As a growing company, outsourcing tends to become an essential asset in order to grow and meet the needs of customers. Tech companies like Slack and Github were able to overcome the growing pains that come with a startup via outsourcing. Although tech startups often utilize outsourcing for development, it’s not uncommon to outsource for other processes in a business. Customer service, data entry and content moderation are all other areas in which a startup can be supported. Before committing to outsourcing though, one must get acquainted with the terms used in the industry to efficiently grasp what a company truly needs help with.

The top 9 terms to know

1. Service Level Agreement (SLA)
2. Customer Satisfaction Rating
3. First Contact Resolution
4. Agent
5. In-App Support
6. Learning Management System
7. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
8. COPC Certification
9. Time to First Response

Service Level Agreement

When your company has decided to move forward with an outsourcing company like SupportNinja, a service level agreement or SLA comes next in order to clearly agree on what services will be delivered. It’s really important to make sure that both parties understand what is being asked from each other to maintain a healthy and productive relationship.

Customer Satisfaction Rating

Crucial to the success of your business, a Customer Satisfaction Rating or CSAT is a way to measure how well you’re meeting your goals as a startup. Usually by using a Customer Relationship Management program a company is able to better understand what is lacking and needs improvement.

First Contact Resolution

If we were living in an ideal world, customer support would be a breeze and maybe not even exist. In reality, we know that’s not the case. We get calls from customers that are upset, outraged or even indifferent. First Contact Resolution is the term we use when we answer the customer’s question so well that there is no need for a follow-up call. In hopes to make this a common occurrence, it’s important to note that it takes practice. The industry standard ranges between 70-75%. Although we strive to reach this standard, an impactful follow-up also proves to be a great strategy to increase customer satisfaction that one of our Ninjas actually uses daily.

Agent (Ninja, in our case)

Agents are crucial in the customer experience because they manage customer inquiries via various support channels. With the help of outsourcing companies like SupportNinja, your startup can focus on other, more pressing, parts of the business and have peace of mind that your Ninjas are working hard to keep your customers happy while also improving their skills everyday.

In-App Support

A lot of what our Ninjas can help your business with is in-app support. This kind of support allows them to connect with a customer via the current communication channel you have in place. This facilitates the customer’s journey to finding an answer by eliminating the extra step of going to where support can be found.

Learning Management System

At SupportNinja, we use learning management systems (LMS) often to onboard new Ninjas to their new companies. It facilitates the process of getting everyone up to speed and to the caliber the client expects. Stay tuned for the launch of NinjaLearn, our new LMS!

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net promoter scores have potential to both harm and help your company. Since customer support is usually the last option customers tend to use to get their questions answered, it is the most important place to meet their needs and meet them fast otherwise you may be left with a very unhappy customer ready to unleash their words of anger to the world. You don’t want that. With a well-equipped and well-informed customer support team, there is less of a chance for them to resort to throwing a tantrum on the web.

COPC Certification

To recognize an organization’s commitment to providing the best service to their customers, the Customer Operations Performance Centre certification seeks to validate and award companies this most prestigious recognition in the industry for any customer experience operation.

Time to First Response

Although hard to implement at times, especially if your outsourcing company isn’t in the same time zone, it’s necessary to prioritize this measure of success. As a customer, to see that the company is prompt in answering a question, promotes a healthy beginning of a customer-company relationship. On the other hand, it becomes frustrating to the customer when a customer support representative has yet to reach out to them. The expectations are high so it’s important to meet them to avoid frustration.

Taking the next step

There you go! Top 9 terms you should know before jumping into the outsourcing industry. Although there are many more, you have access to our outsourcing glossary that can help guide you even beyond this blog. Take the time to understand this glossary so that you and your team have the best start in your outsourcing journey!

Featured Photo by HENCE THE BOOM on Unsplash