Whether it’s your DTH service provider, your telephone company, or your bank, we all have felt the annoyance of making telephone calls, the frustration of not knowing which keys to click, and the long waiting period to speak to the customer service representative. And the outcome is a decline in customer satisfaction.

Therefore, it is not surprising that companies change their stance on phone support and move to encourage email and live chat. Satisfied and happy customers are the greatest assets for any big or small business. So, how do you ensure the happiness of your customers?  Obviously, by providing excellent customer service! Email support and live chat are one of today’s most popular media for engaging consumers and ensuring they are pleased with your services.

Below are some of the reasons why Email and Chat support is gaining popularity over voice support:

1. Outsourcing is cost-effective: It would cost you a lot of money if you have to handle customer support operations in-house. Hiring a whole squad, installing technology, etc. will mean a lot of money for small and medium-sized companies in general. It’s much easier to outsource the entire support feature. All you have to do is pay a fixed fee, and that’s it. And outsourcing company will do all for you.
2. Easy to run Customer Satisfaction Surveys: Using surveys you can monitor customer satisfaction. Such surveys can be easily carried out via email or chat. Such surveys are fast and customers can easily fill them up without spending too much time. Such responses will give you a better idea of your customers ‘ specific needs and help you deliver better service.
3. Customers are busy these days: Who has the time to wait 15-20 minutes on the phone these days to communicate to the executive support? Well … no one! These days, customers are tired of work and always on the move. It’s always easier for them to send an email or speak with an executive. They can chat from the phone while traveling to work or doing some other chore. This makes it easier for them to solve their problems without causing needless conflict.
4. Trust and confidence: A higher level of trust is connected with written forms of communication by clients. People tend to believe that if they are reported in writing; their grievances would be taken more seriously. That’s the essence of man. Communication is also genuine via the written medium. It can be used to testify later on.
5. Timely updates and response to customers: Customers are looking for prompt response in an emergency. They can’t send you an email and wait for you to answer. Chat, is therefore, a faster way of serving such customers. A reliable chat support service ensures quick response time and easy complaint resolution.
6. Privacy: Customers may also prefer privacy protection for chat and email, especially in cases where confidential information is exposed. Support for email and chat is limited between you and the client Therefore, people consider email and chat support to be the strongest in protecting privacy and confidentiality.

These are just some of the reasons why email and chat support might be beneficial to your customers. Nonetheless, the efficiency of the entire system would still rely on your email and chat support team. So, it’s not surprising that customer support is one of today’s widely outsourced business functions.

There are other benefits of outsourcing email and chat support functions apart from the cost factor.

1. Handle large numbers of queries without effort: Originally, the number of requests is smaller, so you’d probably think it can be handled in easily. Nonetheless, as the company expands so will the concerns and inquiries that will ultimately be difficult with limited resources to handle. In such cases, outsourcing is the best choice. Outsourcing to a reliable service provider for customer support would ensure timely and quality service at all times. You need to be available to your customers 24/7 when you’re doing business. You can be free from all these concerns once you outsource. Your outsourcing service provider will handle it for you at their end so that you and your staff can focus on other key tasks.
2. Expert executives used to work on emails and phones: By outsourcing email and chat support service, you can be sure that you will have skilled customer service experts who know how to engage potential customers. I know you probably feel that the outsourced chat support executives may not have in-depth product/service experience! Well…. like any employee you’re going to have to give them some training on your company, items, etc. They gain expertise on the subject progressively with time and experience.
3. Hassle-free and cost-effective: There is no doubt that outsourcing email and chat support is a cost-effective and problems-free alternative to creating an in-house support team. Employment costs, facilities, applications, etc. contribute to the overhead expenses that can be costly for small and medium-sized companies. It’s always safer to outsource the same to a reputable and trustworthy organization so that you can keep up with your business in a trouble-free way. Initially, it may seem like a cost to you, but providing customer service through experienced professionals will boost customer engagement and conversions.
4. Drives continuous progress: Outsourcing support functions mean that you have a dedicated front-end department to answer all customer-related issues directly. There would be professionals working on it 24/7 and won’t let any question go unnoticed.

Even the smallest of bugs are detected and resolved immediately, whether it’s of website or service-related. Continuous interaction with customers also lets operators check different ways to develop the company‘s most effective customer support network.

To manage your support function, the right outsourcing partner can be a boon to your business. But before you outsource the chat support services, the key is to know and understand your needs.  So, do your research when it comes to finding chat support outsourcing services companies.