Support As A Service For Your Company: Full Guidance And Useful Tips

Published on: 16 April 2021 Last Updated on: 30 December 2024

Customer support is a powerful thing that can help your business to grow. Customers pay attention to how quickly and effectively you respond to their requests and what information you provide.

For example, according to McKinsey, 70% of customers measure their experience based on customer service level.

If the company is not ready to provide good customer service, it’s better to find other solutions than to lose customers. And one of these solutions is called support as a service.

Support as a service: what is it

Briefly, it means outsourcing customer support functions. Let’s imagine that you are managing a middle-sized company and are going to organize customer support. What options do you have?

At least two. First, you may build a customer support department inside the company. Second, you may hire an outsourced customer service responsible for clients’ communications and requests.

What choice is better? You may pick up any of these options considering available financial, human, physical, and other resources. Let’s compare the main pros and cons of both decisions.

An in-house customer support department-

Pros:

The customer support team is fully involved in all processes.
You hire every team member.
You may manage everything on your own.
The success of your external communications with the customers is in your own hands.

Cons:

It’s pretty expensive (needed equipment and installation may cost thousands of dollars).
You pay customer agents for the whole working day and not for the number of calls.
You are not flexible and can’t change the whole customer department in case something doesn’t work.

An outsourced customer support team-

Pros:

You may choose from a variety of different providers unless you find an appropriate one.
You may influence all processes that take place inside an outsourced team.
You should not think about any technical aspects of customer support.
You pay only for the delivered service.
You free up a lot of resources inside the company and use them for more critical tasks.
Your customer service team may speak different languages.

Cons:

It’s possible to get poor service because not all providers guarantee good quality.
Sometimes you may experience issues, misunderstandings, and mistakes.
Your customers may not be satisfied.

Related Reads: Making Sure You’re SOX Compliant

Support as a service: who uses it

During the last five years, support as a service became widespread among different businesses. This model has a lot in common with another approach called SaaS (software as a service) or providing cloud software solutions on demand. Support as a service is popular in:

E-commerce:

People like shopping online (especially now, during pandemic times). They also want to choose goods on the weekend or late in the evening after work. So, customer support has to be ready to provide customers with the required information at any time. In these circumstances, an outsourced customer support team is the best option for businesses.

Tech and finance business:

Hiring a customer support agent with the relevant tech or software experience may last for several months. It’s a lot, taking into account that the company loses money during this time. Professional support as a service provider knows how to find required team members fast and effectively.

Season businesses:

Before Christmas or summer months, some companies experience an increasing number of customers’ requests. As a result, their internal customer support departments cannot handle all questions and answer them quickly. An outsourced customer support team on demand may solve this issue and take over part of requests only for a limited time.

Available services-

Another essential question is what exact services an outsourced customer support team may provide. In general, all normal functions of customer support.

Calls:

According to Zendesk, more than 50% of customers prefer to use phones for communication with the brands. That means that voice customer support plays a significant role in building a positive customer experience.

Emails:

Letters are an excellent alternative to calls. They allow sharing more detailed information with customers. But for better results and effectiveness, you should establish special rules on how soon customer agents have to answer letters, tone of voice to use, etc.

Live Chats:

If your company works with millennials and young generations, think of using modern communication tools like live chat or messengers. According to Statista, live chat has growing popularity in almost all industries.

Support as a service: how to start

Here is a checklist of everything you need to do to start collaborating with an outsourced customer support company.

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What should be there in an ICO Whitepaper? Expert Take

