Retail Call Center Outsourcing for Customer Service & Support: A BPO Guide

I have a friend who runs a retail chain for kids’ toys in Chennai. After a year of starting his business, it blew up and he expanded with multiple branches and an online store. Of course, with expansion comes new sets of problems. He had customers calling him throughout the day and online customers sending messages in the middle of the night. 

As he was not able to focus on the bombardment of calls he asked for help in our friend group to help him with these calls.

Are you a retail store owner like my friend? Struggling to cope with your increasing customer calls? Don’t know what’s the right thing to do?

Don’t worry; if there’s one thing life has taught us, it’s that all problems have solutions. The solution to all your retail problems in terms of customer service is retail call center outsourcing.

To make it simple retail call center outsourcing is when you employ a third party to manage all your customer calls through a call center. Let me tell you about the common problems you might have in your retail business with customer support and how outsourcing can help you solve them.

Common challenges in your retail business: Solve it all through retail call center outsourcing

Call centers are there to provide customer support, offer assistance, address your customer grievances, and deliver good customer service right? 

But those call centers that are supported to solve your problems give rise to new problems in terms of poor customer support or service. This often leads your customers to be frustrated. Let me tell you about the common problems faced by customers when contacting a retail call business and how outsourcing retail call centers can solve those problems.

Long wait times

I recently called the JIO call center to ask if my international sim has been activated as I had requested for it a few days back. I had to wait to connect with a call center agent for around 10 minutes listening to the same automated message which was very frustrating.

Now imagine your customers experiencing such long wait times. It would certainly impact their opinion on your brand, right? When customers are the center of your retail business you must always aim to provide them with the best experience.

Now how can outsourcing retail call centers help with this?

Most outsourcing partners have a large number of agents and outsourcing retail call centers to them would mean you would always have agents on standby to help out your customers. This can significantly reduce waiting times on calls which can help you to reduce customer churn and boost your customer satisfaction levels.

Rude communication

The James Lange theory which states emotion determines one’s action holds true even in the modern world. When we are angry we tend to lose all sense of control and even the slightest actions can be provocative and make things worse.

Imagine a customer is angry because the product he was very excited to use was delivered damaged. He might call customer care with some level of disappointment. So it is vital for the customer support agent to talk in an understanding manner to avoid unwanted provocation.

When 70% of the customer’s journey is dictated by how the customer feels they are being treated you must really invest in an experienced retail call center outsourcing partner like AM2PM Support for example. Outsourcing to such experienced partners would ensure that your customers only deal with experienced agents who aim to help out your customers.

Excessive automation

At the end of the day, your customers are human, right?

I agree that automated messages can solve most issues quickly or even help connect to the right call center agent with ease. But I also agree with the 86% of consumers who prefer humans to chatbots when it comes to customer service.

As a retail business, you would always keep customer needs as a priority, right? So outsource your retail call center to satisfy your customer needs and ensure human interaction. Of course, you can use modern-day AI automation or chatbots to make the contact experience smooth and efficient.

Customers are being transferred over and over again

Remember my bad experience with JIO call centers because of long waiting times to connect with an agent? Do you know what made my experience even worse? 

The incompetent and untrained agents who were not able to answer my questions kept transferring me to new agents. It is really frustrating for customers to repeat themselves every time to the new agent they have been transferred to.

Not all customer care calls are like this, for example when I called Google for support with my Google device just one agent was enough. All my questions were answered in one call and I was able to fix my device in just that one call.

Hiring customer service support and training competent, experienced agents to handle retail customer calls can be time-consuming and expensive. To deliver exceptional customer support akin to Google, consider outsourcing your retail call center to efficiently manage customer interactions.

Lack of follow-up

Imagine a customer calling a courier service wanting to know the status of their parcel. They had an alright customer experience with a decent call center agent. After a few days, they call again to ask again about the status of their parcel.

Now imagine the customer experience if they call the first time and after they cut the call they get a message with the link to track the parcel, a message asking for their feedback about the call.

This would make your customers feel valued and noticed which is more likely to increase their loyalty towards your brand. As an additional advantage if the customer does answer your feedback messages you now have valuable information to work with to improve your approaches towards customers.

Calling your customers for feedback or simply asking if the agent was able to solve your problem is a great practice when responding to customer complaints. This would make your customers realize that their input and feedback matter and it will give them hope that their problems would be resolved.

Outsourcing to an experienced and competent call center would mean your customers would get such experiences where they feel valued and appreciated. This can drastically improve brand loyalty which is a key sign for a great business.

No 24-hour support

All your customer service must be customer-centric, right? 

