Customer service is the core part of any business, whether you are starting out or a seasoned professional. You need to have a competent team on board as you grow to meet the increasing demands of consumers. There is no channel better than live chat to provide support and generate quality leads. However, many brands still feel comfortable with in-house teams, while others outsource live chat support.
Both come with different pros and cons, and this blog shares which one is the better choice. So, let’s take a look at the most important questions before you make a decision.
Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Chat Team:
We have dug into the most crucial questions and explained them to help you choose the best team for your support channel.
- Infrastructure for Chat Support Team
- Resources Required to Fund Your Training
- The Need for a New Live Chat Team
- 24/7 Accessibility for Online Brands
- Flexibility During Business Scaling
- Chat Insights Provision for Growth
Infrastructure for Chat Support Team:
Large businesses with enough resources and workspace often choose to build a personal in-house support team. However, building your brand from the start requires patience, drive, and a huge investment. In contrast, adding a new team to your current operations would require you to develop an effective strategy for the best results.
Outsourcing chat support would demand having the best tools and experts to streamline your support processes. That is why it is vital to ensure a service provider gives you the best chat reps who know how to regulate your service while maintaining quality. With a professional agency, you will know that your chat operations are in safe hands. Outsourced experts will handle incoming customers while you rest and see those profits shooting up.
So the first thing you need to consider: do you want to invest in the infrastructure for a new team or hire an experienced team? Assess your resources and make the choice that falls under your budget.
Resources Required to Fund Your Training:
No matter what team you prefer, an extensive training program is required. You need to train your outsourced agents more compared to the internal staff. Training your team is crucial to boosting your productivity and staying consistent with the quality standards. Brands can’t afford to stoop below the benchmark set in the global market.
You can’t just hire people and leave them to take control of your operations. You need to familiarize them with your code of conduct, core values, daily tasks, and everything necessary. However, funds that go into training workshops should be given proper attention. You can’t avoid it as it is a must. However, with chat support outsourcing, your service provider will take charge of the training as you relax. If you have time to train your agents, choose the in-house team. If you want someone to recruit, hire, and train reps, outsourcing is the best option.
The Need for a New Live Chat Team:
Understanding the effort that goes into setting up an entirely new chat support team is instrumental. Businesses need to learn about the cost of hiring a recruit and all the factors that go into this process. However, the cost is not limited to only hiring but extends to their enlisting. For instance, the effort and cost spent on job ads, logistics expense, training, new system, recruitment agent cut, and other factors should also be considered. Along with that, companies need to provide employee benefits, paid leaves and vacations, annual increments, and incentives, which affect their bottom line.
So you need to invest a lot when looking to set up your own team, be mindful that it comes with a complete array of expenses. On the other hand, when companies outsource live chat support services, you do not need to worry about any of them. Some providers will only charge you per lead or when active. From training to benefits, everything is taken care of by your outsourcing partner. So weigh your budget before going with either of the options.
24/7 Accessibility for Online Brands:
Your in-house teams work from 9 to 5 during the weekdays only. However, people are also busy in their routine during the same time and get to explore websites at night or on the weekend. For that reason, staying active round the clock is necessary for today’s businesses. However, companies need to pay extra or hire a new team for the night shift, which also comes with the points we discussed earlier.
In this regard, chat outsourcing is the best. Why? Your service providers take charge of keeping your brand up and running 24/7/365, so no prospect goes dissatisfied. Not only the availability but your consumers also get the quality a customer would get during the daytime. People are more driven by asynchronous chats nowadays. Outsourcing beats in-house teams in terms of affordability when working round the clock. It also benefits with a number of things, such as:
- Improved retention rate
- Higher sales conversion
- Real-time assistance to late-night customers
- Reduced cart abandonment ratio
- Personalized CX at all times
Flexibility During Business Scaling:
No one comes into the world of business to remain stagnant. As your company grows, you need to retain a viable customer support team that backs the marketing and sales departments’ efforts. Chat concurrency becomes easy when brands choose to outsource live chat support. It means that outsourced reps can handle multiple chats simultaneously. Your dedicated partner makes sure that the quality offered to every user is nothing less than the best. So, you require a team that is flexible and can be increased or decreased as per your business scaling.
Chat Insights Provision for Growth:
Obtaining data about how your team is performing is crucial. You can’t make any errors in the stats in order to improve your business. An outsourced live chat team also provides brands with an in-depth analysis of all the customers conversed with. For instance, if only 35% of the chats were successfully converted during a month, your agency will explain why the rest failed to do so. You can’t put a price on this information. So, your outsourcing partner helps businesses to gain insights into purchase decisions and how to improve the gaps for better results.
Not only does it help with the failed conversions, but it also informs you if you need to expand your geographical limits or target a new audience. You will understand the market’s demands and create your CX under the trends that vibe with your customer base. However, the in-house team can perform this, but they do not have enough bandwidth or required skills to provide you with a meticulous data report.
For More Details:
How Chat Support Outsourcing is Effective for Retail Businesses
Turn Complaints Into Sales With These Chat Support Practices
How Chat Outsourcing Fits in Omnichannel Marketing Strategy
So, Which One is Better?
Is it not crystal clear which one is the better option? People are still growing on the idea of outsourcing, which is why it is not that much highlighted right now. However, outsourcing will be everyone’s top priority in the future. Large companies with a considerable budget can afford to hire an in-house team to help with everything we have discussed, but not everyone can. So, outsource live chat support as it is the best solution for small and medium businesses. However, you must join hands with the right partner to achieve fruitful results.
Outsource Live Chats (OLC) is a name of reliance in the support industry. Our company has been in the game for more than a decade, and our consistency is the reason behind our success. SMEs, as well as large corporations, can find tailored chat service plans here for increased efficiency. We are active 24/7 and also help you communicate with international customers through multilingual support. You can use our free trial to grasp your idea about our support solutions. So, are you ready to make a decision? Get in touch today and find a support plan that smoothens your revenue stream.
