How to outsource Shopify customer service
What does it mean to outsource Shopify customer service? And, why do it?
Outsourcing customer service for your Shopify store means a competent third party, rather than your in-house team, manages support interactions with your Shopify customers.
As your Shopify business grows, there are several reasons why you will want to consider outsourcing eCommerce customer service:
Customer Support Scalability
In-house customer service is a great option for small businesses just starting out and that may not have the resources or need to outsource. However, as your Shopify business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage customer service operations in-house. This is because scaling in-house customer service involves adding expensive staff, is time consuming to manage, and can distract you and your team from your primary business goals.
By working with a third party provider, you can quickly and easily scale up or down the number of customer service agents you need to meet your needs. This includes adjustments in headcount for growth, seasonality, other variables in your business. This can be a huge advantage for Shopify stores that are growing rapidly and need to be able to respond quickly to changes in demand.
As your Shopify business grows, you will also find that more and more customers will prefer (or demand) to be communicated with in the channels they frequently visit. Early on, it may have been sufficient to offer email support only. But, you will find many customers prefer channels like live chat for pre and post sale support on your Shopify store. The same goes for social media channels and perhaps even phone support, especially if you sell a technical product through your online store.
Adding all these support channels for your Shopify store is easier said than done, but hiring a third party with all this technology infrastructure already in place can be a very cost effective way to scale your Shopify support operations quickly.
Reduce customer support costs
Speaking of costs, another benefit of outsourcing Shopify store customer service is that it can reduce your costs. We already touched on the fact that outsourced providers likely possess technologies you can leverage at a fraction of the price of purchasing the same tools on your own.
In addition, many outsourced customer service providers, Rush Order included, can offer a mix of onshore and offshore customer service agents to drastically reduce your labor spend.
To calculate the exact software and labor savings you can expect from outsourcing Shopify customer service, take Rush Order's free outsourcing calculator for a test drive. Simply input the size of your team and the calculator will show you the savings (or not).
Of course, expertise, however it is derived, also saves your business time and money. An outsourced provider has most likely integrated its customer service operations with many of its client's Shopify stores. This is certainly the case at Rush Order. Rather than spending the time and money climbing the learning curve on your own, outsourced providers are a turnkey solution with years of expertise already built in.
Better customer service technology
Outsourced customer service providers often leverage better technology than most in-house teams because they have tried and tested many tools and witnessed how those tools integrate into the Shopify customer experience. From shipping & handling calculators, to live chat, to returns management, outsourced providers have played with them all.
Also, consider the fact that customer service technology is core to the outsourced provider's "product" or service offering. Contrast this point with the common in-house view that these software tools are cost centers to be leveraged but cost-mitigated. Imagine the difference in explanation an outsourced provider gives to its board of directors when spending on big ticket customer support technologies, versus a product or retail brand explaining the same investments to its board. One party is investing in its core product (i.e. customer support as a service), while the other is spending on a necessary evil.
One party views these investments as part of its core competence, and the other party views these as (potentially burdensome) cost centers.
Over time, you can imagine how the quality of an inhouse team's technology would begin to lag further and further behind an outsourced provider with deeper pockets investing in its core offering.
Improve customer service quality
Again, outsourced providers are more likely to have dedicated technology tools like Quality Assurance software already in use and ready to deploy for you.
What is QA software? Customer service QA software helps businesses ensure that their customer service delivery is living up to expectations. QA typically includes a variety of tools that allow businesses to test and track the quality of their customer service, as well as tools that help them to identify and fix any problems with live agent responses and communication.
Outsourced providers typically employ full time QA supervisors who, with the benefit of QA software, analyze agent emails, chat sessions, phone calls, etc. and provide near real-time scoring and feedback to improve agent performance. Of course, this level of rigor is difficult to replicate inhouse. Outsourcing Shopify customer support is a quick and cost effective way to take advantage of well implemented QA software and processes.
