A comprehensive guide to eCommerce customer service outsourcing

Mar 2
20:43

2021

Sukhdev Singh

Sukhdev Singh

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How great it would be if you had an option from business to assist you with almost everything? Ecommerce customer service can do just that for you by giving you a delightful experience each time. The customer service representatives create a seamless customer experience across all channels by helping them with every step,A comprehensive guide to eCommerce customer service outsourcing Articles if needed, from making online shopping decisions to resolving after-sales issues.

Today, the world lives in an age of convenience and where customers want it all, instantly! Customer service and the customer experience are becoming key differentiators for eCommerce brands. More the expectations of customers, more businesses will tap into eCommerce customer service outsourcing competition to stay ahead in the market.

59% of customers say that they have higher expectations for customer support than they had a year ago. (Source)

There are going to be endless opportunities that will attract your consumers with higher products and qualities available in the market. It is up to you to maintain and give a memorable and exceptional experience to the consumers which will keep them loyal to your business.

 

What is eCommerce call center outsourcing?

It does not matter if you are a newly established firm or an existing player in the market with a well-known brand, customer service will always be an ingredient to keep you ahead. We suggest you provide an omnichannel customer experience for customers by leveraging the latest technology through outsourcing your call center activities to an expert service provider.

Particularly with eCommerce businesses, every customer interaction is an opportunity to make additional revenue. An eCommerce call center outsourcing service provider hires skilled agents and precisely trains them to handle customer issues and create meaningful customer relationships. It maximizes ROI through up-selling and cross-selling practices. The aim of the eCommerce call center outsourcing service provider will be to reduce the cost and grow average order value while creating a significant impact on the business bottom line.

The outsourcing partners leverage flagship technologies and best practices to help customers to find resolutions over the call without having to wait much. This escalates to a level that improves customer satisfaction and reduces agent workloads. As an eCommerce business, you will experience fluctuation in customer queries throughout the year, sometimes high and sometimes low. Therefore, you should be prepared to handle and scale agents when peak demand requires, especially during holidays. It is pivotal to partner with a service provider who is flexible and able to provide quick, customer-friendly call center services at all times.

Commonly outsourced eCommerce customer service

Modern customers expect to connect with the brand through different touchpoints, with the channel of their choice like chat, email, and social media, apart from voice interactions. Therefore, eCommerce businesses outsource a variety of support channels from one or different service providers to get in touch with them. Here are a few of the most commonly outsourced eCommerce customer services.

Call center

Call centers support simply means assisting customers through voice interactions over the phone call. The call center agents need to know and speak the regional or native language for the customer’s convenience. They need to be skilled, well-trained and have to have comprehensive product/service knowledge in order to help the customers in real-time without making them wait much.

Chat support

Chat support is defined as resolving customer concerns in real-time, using a site-hosted chat interface. The eCommerce customer care team can even automate parts of chat support by simulating conversation through AI and chatbots before the customer ever speaks to a human agent.

Email support

Email support is one of the most conventional forms of eCommerce customer support. At times, customer service through emails can be a little slower as it’s queued over time and is not a live process. However, it’s very much effective in regards to resolving customer issues.

Mobile support

Text or SMS to customers in real-time is an excellent method to address their issues and queries during the buying process, especially for Gen Z customers and millennials.

70% of global consumers have a positive view of brands that contact them with proactive customer service notifications. (Source)

Social media support

The customers boldly post their experience on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. In cases of negative experiences, the customer support team is reaching out to unhappy customers in order to address their complaints and resolve their issues. Brands need to be extra careful here as millions of people are checking upon your activity.

The benefits of eCommerce customer service outsourcing

Ecommerce customer service outsourcing gives customers a seamless experience. In order to know more benefits of eCommerce call center outsourcing, read on to know more here.

Focus more on core business

By handing over the eCommerce customer support activities to a third-party service provider, brands will be able to focus more on their core businesses. The internal resources will be saved and businesses can emphasize it on major operations such as managing product delivery, supply chain, product or service issues, etc. Outsourcing customer services allows eCommerce companies to strengthen their different business aspects and empowers them to introduce a new product or service line and think about expansions in the product line, along with customer support itself.

Offers industry-focused services

In the eCommerce industry, customer service demands the adoption of specialized skill-sets and cutting-edge technology. Brands need to focus on different customer touchpoints simultaneously such as voice calls, phone support, chat support, email support, etc. The omnichannel customer support method will ensure that you deliver seamless and delightful customer experiences. Outsourcing eCommerce customer support to an industry expert service provider ensures that all your advanced technological needs are covered. They will also exercise the best practices to industry standards with flagship tools that meet your customer service KPIs, including boosting customer satisfaction rates (CSAT).

