Customer Care Outsourcing – The Best Kept E-Commerce Secret For Foolproof Success 

In a market flooded with products; in the colossal clash of brands; in a hairline’s difference in USPs, only one key differentiator stands… Call Center Outsourcing.

E-commerce is not the same as it was even 5 years ago. In a landscape where one-click buys, overnight / 10 minute deliveries, cross-border purchases and omni channel selling reign supreme, customer service has emerged as the hottest new battleground for companies to gain and retain buyers and brand identity.

Did you know, over 80% businesses are competing on CX grounds.

Why? Because 90% customers wouldn’t think twice before switching to a competing brand that offers better and more responsive customer support.
Facing the heat are SMEs and brand debutants that are endeavoring to secure a spot among the e-commerce giants on the basis of CX because, ace customer service that can lead to sure- shot competitive victory, requires –

- massive infrastructural investments,
- expedited recruitments
- extensive training
- superior tech initiatives and
- specialized expertise, from day 1. For smaller and newer e-commerce entities that fancy in-house call center teams, this can be a monumental burden in terms of time, costs and more importantly risks.

 

Stepping Up With Outsourcing – The Winning Strategy

The raging competition in the ecommerce landscape impels brands to be the best from day one. It’s a battle where trial and error is a luxury that can cost hundreds of potential customers and even lead debutants to an unceremonious exit from the market.
Imagine launching your products and telling your customers that you are still developing your in-house support set-up; enquiries / concerns / issues may take about 2 weeks to address; customers may have to stay on line for 15 minutes before connecting with a support executive; on-line chats support is not available; so on and so forth.

Do you think anyone would dare to trust your brand; leave alone making a purchase? The clear answer is, NO.

On the other hand, if you launch your lot with the assurance of 24/7 support; 2minute call-back options; expedited issue resolution and omni-channel chat / call /e-mail support with 12hr – 24hr response; there is high possibility that your products will sell out in the blink of an eye.
And, this is possible only with outsourcing.

 

8 Reasons Why E-commerce And Customer Care Outsourcing Make A Power- Couple

1. Saving Costs – Because The Bargain Is Worth It!
Fact Alert: Did you know, research reveals, outsourcing customer care can save 30% to 60% of operational costs for ecommerce entities.
Whether giants or newbies, every e-com entity seeks a good bargain. Outsourcing to call centers, especially in countries with lower labor costs, slashes operational expenses phenomenally. This is a boon to promising debutants that can reinvest the saving into productive endeavors like platform improvements, developing new products, or offering big bonuses to loyal workforce!

2. 24/7 Service – Because Shopping Sprees Aren’t 9-to-5 Restricted
Fact Alert: Statistics say that over 51% customers (and counting) need businesses to be available round the clock.
E-tail therapy at 3 AM is the new normal. This is also the phase when most wrong decisions are made that scream out for instant customer support. Shoppers expect assistance round the clock, and outsourced call centers fulfill this need, unlike in-house teams that typically operate on a 9-to-5 schedule. Offering 24/7 customer care, outsourced call centers can cater to purchases across different time zones, making global support feasible.

3. Breaking Language Barriers – Kann Ich mit Ihrem Manager Sprechen?
Fact Alert: Did you know, multi lingual customer support can increase customer engagement by 30%.
Multilingual call centers support global expansions. With the ability to communicate with customers from different countries in their native languages, these units ensure that buyers beyond borders always feel at home. All e-com companies need to do is find a call center that is fluent in the language of their client nations, and expertise will be delivered from the first day on. This is a near impossibility in in-house teams that will require months of training before mastering a foreign language. Whether it’s helping Pierre in Paris or Priya in Pune, promising BPOs can break language barriers faster than Google Translate.