How to find a good customer service outsourcer for your Shopify store
Before making any decisions, it's important to be aware that there are three main options e-commerce brands have for their customer service strategy. Shopify brands can:
Handle customer service on their own in-house
Outsource all their support needs to a third-party provider
Use a hybrid of both in-house support for certain tasks or topics, as well as outsourced support to reduce costs and capture value from the outsourced provider's technology stack.
Each of these three options comes with its own unique advantages and disadvantages you should take into account before settling on one particular route. Each Shopify brand's situation is unique and we invite you to contact us for a free no obligation consultation if you would like to discuss this topic further.
Assuming you are proceeding with option 2 or 3, we will now share a few thoughts on how to choose the best outsourced customer service provider to meet the needs of your Shopify brand.
In the course of identifying a service provider that meets your needs, here are the top 8 things to look for in your selection process.
Culture. It is critical, when outsourcing Shopify customer service, to find a team that genuinely reflects your company culture. One test of this is whether the outsourced team is able to speak with customers in a way that aligns with your brand's identity. To aid this process, try making a list of customer-oriented attributes like "friendly", "witty", "funny", "serious / professional", etc. Every brand is different. With these criteria in mind, you can better evaluate which outsourcer will be the best cultural fit for your business. The provider should be knowledgeable about your product or service category to ensure they can provide the best possible support. They should understand the challenges and nuances of providing customer service in your niche, as well as comprehend the stage your business is in. For example, Fortune 500 companies' desired customer experiences can differ greatly from those required by venture capital-backed startups.
Omnichannel support. The outsourced provider you select should offer omnichannel support, meaning they are available through all channels that your customers use or prefer. These channels include phone, email, chat, and social media platforms, among others. Additionally, the outsourced team should be leveraging technology enabling proactive outreach to customers before they realize there may be a problem with their order, product, or shipment. All of this mirrors the points above about leveraging the outsourced provider's existing technology stack.
Happy agents create happy customers. It can be tough to keep morale high and create happy customer service agents, but it's important to find a company that can do this. Your outsourced support team should be able to provide agents with the resources they need to succeed. They should also offer plenty of training and development opportunities. Furthermore, the team should establish a work environment that is conducive to teamwork and collaboration. It should also be fun and motivating. To get an idea of how reliable each provider is, research their employee turnover rate, particularly among frontline customer service agents, but also mid-level supervisors and management. Learn more about agent morale and creating happy customers.
Transition plan. A solid transition plan is key for Shopify customer service outsourcing. You'll want to be confident that your business and customers will experience as little disruption as possible. Here is a list of questions you should ask the potential provider:
What kind of experience does the provider have in managing similar transitions?
Who will be your main point of contact and how often will they communicate with you during the transition?
What is the cadence of communication with their own internal staff during the transition process? This will impact their ability to communicate tangible updates to you and speed the transition along.
What other roles within the company will be aligned with your account during the transition? For example, when does the QA supervisor come into the picture? Others?
How thorough are the provider's training and ramp-up plans for new agents? Is there any technology available to aid in seamless communication throughout the transition? What does a rough schedule or calendar for transition look like? Gantt charts or similar tools are helpful here. How are change requests handled throughout the transition and what do those changes cost?
Is their plan in writing? You are welcome to download Rush Order’s CX Transition Plan Template for your own use. Does your potential Shopify CX provider offer a similar plan or are they at least willing to follow your written plan?
CX quality assurance. While outsourcing customer service, you'll also want to make sure that the company has a solid quality assurance program. This guarantees your customers will have a fantastic experience and any complaints will be dealt with swiftly. Here are some aspects you can look out for:
Procedures for addressing customer complaints or concerns
Methods for tracking, measuring, and reporting customer satisfaction levels
Quality assurance audits or reviews
Understand empirical employee retention and turnover rates at the company
Customer feedback surveys
Agent hiring. A key factor to consider when looking for a customer service provider is their hiring process. How do they find and vet customer support talent? What does the onboarding program look like? Having this information will help you get an idea of how well-equipped your outsourced agents will be to deal with customers.
