As a startup with a small budget, it’s challenging to determine which tasks to outsource and which to manage yourself. According to the team at supportyourapp.com, the answer depends on your service or product and target market. The more complex the product, the sooner you need professional support services.
If you develop software or games, for example, it’s worth taking a lesson from the 2021 Final Fantasy 14 release. The launch was more successful than predicted, leading to digital copies selling out. However, the lesson is not in the short supply of the product but rather the lack of support for customers.Square Enix let clients down during the launch with long queue times and lagging servers. Had they planned better, they could have employed customer support professionals and additional server space. While they nailed the marketing aspect, the administrative failure cost them fans. Now that we’ve looked at one cautionary tale let’s examine whether outsourcing customer support is a good option for your startup.
Are You in the Tech Industry?
Software developers are excellent at coding, setting up the correct software architecture, and similar tasks. However, to them, operating the program is simple. Therefore, you must wonder if they are the best people to explain how to use your program to clients with few tech skills. Are your developers able to dumb things down enough so that your customers will understand? More importantly, do you want your highly-skilled consultants answering questions about how to startup the program?
Hiring support consultants as your software begins to gain traction may be a wise move for a tech-based product. At the very least, consider hiring professionals to deliver reliable technical support in the event that your clients need it. With other industries, you can be guided by your clients and their needs.
The Benefits of Outsourcing
Outsourcing is nothing new, but it has never been utilized on this scale before. Thanks to technological advances, however, it’s now simple to access support services from across the globe. This fact is to your advantage because it allows you to pick from the best in the business. You can go outside your geographical area to find first-class support at more reasonable rates as well.
You can find a team that will take an interest in your business growth. A company that partners with you to ensure mutual success.They will work with you to understand your product and ensure that the consultants representing you do as well. The result is a seamless customer service interaction. The client will think that they are dealing with someone working at your company rather than a third party. However, unlike in-house consultants, here the costs are significantly less, and you have access to flexible staffing.
Imagine if Square Enix had foreseen the chaos during their launch and hired professionals. They could have increased their team numbers with expert consultants for the launch period and reduced the team size again afterward. They could have found a multilingual team with consultants from several countries. This would have been quite useful as consumers from across the globe queued for the game. You would need to perform further checks to ensure compatibility, naturally. These would include the company’s:
● experience within your industry,
● track record and reputation
● length of time in operation
● ability to adapt to your needs
In Conclusion
Is outsourcing the right choice for your startup? It may be if you are a tech company or are finding it challenging to manage the customer queries you have at present. Unfortunately, many startups falter due to being unable to scale up quickly enough. With outsourced support, you can be ready when the opportunity strikes, ensuring your clients have a seamless transition.
