How do brands with the most loyal customers get that way?
Bet you think it’s a secret product formula or magical marketing.
Here’s the secret…
Customer service makes or breaks brand loyalty. A recent study found that 82% of consumers rank good customer service as the most important driver of their decision to remain loyal to a brand.
The problem…
Few businesses can meet consumer expectations on their own. Response times get slower. Quality gets inconsistent. Customers get frustrated and take their business elsewhere.
The solution?
Outsourcing customer support services is fast becoming the go-to approach for businesses that need to scale customer support without sacrificing service quality. Specialist companies like The Office Gurus focus on delivering outsourced customer support services that help brands offer unmatched customer experiences 24/7.
The results?
Check out the stats below.
Insider Look
Why Customer Support Is The New Driver Of Brand Loyalty
The Business Case For Outsourcing Customer Support Services
Why Outsourced Customer Support Teams Improve Customer Retention
Steps For Selecting The Right Support Partner
Why Customer Support Is The New Driver Of Brand Loyalty
Think about your last customer experience with a brand that didn’t treat you right…
Ever go back to that brand? Nope. Us neither.
Customer service is the new frontline of brand loyalty. Each interaction a business has with its customers either improves or weakens the level of brand loyalty those customers have.
And emotions drive repeat purchases.
Salesforce research found that 84% of customers say being treated as an individual instead of a number impacts where they take their business. That’s a lot of customers.
But there’s more to know…
Consumers demand immediate responses. They want help from every channel. And they have little patience for long wait times or cookie-cutter replies that don’t get them their desired outcome.
Scaling support to provide that level of service with an in-house team only? That’s mission impossible for most brands these days.
The Business Case For Outsourcing Customer Support Services
Outsourcing customer support services isn’t just about saving on labor costs anymore.
Businesses that partner with an outsourcing provider can save a nice chunk of change on labor. But the bigger payoff is in improved customer experiences that lead to increased loyalty and repeat purchases.
Consider these facts…
Customer support has become the second most outsourced business function globally. Research shows that 59% of outsourced services are related to customer support. These companies aren’t your startup brothers-in-arms. Brands of all types and sizes from every industry outsource support operations.
Why do they do it?
Professional outsourcing partners have the expertise, technology, and trained teams that most businesses lack. They live and breathe customer interactions. It’s all they do.
And when support quality goes up, customer loyalty goes up too.
Why Outsourced Customer Support Teams Improve Customer Retention
Now let’s take a closer look…
Customers with outsourced customer support teams can actually provide better customer experiences than their in-house teams alone.
Wait… what? Outsourced support providers do more for customer retention than in-house customer support? Yup. You read that right. The numbers don’t lie.
Response times are key.
Research shows that 90% of customers state an immediate response is important or very important when they interact with customer service teams. Outsourced teams provide 24/7 coverage that many in-house operations cannot offer.
Slower in-house average response time = slower response times when you outsource.
24/7 customer support coverage with an outsourcing partner = quicker response times for customers = happier customers = stronger brand loyalty.
But that’s not the only reason…
Consistency Across Channels
The modern customer can reach out via email, web chat, social media, phone, or any combination of all of those on the same day and about the same issue.
Outsourced support partners shine when it comes to omnichannel support. Because that’s what they’re trained to do, it’s consistent quality across all touchpoints.
Customers trust your brand more when they know they’ll receive the same level of service no matter where they engage.
Scalability On Peak Days
Holiday shopping. Product launches. Trending topics that send traffic to your site like wildfire.
These spikes in customer traffic can grind internal customer support teams to a halt. Response times go way up. Quality suffers. Customers get ticked off.
Outsourcing partners can instantly ramp up support capacity during these critical time periods. No frantic hiring of temp staff. No delays in training. Just seamless support when your customers need it most.
Access To Advanced Tech
The top-notch outsourcing partners invest significant capital into customer service technology.
AI-powered routing. Robust CRM platforms. Analytics dashboards that give real-time insight into customer satisfaction scores.
Smaller and mid-sized brands can’t afford to invest in these tools internally. Partnering with the right provider gives you access to enterprise-level tech without the enterprise-level price tag.
Expertise You Can’t Cultivate Overnight
It takes a long time to develop world-class customer support agents.
Outsourcing partners already know this. Their entire teams handle customer interactions all day, every day. They’ve seen every possible type of query, concern, and off-the-wall edge case.
Customers feel the benefit. Issues get resolved more quickly because support agents know what they’re doing. Your brand reaps the rewards of experience that would otherwise take years to develop in-house.
Steps For Selecting The Right Support Partner
Be wary…
Not all outsourcing partners are created equal.
Partnering with the wrong customer support service provider can have the opposite of the desired effect on your brand loyalty. Look for these traits when vetting potential support providers…
Alignment with brand culture.
The support team is the voice of your brand. They need to not just understand your company values but be able to convey those values in the way your customers expect and need them to be. Look for partners that take the time to immerse themselves in your brand.
Ask about training programs.
How do you onboard new team members? What ongoing training do you provide? The best partners spend heavily on their people because they understand that well-trained agents deliver better customer experiences.
Ask about their technology.
Modern customer support can’t happen without modern technology. CRM systems. Quality monitoring software. Reporting dashboards to track performance. Ask to see the software and hardware that potential partners plan to use when working with you.
Request case studies.
Any reputable outsourcing partner should have examples of their previous work they can show you. Better yet, ask for references. Look for providers that have proven experience supporting brands in your industry or similar customer support needs. Past performance is often the best indicator of future results.
Try before you buy.
Start with a specific channel or customer segment before committing to full-scale support. This limits exposure for both sides and provides an opportunity to work out any kinks before scaling the relationship.
Pulling It All Together
Brand loyalty is not created overnight.
It’s a product of consistent positive customer interactions at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Delivering that level of service to customers on a large scale requires an outsourced help.
Outsourcing your customer support services provides:
Trained and specialized support professionals who make customer interactions their business
24/7 coverage that can match the high expectations of the modern customer
Flexible scaling capacity to meet spikes in support demand
Cutting edge technology with little capital investment
The brands that win the loyalty game know this. They’re not trying to do everything in-house themselves. They’re getting help from third-party specialists who can deliver a top-notch customer experience at scale.
It’s the real secret to building brand loyalty.
Start with finding the right partner who understands your brand, your customers, and your vision for growth.