CX Technology. Technology should be a key deciding factor when you outsource customer service. Your provider should not only have technology that can integrate with your Shopify store, but also provide an efficient and cohesive experience for your customers. Make sure the company has a comprehensive call routing system to avoid any disruptions or issues handling high call volumes. A good Shopify customer service outsourcing company will have a tracking system to monitor customer interactions. This way, you can see how successful your initiative is. Another thing to consider is if the provider can use the technology stack that you already have in place. If you've been in business for a while and are used to certain tools and processes, it might be better to stick with what you know. Regardless, technology is key to delivering great customer experiences in today's eCommerce environment.
Pricing. As you’re continually evaluating your outsourced CX provider, make sure their pricing model is adaptable so your business can continue to grow without being restricted or running negative margins. Check the terms of any agreement carefully, and ask questions like "How often can I add or remove agents?", or "What would happen if we had a sharp increase or decrease in volumes?". It might be worth asking for examples of how they've helped other clients in similar situations too.
It can be quite challenging to select the best customer service outsourcing company for your business. To increase your chances of making the ideal choice, you should treat the selection process with similar care and attention as you would if you were hiring an internal team member. After all, this customer-facing team will represent your brand.
The steps required to outsource your Shopify customer service
The period of transition is likely the most nerve-wracking part of this whole journey, as there are plenty of minute details to remember and deadlines to meet. For this reason, it's important that you take your time when choosing a customer service outsourcer--you want to make sure you're entering into this partnership with someone you know you can rely on.
After finding a customer service outsourcing company you can trust, it's now time to grow your partnership so that both parties involved can benefit. Scaling your partnership will require work and communication from both sides in order for it to be effective. To help make the most of this relationship, here are some tips:
Ensure that everyone involved in both companies understands the goals of the outsourcing project and is committed to achieving them. Don't overlook the importance of gaining buy-in from your own internal stakeholders.
To avoid confusion and duplication of work, it is essential to lay out roles and responsibilities for each team member. By doing so, everyone will be aware of what is expected of them.
Develop a written transition plan. You are welcome to download Rush Order’s Outsourced CX Transition Plan template by signing up for our email newsletter. The template is an easy two page fill-in-the-blank document you can adapt for your own purposes.
Schedule times for regular updates or check-ins and stick to the plan. This will help maintain a cohesive team while preventing any crossed wires.
Start Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) early in the relationship. QBR meetings should also be used as an opportunity to brainstorm solutions and improve processes.
How to manage the outsourced team and ensure they're providing quality customer service
This is a significant topic in its own right and we covered it extensively in our post, What it's Really Like to Manage an Outsourced Customer Service Team.
Here is the overview from that post, but we encourage you to click through and learn more about how to ensure ongoing success for your newly acquired Shopify customer service team.
Define, update, and communicate your customer experience goals throughout your organization
Build and manage a training program for your outsourced team
Set expectations and provide feedback regularly to your team via a structured quality assurance program
Set ground rules for communication between your outsourced team and your internal team
Work with your in-house staff on how to best leverage the outsourced customer service team
Create and manage an executive dashboard to monitor progress across your customer service operations. We strongly recommend implementing a CX balanced scorecard for your Shopify customer service team as well. This post includes a downloadable scorecard template for your immediate use.
Celebrate successes and learn from failures
Parting Thoughts
Rush Order is on a mission to create the very best customer experiences on behalf of today's modern Shopify brands. We hope this information is helpful to you. If you haven't already done so, please join our monthly newsletter for more tips, tricks, and best practices to create the best customer experience possible for your Shopify store.
If you’d like to learn more about Rush Order's outsourced Shopify customer service solutions, please contact us. There's no pressure and no obligation.