There are a lot of people showing interest in ICOs. Nowadays many startup companies are looking for crowdfunding. ICO is a popular way to perform it. It is important to know how to start an ICO. Its guidelines have already been established and one of the required documents is the white paper. Let’s first understand the white paper. What is a White Paper? White Paper is a fundamental document for any company launching ICO. This document determines the blockchain technology. It contains a detailed description of the architect and user interaction. The document also has information such as anticipated growth, market cap, and technical details such as terms and conditions required for the use of tokens. It also contains the team information, advisors involved, and links to their past projects and Linked In profiles. Without a proper white paper, investors cannot be invited. You should include the entire prerequisite for the investment so that investors know everything. Read also: Substantial Tips On How To Invest Your Money Responsibly Now let see what all things should be there in an ICO whitepaper for the investors to look at before investing in the company. 1. Problem Always start your white paper with the problem as every company starts out with it. You can include current or future problems. Your white paper should have a detailed explanation of this particular problem along with the difficulty coming with it. 2. Propose Solution This has a direct relation to the problem mentioned in the first step. You have to provide step by step detailed solution and the ways to tackle the problem in the first step. In this section, you also have to provide all the solutions to the most common questions investors might ask. 3. Product In this section, you will be explaining your product. As you have provided a solution to the problem and the product is your solution so try to talk about it as much as you can. You will have to explain here the tech specs of the launching product, infrastructure and how will you going to develop this in the long run. You can clearly mention the detailed plan of funds as this directly correlates to the policies of the company. Try to provide the bonus if you have one. This way your investors have the full knowledge of ideas you’re trying to convey. When they understand your solution in a better way, they will try to purchase the funds. This section is extremely important and you have to be realistic about your goals to get the benefits. Providing wrong or less information can harm your reputation as a company. So be truthful and make sure you provide every detail of information as you can for the transparency purpose. 4. The Team This is a second vital aspect of your white paper. You need to introduce your team and the faces behind this project. A good team can bring a lot of investors to your project. It is better to have the team with prior experience. You can include all the details of their past experience in the Linked In profile. You can also showcase the profile of your team to attract the investors to your project. If your team is impressive then people will like to invest the funds for your company. 5. Commercialization This section is related to everything economics. It will decide how your product affects the economy. Marketing the product is crucial as people wish to know how their investment is growing in the future. You should include the roadmap as people who invested want to know how their money is utilized for the development. You must discuss how you will market your project to the public. If you have plans to advertise then you should clearly mention it in this section. You must showcase the value investors get by investing. If they come to know that you aren’t providing any value then they will not invest in the project. 6. Token Issue In this section, you will be distributing tokens. You should mention everything from bonuses, offers, and bounty rewards here. You should hire someone to promote your offering to your social media accounts. Talk about every detail of the token in this section. Remember not to leave any blank information as investors want to hear all the details from you and hate if it comes from other sources. Final words You should disclose every bit of information in your whitepaper if you want your ICO to be successful. If you have some technical details then never hesitate to include the secondary document. Remember not to add any false or modified information. If your investors come to know that you are sugar coating and don’t know about certain facts then you will lose a lot of potential investors. Create your white paper including all the necessary data along with the information mentioned in this post and earn profits for your company.

Reasons Why Some People are Sceptical of Franchises

You can see several successful franchises all over the country, and even around the world. Some of the biggest names have established themselves in various parts of the world because of their business model. Franchising is the best business opportunity that allows you to benefit from the good reputation that the brand already has. Some people are quite sceptical about franchising though. They prefer to start their business from scratch. There is nothing wrong if you decide to build everything from zero. However, it is also essential to know the truth behind franchising, and why you don't need to be too sceptical of the idea. You might not succeed: The good thing about franchises is that you are buying a name that people already know. You also receive assistance and training. You receive the equipment and supplies necessary to run the business. These things will give you a leg up as opposed to starting a business from scratch. Given the help that you receive, it is possible for you to achieve success. It does not guarantee anything though. You only have a leg up, but you still need to work hard. Franchises will give you the opportunity to get ahead, but if you don't make the most of it, the problem is yours. The brand might not be beneficial: Another reason why you are at an advantage when you buy a franchise is that you have the name of a brand that people already recognise. You don't need to work hard to promote the business. Franchising comes with built-in customers, and it is a good thing. However, some people are sceptical because of the possibility that the brand gets tainted. For instance, if one branch of a fast food restaurant has a food poisoning scandal, the other branches get affected. You can minimise this by making sure that you don't choose a company that doesn’t have a stable name in the industry. You need to review the options and find the perfect franchise. On the other hand, even if your chosen brand experiences this problem, it will eventually weather it out. Big names like Coca-Cola, KFC, or McDonald's have weathered several storms, and managed to survive. Some franchisors might not care about your success: Although it is partly true, it only happens if you choose a franchisor who has a lousy record in franchising. If you already know the negative reputation of the said company in franchising, you can jump to other choices instead. Besides, you have tools at your disposal to screen the options. Having a franchisor who cares about your success is crucial in making sure you will succeed as a franchisee. You can find new franchises UK companies offer which are top quality that will not make you sceptical about the idea of franchising at all. You will receive the help you deserve from the start, and you will continue receiving support along the way. Read Also: Top Tips For Making Business Purchases 5 Ways Construction Businesses Can Gain New Clients

What are the best business opportunities for 2019?