Delightful customers derive growth. The happy customers will not only purchase more from you but will become your brand advocates and work as your marketing agents.

Access to a highly specialized workforce

Customer support is a highly-specialized service. It is quite tough to become a customer service agent, indeed. It demands skilled, specialized, qualified, highly-trained and well-experienced professionals to run the whole process effectively and efficiently.

Ecommerce customer service outsourcing allows you to gain access to a greater pool of expert and experienced professionals in customer service. They understand the customer needs and will succeed in retaining them. The best part is you do not have to spend much on their training, only product knowledge will launch them enough to handle your projects.

Round-the-clock customer support

As an online business, eCommerce companies cannot afford to have a regulated closing or opening time. Your store is open 24×7. For instance, a customer is buying a product or service during the wee hours of the morning or midnight and he or she faces an issue regarding purchasing the product. Not having support will make the customer move to a different brand. Outsourcing eCommerce customer service to a flexible service provider will take care of the customer concerns with around-the-clock customer support. The eCommerce customer service outsourcing provider will be operating 24×7. You will never have to bother about missing out on a single customer.

Stay ahead of the technology

As the market goes global, the eCommerce industry will become hugely complicated and complex. In the same way, modern customers have become well informed and extremely picky. On top of that, with an ever-changing fragmented market, the competition is more intense than ever.

Gone are the days when customers use to call and wait for their turn to get help. Now, they will call brands in the middle of the night and ask about the best offer to purchase and if you are not present at that space, they will quickly shift to a different brand. The customers do not like to wait; they need quick and correct resolution. Therefore, you need to accommodate advanced tools and technologies such as automated chatbots, self-service knowledge management software, and so on.

If your eCommerce brand is new in the market or a startup and not prepared to play in this arena, then outsourcing your eCommerce customer service to an expert service provider would be a wise alternative.

Ecommerce call center outsourcing to an experienced third-party service provider guarantees enriching customer interactions. Since that is their only purpose, they will be able to manage every aspect of it pretty efficiently. But, when you have several things to bother about, you automatically become slightly negligent while resolving customer’s queries or issues. Now, as an eCommerce brand, you would never want your consumers to feel that they are not or less important to you. This is where outsourcing eCommerce customer service plays a very crucial role and becomes the differentiator between gaining and losing out on customers or potential customers.

Tips to find the right the eCommerce call center outsourcing company

Outsourcing eCommerce customer service to a third-party company can seem daunting. More leading companies may provide a wider range of services, but eCommerce businesses should go for companies with the best resources, technology, and reputation in their particular domain. Here are three tips that may help you in getting the right combination for outsourcing your eCommerce customer service.

Proper research of their past and present

You must know the kind of companies and businesses they are working with or worked within the past. Try to know if they are working with new startups or smaller businesses? Did they work with similar industries to yours?

Companies often depend on the websites to obtain the performance data working with different partners and previous clients. Ask direct questions to gain clarity. Ask them to provide case studies, measurable and definite examples where the service provider has achieved the best outcomes. Ask for these documents or PPTs similar to businesses like yours and double-check to be authentic. Try to understand where they have faced challenges in the past and how they have overcome them.

You should study for referrals and research more through their present clients. There is nothing wrong in communicating to other organizations for asking certainty to know how others assess the service provider. Pick the right service provider that can set pragmatic and precise business goals that are best suitable for your business.

Culturally inclusive

If an organization can fit into your business’s work culture, this is a sufficient quality to consider while fancying an outsourcing service provider. Operating together with an organization that participates in the very same work culture and ethics can be fulfilling and make processes well-organized and run smoothly. Outstanding results are achievable when your eCommerce call center outsourcing partner functions as an extension of your business and can blend easily with you.

Stick to business objectives

When choosing which outsourcing partner to hire, always stick to your business objectives to achieve formidable results. It makes the process easier for you rather than getting puzzled among different service providers with different offerings. Make sure that the outsourcing provider can support and the flexibility to achieve the processes requirements and meet the KPIs consistently. Check on their back plan in case they fail to deliver business objectives on the first go.

Start with your research and take your time to examine every aspect for the right combination. Proper skill-set and training are essential along with the latest tools. We highly recommend businesses never compromise on these.

Conclusion

Today, almost every eCommerce brand offers top-notch customer service. Outsourcing your eCommerce customer service to Maxicus will give you access to a robust round-the-clock omnichannel contact center equipped with highly-trained agents and advanced call center tools that ensures that all your customer interactions are streamlined.