Imagine an IT employee who is busy with work all day and is only free at night. Now she calls regarding a problem with her recent purchase in your store. However, she receives an automated response saying that customer support calls are only until 6 PM.

That is a chance missed to serve your valuable customer. This can be avoided by outsourcing customer service to call centers like AM2PM Support which offers 24/7 assistance to your customer. With 24/7 customer support, you can ensure that your customer calls are always answered. This consistent availability to serve your customers enhances your overall customer satisfaction by a mile.

No clear way to contact customer support

In the modern digital world, we all love to have all the information at our fingertips. 

Imagine a customer places an order in your online store but it is not delivered for a long time. Now he is trying to speak to a customer care agent about this but is not able to find the contact details for your call center.

If he is not able to contact your call center to solve the issue all he can do is forget about his order and decide never to use your service again. 

Having a good call center outsourcing partner is of no use if your customers cannot contact them. So make it easy for your customers to find the contact details to ensure that you never miss out on any opportunity to serve your customers. You can take inspiration from brands like Amazon and Canon who do an excellent job on their website by making it easy to call their customer care.

Advantages of retail call center outsourcing

While retail call center outsourcing solves the above-mentioned problems its advantages aren’t limited to that. There are numerous benefits of call center outsourcing for customer service that your business can take advantage of.

Lower costs

Retail call center outsourcing is a good financial decision when it comes to your business. Hiring and training staff to answer your customer calls can be time-consuming. 

You would need to buy or rent out the necessary equipment and space for your agents to work from. All this can be a blow to your budget and is a waste of your managerial efforts.

Retail call center outsourcing can help you cut down on all these costs and save you time. Your outsourcing partner would have well-trained agents to attend calls who are equipped with the latest technologies.

Enhanced customer experience

Having a dedicated team to focus on your customers is vital in increasing the satisfaction levels of customers.

Outsourcing to partners like AM2PM Support would mean you have excellent staff who are well-trained and competent to answer your customer calls. These competent agents aim to give your customer the best experience possible which translates to an increase in overall customer satisfaction.

24/7 availability

Most outsourcing partners offer 24/7 service. Outsourcing to such partners would mean that your customers can contact the call center at any time they want. This 24/7 would ensure that you never miss out on an opportunity to serve your customers by answering their queries or addressing their complaints.

Flexibility during peak seasons and sales

As a retail business, peak seasons like Christmas, Diwali, and Halloween are when customers buy the most. More products sold would also mean more calls from customers with questions. doubts, or complaints. 

If you have an in-house team to answer customer support calls it would be difficult to manage calls during these peak seasons. This is where outsourcing your retail call center becomes effective. Top outsourcing partners in the market like AM2PM Support have the ability to scale along with your business when needed. 

They can deploy more agents to help answer the large volume of calls during peak season as they always have agents on standby.

Enhanced automation

People like to get quick answers and solutions these days. So as a customer-centric business, you give your customers what they want, right?

Outsourcing to call centers like AM2PM Support for example would mean maximum automation of the customer service process. For example, the customer service chatbot can be used by your customers on your page to quickly get answers to their questions. 

If you like to have a human touch but still want to make the customer support process efficient you can use AM2PM Support’s live chat outsourcing to handle your customers.

Common questions you might have when it comes to retail call center outsourcing

Why should I consider outsourcing retail call center services?

Retail call center outsourcing can help you save costs, enhance customer experience, and help you deliver 24/7 customer support without much effort. 

With call center outsourcing you can utilize your time in other core areas for your business ensuring growth and success.

What services can be outsourced in a retail call center?

You can outsource to different types of call centers based on the service you choose to outsource. You can outsource services like customer support, managing inbound and outbound calls, technical support, order management support, return, refund, and exchange management.

Will outsourcing call centers affect the quality of customer service?

There is a slight possibility for mediocre customer service when outsourcing to the wrong partner. So, choosing the right outsourcing partner like AM2PM Support with great industry experience and well-trained staff can enhance your customer experience extensively.

How can I ensure data security when outsourcing a retail call center?

Setting clear expectations, and choosing an outsourcing partner with advanced security measures can be vital in protecting your customer data. Choose an outsourcing partner that complies with industry regulations and has features like encrypted calls.

What factors should I consider when selecting a retail call center outsourcing partner?

You must choose an outsourcing partner that meets your company’s requirements. Key factors like advanced technology, trained staff, data security, scalability, and ability to handle large call volumes are worth considering when selecting a retail call center outsourcing partner.

Can I customize the services offered by an outsourcing partner?