Information and communication technologies have favoured the creation of profitable businesses. It is now possible to manage a profitable business from your computer and in the comfort of your sofa. Creating an online business has become an excellent way to achieve financial independence by freeing yourself from the geographical constraints, schedules and the goodwill of a boss. There are many businesses for Sale and investment opportunities as on the year 2019. Among which there are 5 profitable business ideas to get you started. 5 profitable business ideas to finally get you started: Now that you've validated your business opportunities, let's tackle these business ideas that you can implement today to finally get started. This list is not exhaustive and it is up to you to make an informed choice according to your skills and your passions. 1. E-commerce: An e-commerce store is a profitable business idea that has made many fortunes. Here you get a lot of investment opportunities. It has become even more accessible with the creation of new SAAS software that can quickly create online stores without touching a line of code. With a merchant site, a company truly enters the world of e-commerce. An online store is mainly intended to sell products on the internet. It can also find information about the company as a showcase site. The payment of orders is made directly online, via a secure payment offered by major banks or with online payment processors such as PayPal. Thanks to the online shop administration interface (CMS), the company can control orders, manage and maintain inventory, add or delete products. When a user places an order and it is validated, the company is informed by e-mail details of the order in progress. The customer receives an e-mail confirming the order on the merchant site. All that remains is to send the goods and update the status of the order on the administration platform. However note that the frequency of updating the site, the supply of the site (news), the management of the promotion and the reduction campaigns will be necessary to build customer loyalty. In an e-commerce store, one get opportunities Businesses for Sale. 2. Affiliate Marketing: Another profitable business idea is affiliation. It has developed with the sale of information products on the internet. In its simplest form, affiliation involves selling the products of others. You can join an affiliate program and your role will be to promote products (physical or electronic) or services through your website. Affiliate marketing usually consists of 4 distinct elements: The publisher (affiliate), the advertiser (merchant), the consumer and the network. The advertiser, also known as the merchant or retailer name, is an individual or business that sells a product or service. The advertiser partners with publishers to promote its products and services. The publisher, also known as a marketer or affiliate, is a person who promotes products or services. It partners with the advertiser to promote the products or services of the advertiser. The publisher uses ads, links, and creates marketing campaigns to find buyers of the advertiser's products or services. Thus, for each product sold, the advertiser gives a commission to the publisher. The consumer: you already know him it's you, it's me. The consumer is the one who uses a product or service to meet a need. The network: also known as a program or platform, acts as an intermediary between the advertiser and the publisher. The network makes it easy for the publisher to find and participate in a marketing affiliate program. Its role is also to reach a larger number of advertisers and publishers. Some programs have a membership fee while others take a portion of the advertiser's profits when a sale is validated. The marketing affiliation in a few words: As an associate marketer, your site will showcase products and/or services from other companies. When one of your site visitors buys one of these products, you receive a commission percentage on the sale. No stock, no logistics and no direct contact with consumers. Your commission is almost a pure profit. Affiliation is the ultimate profitable business idea when you're new to the internet. 3. Accounting and Tax Returns: Accounting and taxation are somewhat complex technical areas. As an accountant, your role is to provide the necessary insights, to make the declarations, to do the accounting for your customers and to spare them all the pitfalls, in particular as regards the tax and accounting obligations, the problems of taxes on their companies. With a degree in accounting, you can work for your own account. All you need is a website and good marketing knowledge to sell your services. Your clientele will consist of individuals, SMEs, small businesses and perhaps some large companies. 4. Virtual Assistance: The job of Virtual Assistant comes from the United States and dates back to the 1990s. It's a way to use your skills to make it a profitable business. Today with new technologies, everyone could get started in virtual assistance. The tasks to be performed depending on your specialty. For example, if you have a good ability to search, summarize data and write, then you can apply for the position of a virtual assistant (the). Both individuals and companies pay for the services of a virtual assistant. To exercise this activity, all you need to get started is a website! The virtual assistant allows her employer to save time in the same way as a classical assistant. The only difference is that in your, you free yourself from geographical constraints. 5. Delivery of beauty boxes: You are passionate about cosmetics; this profitable business is what you need. The girl loves to try new beauty products. However, women cannot buy all the latest products in their standard size. With the delivery service of monthly beauty boxes, you can meet this wide demand. The concept is to collect samples from beauty brands that have just been released to make them discover your subscribers. Everyone wins: brands make their products known, women who discover new products, and you who sell the subscriptions to these boxes monthly. Read Also: 8 Key SEO Strategies For E-Commerce Websites How To Choose The Best Affiliate Programs To Promote On Your WordPress Blog

Support As A Service For Your Company: Full Guidance And Useful Tips