested in the success of their company. A customer service provider that works with several businesses at once can’t keep your prosperity on top of mind. They have themselves to worry about, after all. This may lead to a lack of brand loyalty that has additional consequences, including security risks. 

The fact that the provider’s employees likely have access to a wealth of sensitive information needs to be taken seriously when outsourcing your customer service, especially if you’re taking it offshore. There can also be a difference in laws that warrant hiring an international law expert. 

This is another problem that can be alleviated by choosing the right provider and sticking to local companies. 

Considerations

Let’s end things off by taking a look at some tips to help you outweigh any potential disadvantages of outsourcing your customer service. 

  • Consider working with separate professionals instead of an entire team. This can improve loyalty while giving you more control over operations. 
  • Remember to perform thorough background checks to ensure that the company you plan on working with is reliable and trustworthy. Don’t let a more affordable pricing structure sway your decision. 
  • One way to improve your connection with a remote team is to hire an intermediary manager whose responsibility is to ensure that the service reps are performing up to standard. 
  • Invest in an established service that utilizes the latest technologies. This improves your chances of working with a company that maintains proper quality control standards and provides useful feedback. Your outsourcing partner should have a genuine interest in doing better. 

Now that you’re aware of the benefits and drawbacks, it’s up to you to determine whether or not it’s a good idea for you to outsource your customer service. 

It’s clear that you can mostly avoid the cons of outsourcing. In doing so, you can reap the rewards and start providing the type of industry-leading customer service that makes your business successful.