Whether you’re still in startup mode or at the top of your growth curve, customer care should always be a priority. After all, customers are the reason you started selling in the first place, so they deserve your utmost respect and attention. Customers expect to interact with retailers in various ways and so much of their trust depends on your ability to serve them. But for many retailers, the problem is trying to effectively manage your own customer care program, especially in today’s busy retail landscape.

It takes a genuine amount of time, resources, and expertise – so it’s often better if you focus your efforts on growing the business and letting someone else handle customer care. If you decide to outsource, it’s extremely important you choose the right partner. Below are a few key tips to consider when exploring the decision:

Types of Support Offered

Customer care is no longer just a voice at the end of the phone. Successful companies offer customers a number of ways to get support: live chat, email responses, and social media monitoring. Even more importantly, make sure that your new partner can handle every aspect of the purchase lifecycle: inbound orders, cross-sell/upsell opportunities, billing inquires, order status, shipping, tracking information, and more.

 Personalized, Brand-Focused Messaging

Your brand messaging must be consistent throughout all of your operations, and it couldn’t be more important in terms of customer service. Your outsourced partner should spend time understanding your products and each agent should have the ability to speak intelligently about what you sell – even to the point of making recommendations to encourage unsure shoppers, appease unhappy returners, or upsell additional products. All communications coming out of customer support should “sound like you” and have the same tone, structure, and personality that aligns with your brand.

Quality Assurance Programs

An outsourced partner should always hold themselves accountable for quality and accuracy. You should always ask how they ensure quality and how they train, motivate, and manage their agents (hint: happy agents are the best agents!). On top of this, it’s always a good idea to perform random checks by calling in yourself or asking for recordings of actual calls.

Want to learn more about what outsourced customer care looks like? Contact us to learn more!