4. Elastic Scalability – Because Flexing Favors The Brave
Fact Alert: Statistics speak, greater scalability in outsourced call centers can save additional costs, by 15% to 20%.
Scalability is as good as a super-power for e-commerce companies, and this is something that outsourced call centers are known for offering. Unlike in-house teams that cannot be up-scaled or downscaled depending upon seasonal fluctuations, outsourced call centers flaunt exceptional flexibility to handle peak season surge or slump-season slack, without taking a toll on budget.

5. Omni-channel Omni Presence – Because The More You’re Seen The More You’re Loved
Case Study: Did you know, top sports brand Nike, experienced a 30% sales surge after going omni-channel!
Facebook, twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail or Telegram, your customers could be anywhere. Therefore, omni-channel presence and customer support is undoubtedly, a winning strategy for ecommerce entities. However, left to in-house teams, the results are likely to be a distant feat owing to the lack of expertise and automation support. Customer care BPOs, on the other hand, are fortified with the latest automation technologies and AI to offer omni-channel
support right away.

6. Expertise, Training, Upskilling – Because Every New Skill Doubles The Odds Of Success
Fact Alert: Companies that invest in training of professionals are 11% more profitable than their counterparts.
Outsourced call centers don’t just hire anyone with a phone and a smile. They recruit best-fit candidates and invest heavily in their training to be knowledgeable, efficient and empathetic. Regular training and upskilling programs help call center executives stay in tune with ever changing customer trends and behavior. The agents thus, come fully prepared in handling customer inquiries, complaints and even compliments with grace and professionalism at a level that in-house teams may take years to match.

7. Trailblazing Tech; Expedited Support – Because The Future Is Now! 
Fact Alert: Did you know, as per market predictions, AI will shoulder 70% customer enquiries by the end of this year.
Chat bots, interactive voice response, predictive analytics, virtual agents, call analytics, CRM, customer data analysis, predictive call routing and so much more; modern call centers are equipped with avant-garde technology that directly help in
- Quick problem solving
- Handling higher number of calls
- Reduced AHT
- increased FCRs
- meeting SLAs
- Empathetic responses and most importantly,
- Instantly improved CX
Investing in comprehensive technology infrastructure can be a significant financial burden for SMEs and e-commerce start-ups. However, outsourcing allows them to fully leverage advanced technology while remaining within budget.

8. Data Insights – Reading Minds, One Call at a Time
Fact Alert: Did you know, customers can pay about 16% more on products for better customer service!
Every customer interaction and insights into their behavioral traits is a goldmine of data that can translate into crafting strategies to help maximize their CLV. Unlike in-house teams with limited expertise and infrastructure, outsourced call centers can analyze call logs, customer feedback and inquiries to provide valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Customer Care As A Service – The Indomitable E-Commerce Success Hack

The secret behind successful e-commerce companies isn’t just their website or products. It’s the unsung heroes in call centers, often located halfway across the globe, that nurture lifelong relationships with customers.

Outsourcing call centers is not a choice anymore, it is a necessity.

With customer care that actually cares, the benefits always spill beyond cost cutting. One can say, it is the ladder that takes a start-up to the next level in no time and with minimum efforts and investments. 
In fact, outsourced call centers are the reasons behind the omni-channel presence of thousands of smaller ventures, the ease with which they go global and the confidence with which they walk shoulder to shoulder with e-commerce titans.



Reference:

https://go4customer.com/blog/call-center/why-do-call-centers-have-high-demand-in-the-e-commerce-industry
https://roicallcentersolutions.com/blog/reasons-outsource-call-center-beyond-cost/
https://gearinc.com/ecommerce-call-center/
https://www.nextiva.com/blog/call-center-for-ecommerce.html
https://contactpoint360.com/blog/outsource-customer-service-for-cost-savings/
https://influx.com/blog/24-7-follow-the-sun-support-stats
https://callnovo.com/multilingual-call-centers-unmatched-success/2
https://trengo.com/blog/omnichannel-customer-service-statistics
https://convin.ai/blog/call-center-statistics#:~:text=within%20the%20industry%3A-,Technological%20Advancements,for%20basic%20customer%20service%20functions.