Updated
August 9, 2024
Written by
Alyssa Maano
E-commerce is undeniably on the rise. In numbers, this industry is expected to make up a quarter of the world’s retail sales by 2027. With this growth, effective customer service for e-commerce platforms becomes a necessity.
Achieving customer satisfaction is a top priority for e-commerce platforms that want to stay ahead of their competitors. Some companies establish internal customer support teams while others outsource e-commerce customer support to perform better at a lower cost.
But how can e-commerce customer service outsourcing elevate customer experiences? Let’s find out!
Whenever customers purchase something online, this is called an e-commerce transaction. However, not all e-commerce activities can go smoothly. Sometimes, payment errors, shipment issues, and other problems may arise.
This is where customer service swoops in to ensure that all concerns are attended to and promptly resolved. Online stores and retailers may experience complaints and order cancellations without effective customer support, resulting in lower revenue.
Fortunately, high customer satisfaction is possible when companies choose to outsource e-commerce customer support. Big names in the e-commerce industry, like Amazon, outsource e-commerce call center services to a third party to improve efficiency and provide round-the-clock support for global customers.
In general, e-commerce customer service outsourcing is a type of business process outsourcing (BPO) that focuses on providing customer support for all types of e-commerce, including business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C).
B2B refers to e-commerce transactions conducted between companies, typically wholesalers and direct producers. Meanwhile, B2C is the business relationship between businesses and their final consumers.
Business process outsourcing services offer reliable customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, phone, and social media. This allows customers to reach businesses in a method most convenient to them.
Most e-commerce companies outsource customer service to external providers when one or more of the following occurs:
From cost-effectiveness to better scalability, outsourced business services offer multiple benefits, including:
Businesses in the e-commerce industry often opt for business outsourcing services when managing customer support. However, this doesn’t translate to a lower quality of customer service.
Companies simply do this to avoid costly in-house solutions, which involve finding, hiring, and training call center staff. Not to mention the additional costs of building or renting a new office space and buying new equipment.
Beyond cost efficiency, business outsourcing solutions allow e-commerce companies to easily scale customer support services according to demand.
Imagine if an e-commerce retail platform is predicted to have a 60% increase in calls during the holiday season. Instead of hiring extra workers during peak periods, they can rely on the contracted BPO company to scale up their support operations.
When businesses outsource e-commerce customer support services, they gain access to a team of experts who are well-versed in e-commerce processes. They can handle customer queries and issues while adhering to best practices and company policies.
Reliable e-commerce customer support also leverages new technology for omnichannel communication and managing customer accounts to ensure seamless delivery of services.
Managing a customer support team is hard work. For e-commerce platforms with limited staff and resources, this could lead to overworked workers and poor service quality. Through outsourcing, internal employees can free up their time to focus on essential business activities.
When companies let BPO handle e-commerce customer support, they can guarantee higher revenue. Call center agents can provide quick resolutions to customer issues, resulting in a better brand reputation and increased sales.
When customers feel that their voice is heard, they are most likely to return and even recommend the e-commerce platform to others, reaching wider audiences.
While the benefits of outsourced e-commerce customer services seem promising, it’s not a plug-and-play solution. There are different processes involved in adopting this strategic move, which are outlined below:
Choosing the right outsourcing partner is a crucial first step in enhancing your e-commerce customer service. It's about finding a partner that aligns with your brand's values, understands your products, and shares your commitment to customer satisfaction.
The selection process typically involves evaluating potential providers based on their experience in your industry, the quality of their agents, and their technological capabilities. Conducting interviews and setting up pilot projects can give you a firsthand look at how they handle customer interactions and whether their approach matches your expectations.
Once you've selected a service provider, the next step is to ensure seamless integration with your existing business operations. It’s more than just plugging in a new team but more about creating a cohesive workflow where the outsourcing team becomes an extension of your business.
During the integration process, both parties must align systems and technologies, such as CRM platforms and communication tools, to ensure smooth data flow and customer interaction management. It's also important to establish clear communication channels and protocols between your internal team and the outsourcing provider to facilitate collaboration and coordination.
Training and knowledge transfer are critical components of a successful outsourcing partnership. The outsourcing team needs to be well-versed in your products, services, brand voice, and company policies. This is achieved by conducting comprehensive training sessions covering product details, common customer inquiries, troubleshooting procedures, and the tone of voice to use in communications.
