When To Outsource Customer Service For Your E-Commerce Brand

In the E-Commerce industry, customer service is the foundation of any business. In some cases, particularly in saturated markets, the caliber of your customer service may be even more important than the products and services you offer (yes, you read that correctly!).

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Particularly during the mad rush of the holiday shopping season, E-Commerce businesses have a huge opportunity to maximize sales and revenue by nailing the customer experience.

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However, as your brand gains traction and your customer base grows, keeping up with the increasing demands of support can present a major challenge, which is exactly where the decision to outsource your customer service can become a total game-changer. 

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5 Tell-Tale Signs That Your E-Commerce Business Is Ready To Outsource Customer Service 

As the expectations and demands E-Commerce businesses change and evolve, so does the need for exceptional customer service. 

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While many startups and small brands can initially handle customer inquiries in-house, there comes a point in the growth journey when the question of outsourcing becomes less of “Do we really need this?” and more of “How much longer can we operate without it?” 

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From managing through peak shopping seasons to gaining an edge on competitors through enhanced customer experiences, there are many reasons why your E-Commerce brand may be considering outsourcing customer service.

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To help you make a truly informed decision of whether it’s the right time, we’re sharing 5 signs that indicate your brand is ready to embrace customer service outsourcing as a strategic business decision.

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1. Overwhelming Ticket Volumes

When it seems like your ticket queue is constantly brimming with inquiries and your in-house team is at capacity, it's a clear sign that you might need to outsource customer service.

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Not only does an exorbitant volume of customer queries weigh heavily on your team, but it often causes longer response times which frustrates customers who expect a fast response. 

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In fact, 90% of customers rate an "immediate" response as essential or very important when they have a customer service question (with “immediate” defined as 10 minutes or less by 60% of customers), and 71% believe that a quick response can drastically improve the overall customer experience even when something else goes awry.

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With these statistics in mind, it’s absolutely essential to offer fast and efficient customer service that will keep customer satisfaction high.

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2. Seasonal Peaks & Valleys

Every E-Commerce business has its highs and lows in regard to sales and revenue throughout the year, and it can be challenging to scale up your customer service team for big shopping periods like Cyber Monday and early holiday sales while also training and preparing your existing team for the rush.

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Instead of spending time interviewing, hiring, and onboarding temporary staff and customer service agents, it may be in your best interest to partner with a customer service outsourcing agency.

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The right partner can offer your brand greater flexibility to increase support during busy seasons and scale back down during quieter months, which means more capacity to meet customer demands without adding “hire customer service agents” to your management team’s to-do list. 

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3. Expanding Customer Base

If your brand serves a global customer base, outsourcing your customer service to an agency can be a strategic move that benefits both your in-house team and your customers.

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Various time zones and language preferences often put a strain on in-house teams that are unable to consistently provide 24/7, multilingual support to customers who live in other countries and speak different languages.

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By outsourcing customer support, your brand can continue to offer high-quality customer service and language expertise for all customers without burning out your in-house team or increasing costs exponentially. 

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Greater brand accessibility AND a stronger appeal to a broader audience? Sounds like a win-win to us. 

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4. Declining Or Plateaued Metrics 

The job of your customer service team is not just to resolve repetitive inquiries, but to provide a level of customer care that helps to create a consistently excellent customer experience. 

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Therefore, it can feel disheartening to either fail to meet goals and KPIs or, on the other hand, watch key metrics decline or hit a plateau when ticket volumes spike during peak seasons.

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Beyond just the unmet goals, however, declining customer satisfaction metrics can also hit your business hard if poor customer support results in negative reviews and feedback on your brand’s various social media channels.

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Though we can hope that your brand doesn’t ever reach this point, your best move, if your brand does find itself in this situation, is to outsource customer service to expertly trained agents who can help increase customer satisfaction and bring more positive customer feedback and revenue through the door.

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5. Budget Constraints

In the fluctuating economy we’re currently living in, budget is a huge concern for many E-Commerce businesses, and it often factors into whether brands can financially afford to invest not only in new agents, but also in the sheer amount of time it takes to search for, interview, hire, onboard, and train the right ones.

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A key benefit of customer service outsourcing agencies is that it’s typically more cost-effective to partner with an agency that handles the hiring, onboarding, and training than it is for your team members to put in those hours of work themselves. 

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For example, here at TalentPop, our competitive pricing model allows our clients to access skilled and vetted agents (which we ensure through our proven process) without taking on the overhead expenses of full-time employees, such as salaries, benefits, and infrastructure costs.

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All in all, customer service outsourcing is a budget-friendly option that offers the expertise your brand needs to scale, particularly during the busy holiday seasons that generally bring in even more customers. 

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Position Your E-Commerce Brand For Growth With TalentPop’s Customer Service Solutions

Every E-Commerce business will someday reach the point where outsourcing customer service becomes not just an option, but a strategic move necessary for your success. The good news is that recognizing the signs and understanding when your business is ready for this transition is the first step toward positioning your brand for unprecedented growth.

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At TalentPop, we understand the unique needs of E-Commerce businesses (heck, our owners started out in the E-Commerce industry), and we’ve tailored our customer service solutions to help you meet them.

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With the ability to scale your support up or down based on need and pay as little as $8/hour per agent, it’s never been easier or more cost-effective to outsource customer service to a team you can trust to keep your team, customers, and bottom line in mind.

Ready to reach new heights in 2024? Start by scheduling a call with us today, and we’ll show you exactly how we’ll help you make BIG moves in Q4 and beyond.