Yes, most outsourcing companies are highly flexible, which means they can tailor the service provided to best fit your needs ensuring that you get the most value for your money.

How can I manage communication and collaboration with an outsourced call center team?

To ensure effective communication and collaboration with your outsourcing partner, set clear objectives and communicate them effectively. 

With that done the next step should be to establish regular communication channels like phone calls, emails, and chats. 

Finally, you should always be transparent and give regular feedback to enhance the customer service experience

What are the cost implications of retail call center outsourcing?

One of the primary advantages of retail call center outsourcing is that the cost of outsourcing customer service is significantly less than hiring and training an in-house team.

Hiring and training an in-house team to answer customer support calls is extremely time-consuming and expensive. The right outsourcing partner that fits your requirements can ensure a high ROI for your business.

How can I measure the success of my retail call center outsourcing strategy?

You can have key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics to track essential data like customer feedback on calls, call abandonment rate, average time in queue, increase or decrease in return calls, and average call handling time. 

These metrics can give you a clear picture of the call center outsourcing success, you can also use these data to make changes to the approaches if necessary.

How to choose the right retail call center outsourcing partner?

I can agree that retail call center outsourcing has plenty of amazing advantages for your business. Now how do you find the right partner for your business? Let me tell you!

Be clear about your requirements

First and foremost be clear about what you want. If you are a small retail store that needs a way to answer your inbound customer support calls, choose a partner just for those requirements. Only if you know what you want you can ask the outsourcing partner to provide that.

A successful track record

Choosing a partner who is very experienced with a successful track record like AM2PM Support is important to find success with outsourcing. You can see client testimonials or ask for their previous clients’ opinions to fix the right outsourcing partner.

Multi-lingual support

Multilingual call center outsourcing for customer service can be a game changer to elevate customer satisfaction. Humans are social animals who feel close to people similar to them. 

So speaking your customer’s language while delivering customer support can play a huge part in determining satisfaction levels. So it is always advisable to choose a multilingual call center that can deliver customer support in the language your customers speak.

Experienced agents

Inexperienced agents who are not competent can ruin your brand name by delivering poor customer support. So looking for outsourcing partners with experienced agents is vital to determine your success. As these experienced agents aim to answer all your customer’s questions and ensure a great customer experience. 

Data security

Choosing an outsourcing partner who can protect your customer data and details is key in the modern digital world. A secure call center would give the customers the opinion that their data is safe and will not be misused. This is vital to ensure the happiness of your customers.

Right cost

One of the primary reasons to outsource your retail call center is to save money. To reduce the cost of call centers choose the right partner for your business. Choosing a partner that doesn’t fit into your budget would do just the opposite of saving money. So first, fix your budget for retail call center outsourcing then see if it matches with the partner you choose.

Latest technologies

Choosing the right partner with the latest technologies is key to surviving in the modern digital landscape. The old-school methods of customer support aren’t going to cut it in today’s world.

The latest technologies like automated responses, advanced help desk software, and live chat features to provide quick responses are essential in today’s fast-paced world.

AM2PM Support is the perfect match for your needs

This is a complete guide to retail call center outsourcing. So I wasn’t going to leave you hanging without telling you about one of the best retail call center outsourcing partners for your business. 

To save you reserving time here is one of the best outsourcing partners when it comes to retail call centers. If you haven’t guessed it by the title yet it’s AM2PM Support!

AM2PM Support is an outsourcing partner that you can rely on thanks to their 10-plus years of experience in the industry.  Their utmost transparency means you can clearly state your requirements to get just what you need. Their multilingual service along with multi-industry support makes them the perfect match irrespective of your retail industry.

AM2PM Support has 5 different pricing plans that suit your business irrespective of its scale.

Pricing plans

• Startup plan for $249/month (international) or ₹9,999/month (Domestic)
• Growth plan for $449/month (international) or ₹17,999/month (Domestic)
• Upscale plan for $899/month (international) or ₹39,999/month (Domestic)
• Expansion plan for $899/month (international) or ₹49,999/month (Domestic)
• Grow Big plan for $1,099/month (international) or ₹59,999/month (Domestic)

Ring…ring…press 1 for retail call center outsourcing

Retail call center outsourcing can be a game changer when it comes to your customer service. Outsourcing to the right partner can help you elevate customer satisfaction levels with their trained staff delivering 24/7 assistance to your customer. 

Now that you know what retail call center outsourcing is, the advantages, and how to find the perfect partner you are well on your way toward success with customer support. With AM2PM Support as a viable choice irrespective of your business scale, why wait?
Get in touch with AM2PM Support today and elevate your customer satisfaction levels!