Maintaining high-quality customer service requires regular performance monitoring. This involves using various tools and metrics to track the outsourcing team's performance and ensure they meet your service standards. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response time, resolution time, customer satisfaction scores, and first-call resolution rates are commonly used to assess performance.
Customer satisfaction is set to plummet without effective customer support in place. By outsourcing e-commerce customer services, business platforms can achieve:
Outsourcing providers offer 24/7 customer support, ensuring that customer inquiries are addressed promptly, regardless of the time of day or night. This round-the-clock availability can significantly enhance customer satisfaction, which can be especially crucial in the competitive e-commerce landscape.
Outsourcing customer service to trained professionals ensures consistent service quality across all customer interactions. These professionals are skilled in handling a wide range of customer inquiries and issues, and they undergo regular training to stay updated on best practices and new developments.
With this consistency, customers know they can expect a high level of service every time they reach out, helping maintain a positive brand image and brand credibility.
Outsourcing partners often have access to advanced tools and technologies that enable them to personalize the customer experience. By leveraging customer data, they can tailor interactions to individual customer preferences, purchase history, and browsing behavior.
Through this capability, businesses can recommend products based on previous purchases, address customers by name, and provide relevant promotions or discounts. Such personalized experiences can make customers feel valued and understood, enhancing their overall satisfaction and loyalty to your brand.
E-commerce businesses often experience fluctuations in customer inquiries, particularly during peak seasons like holidays or special promotions. Outsourcing customer service provides the flexibility to scale up or down based on demand, ensuring that high volumes of inquiries are handled efficiently without compromising service quality.
Outsourcing providers can adjust staffing levels and resources in response to changing needs. By managing peak seasons effectively, outsourced teams help prevent long wait times and ensure that all customers receive timely and high-quality service, even during busy periods.
Outsourcing customer support is a common practice among e-commerce companies. You’ll be surprised that big names in the industry choose to outsource this service. Here are some examples:
Although known as a multinational technology company, Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. It is able to support millions of its global customer base by contracting call centers, particularly in the Philippines to ensure that they receive prompt answers and solutions.
Walmart is a multinational retail company established in the United States. As one of the world’s largest retail corporations, its website alone receives 268 million visits a month. Due to the sheer volume of customers they encounter, this retail giant outsources its customer service to call centers to enhance response times and ensure excellent service.
As the second-largest retail company in the United States, Target also faces the perpetual challenge of handling customer queries and concerns with over 154.7 million site visits per month. Due to this high engagement rate, the company requires consistent and high-quality customer services from call centers in the Philippines and India.
Today, countless customer service providers offer e-commerce expertise but you can’t expect the first one you find to be a perfect fit. Choosing the right outsourcing partner requires a series of steps:
Evaluate the provider's service range to ensure they can meet your specific needs, including customer support channels and multilingual capabilities. Assess cost-effectiveness and scalability to ensure the partnership can grow with your business and deliver a solid return on investment.
Prioritize providers with a proven track record in the e-commerce sector since they are more familiar with industry-specific challenges and customer expectations. Look for positive reviews, testimonials, and detailed case studies that showcase their ability to deliver efficient and professional customer service.
Ensure the outsourcing partner shares similar values, communication styles, and work ethics, which are essential for maintaining consistent brand representation. A good cultural fit helps foster better collaboration and a smoother integration of the outsourced team into your business operations.
Confirm that the provider uses advanced CRM systems, analytics, and omni-channel support tools to deliver efficient and seamless customer service. The right technology enables better data management, personalized customer interactions, and real-time support across multiple platforms.
As a growing industry, e-commerce customer service outsourcing is set to adopt new technologies and approaches, such as the following:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already revolutionizing customer service by handling routine inquiries and providing instant, accurate responses, allowing human agents to focus on more complex issues.
Providing seamless support across multiple channels is increasingly important, ensuring consistent and cohesive customer experiences across email, chat, social media, and phone.
Advanced analytics offer deep insights into customer behavior and preferences, enabling more personalized interactions and proactive service improvements.
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, exceptional customer service is crucial for building customer loyalty and driving sales. Outsourcing customer service offers a strategic advantage by providing cost efficiency, scalability, and access to specialized expertise. It allows e-commerce businesses to focus on core activities while ensuring customers receive high-quality support. As the industry evolves, embracing trends like AI and omnichannel support will be key to staying competitive.
By choosing a reliable outsourcing partner like NMS, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction, boost revenue, and secure a strong market position. Through their exceptional business outsourcing services, e-commerce platforms can leverage multilingual customer support through live chat, email, and phone calls.
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