Does your online store offer customer service? Then you are definitely in the right place! Or do you want to learn more about outsourcing customer service for an online store in general? Then you're also at the right place!

Customer service is the beating heart of your online store, no matter how big you are. Providing excellent customer service is crucial to building customer relationships, retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.

But for online stores, managing an internal customer service department can be a big challenge:

• Is a full time person even necessary?
• How do you handle sick and vacation days?
• Is the number of customer inquiries sufficient to justify a full timer? Aren't the costs too high?
• Do I need to hire additional people to be available in the evenings and weekends?
• How will you manage and train this team? Do you have the time and attention for that?

This is where the option of outsourcing customer service for your online store comes into play. It often turns out to be a strategically smart move. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing customer service for online stores.

Benefits of Outsource Customer Service for Online Stores

1. Cost Savings and Efficiency

One of the main benefits of outsourcing customer service for online stores is cost savings. Setting up and maintaining an internal customer service department can be a significant burden.

There are costs associated with recruitment, training, infrastructure, software and salaries, sick and vacation time. On average, you're 62% more expensive per call with an in-house team than when an external specialized partner performs it.

On average, 1 call costs €3.50 to €6 for internal teams, while specialized customer service companies for online stores charge prices as low as €2.50. So you can drastically reduce your costs. And in the competitive world of ecommerce, every euro you can save is a nice bonus!

1. Scalability and Flexibility

Online stores often experience fluctuations in customer demand, especially if you offer seasonal products or services or during a marketing campaign. Responding to the peaks and troughs remains a challenge for an internal customer service department.

Specialized customer service companies, on the other hand, offer the ability to scale up and down quickly based on the demand you receive. As a result, you are never stuck with an over- or undercapacity of staff and you always meet the demands of your customers.

1. Focus on Core Activities

For you online store, it is crucial to focus on core business and strive for growth. Customer service management for online stores can take up a significant amount of time and resources, blurring focus. We also often see in the market that internal customer service is "the poor relation" and therefore gets unjustifiably little or no attention.

By outsourcing the customer service of your online store, you can hand over the responsibility to specialists and concentrate on what you do best: developing and growing your online store.

The right customer service partner provides you with the right insights and reports, which in turn can help you improve your business.

1. Innovation and training

Outsourcing your online store's customer service gives you the advantage of access to specialized teams that are constantly innovating and training.

These teams keep their finger on the pulse of the latest customer service technologies and training methods, enabling them to continuously improve.

Internal teams often work on a remote "island" anyway and have a harder time sparring with colleagues about the latest developments and best practices.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing Customer Service for Online Stores

1. Reduced Direct Control over Customer Interactions

A common objection to outsourcing customer service is the loss of direct control over customer interactions. When customer service activities are performed by an outside partner, there can be a certain distance between your company and the customer.

The solution is to have regular contact with the partner of your choice about what is going well and what is not, as well as (automatic) reports that show how the team is performing numerically. This way you don't have to put your feet in the mud yourself, but you do have insight and control.

1. Cultural and Linguistic Challenges

Online stores that outsource customer service to a partner may face cultural and linguistic challenges. Cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of customer requests. Linguistic challenges can result in communication problems.

It is important to carefully consider these aspects when choosing a service provider and to have the partner conduct a thorough inventory that addresses all of these knowledge and expectations. After all, they become your company's first line of defense.

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Considerations When Outsourcing Customer Service for Webshops

After reading about the pros and cons of outsourcing your customer service, you may want to weigh up whether it's in your best interest to go for outsourcing. In making this decision, there are several important considerations to take into account:

Volume of customer requests vs budget: as an online store, you need to carefully evaluate your financial situation and resources. What is the volume of customer requests per month? What does one person in customer service cost? How much does 1 customer request cost? If the cost of an internal customer service department takes up a lot of budget, outsourcing may be attractive. You can use this handy calculation tool to gain quick insight.

Complexity Products/Services: companies with specific products or services that require specialized knowledge to serve the customer should consider the extent to which outsourcing is advantageous. Look at customer service companies that specialize in online stores, for example, and don't serve random markets. Can this service partner confidently take on your knowledge? Then you can feel safe handing over your customer service.

Customer expectations: when outsourcing the customer service of your online store, it is important that the expectations of your customers can be met by your future service partner. Think for example about availability during evenings and weekends, and on which channels you want to offer customer service. For example, if you have an active presence on Instagram, then it makes sense to offer your customer service there as well. Or if many visitors are active on your website in the evenings, to be available during those times as well.

Cost Analysis and Budget Considerations: a detailed cost-benefit analysis is crucial. If you calculated your cost per customer request in Step 1, you can easily compare prices of potential partners and assess whether your own internal team's total costs outweigh the potential partner's offer.

Need help?

Outsourcing customer service has proven to be a smart move for many online stores. It offers cost-effectiveness, scalability and the ability to focus on core operations. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As an online store, you must carefully consider whether outsourcing fits your specific needs and situation.

Now you may be wondering what Hikari CS has to offer you? We offer all the advantages you have read above. On top of that, we also make sure to polish off all the disadvantages. How we do that? By conducting a comprehensive intake and training period to ensure that our customer service agents know your company inside and out and speak your and your customers' language. All at a price that in-house teams can't compete with.

There's nothing more annoying when your customer needs help and the service agent or chatbot your customer speaks with is incompetent, doesn't understand the customer or can't empathize with the situation.

With Hikari CS you are available 7 days a week and in multiple languages. Finally, you are always cheaper with us than if you have an in-house team. Win-win right? Check out our solutions and contact us!

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