Emails have been the first thing that a professional thinks and checks out for updates. Be it a B2B or B2C platform, email is considered the foremost mode of communication. Email newsletters are outstanding to attract leads, according to 31% of B2B marketers.
Today, a major part of the corporate world depends on emails to reach out to customers. This is also a two-way communication, which continues through replies. And unfortunately, this is not easy, especially if you have to communicate with hundreds of customers on a daily basis. A few tools are indeed helpful, but managing the whole thing, like reading, understanding, sending viable replies, and segmenting useful emails, can be difficult. This is where outsourcing can prove to be amazing.
Best Practices to Follow in Email Support Outsourcing
It’s obvious that customer experience is everything. A company owner puts forth his best efforts to improve the customer experience. For this purpose, one has to be professional in responding to and solving customers’ problems. Let’s figure out what practices can prove helpful to you.
- Think of the cost.
You should be aware of email packages, which many companies offer. These packages are segmented for large, small, and startup companies.
Once reviewed, plan how much you can invest if you outsource email support. If you don’t have any idea, request multiple renowned companies to share their pricing plans. Observe and discover what the most cost-effective package can be.
2. Determine If It’s Reliable
A company should be concerned about five crucial things: reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness.
These are rating factors, which are crucial in measuring the reliability of an email customer support company. Now comes the question: how do you rate any agency?
A couple of techniques are there to determine the reputed company. One is to inquire as an end customer and verify the authenticity of the company. The next is the feedback from customers. A reputed entity will easily share the voice of their customers on Google, their website, and social platforms. On these grounds, you can evaluate how trustworthy the company is.
3. Service Legal Agreement, or SLA
Before hiring, you must ensure that the company is legally doing its business. You can align your legal team to look into it. Ask for quality certificates and data security priorities. Also examine if the company has a stringently secure internal security system and privacy policy to secure sensitive data. While signing a contract, you can restrict their access to sensitive customer data to a certain extent. Otherwise, the risk will be there. All in all, it’s necessary to ensure that the prospective email service outsourcing company abides by regulations and confidentiality.
So, a well-drafted SLA should have a set of targets and measures to follow while achieving a business objective.
4. Outsource Emailing with Etiquette
Addressing a person by his name can attract him instantly because it creates a sense of personalization and care. Also, it signifies that there is someone who is aware of your specific concerns and who can prioritize your business requirements. In return, you recognize his intention to assist and resolve your problems.
This type of personalized approach via emailing can be effective in handling queries, providing technical support, surveying about the product, collecting feedback, and managing to answer frequently asked questions through timely responses.
When it comes to etiquette, promptly responding while addressing the customers’ names is satisfactory if your aim is sale via emails. It demonstrates your positive and highly professional approach. So, all you need to do is start with a warm greeting and conclude with the name of the sender. Don’t use the name of the company at the end unless the company permits it. Otherwise, the customer can perceive that the company itself has responded.
5. Show Empathy
Customers require empathy. Your emailing should send the message as if you extremely care for them, and they come foremost for you. As you show your care, they discover how important their opinions are. They feel their importance. This shows the bright side of your brand, which leaves a positive mark in their minds.
So, it’s always required to maintain decorum while speaking with your customers or stakeholders. Holding patience and talking with healing words leave an impression on their minds. This attitude can maintain a long relationship with them.
6. Feedback is Significant
Customer feedback is vital, especially when it is related to your services. It has mentions of your products and services and downsides. So, you should have acceptance in your attitude. Embrace their suggestions with positivity, be they good or bad. At least you come across them. Use them to improve or enhance your offering so that a larger audience can be reached. This practice shows your acceptance of feedback, which always pays off. You can get an idea of how to refine them and take them to the next level.
7. Focus on Requirement
The outsourcing company is the one that is hired for its expertise. If you hire a customer support company, ensure that it serves on your behalf. It should prioritize honesty in services and add value while responding to customers’ emails. Particularly, the communication should uphold your brand value and reputation in the industry.
Like good words, some negative reviews may be there to complain about your brand. Instead of becoming short-tempered, take a deep breath and reply in a positive manner.
8. Ensure Fast Response
Customers always expect a response to their inquiries. And why shouldn’t they? Because they also take the pain of sharing their grievances with a customer support agent. An outsourcing company has certified professionals who have hands-on experience in understanding and responding while solving their problems.
Some cases are indeed sensitive and require an immediate reaction. An owner may not be able to answer all such questions. In this case, an outsourcing partner can understand and immediately send its answer. If the solution is unknown, he or she can respond and quickly discover the most obvious solution from the actual owner or subject experts. It will send the message that, at least, the brand cares for the customers’ queries.
9. Refine Customer Support
Updating your customer support team is inevitable. You have to do it from time to time. Examine if your customers are happy with their responses. Evaluate the responses sent to measure their quality. You can also conduct an audit to determine the end result, which can automatically indicate whether their problem is solved or unsolved.
Always remember that a CSAT form can help in mapping customers’ satisfaction, and you can send a prompt to write you back.
10. Provide Solutions
Customers come with problems because they lack solutions. They want to know how to end their problems quickly in any possible way. Instead of making excuses for the delayed support, you should immediately reply and accept the mistake. Apologies can help customers know that you’re disappointed that we were unable to provide solutions on time. Then, serve the solution.