Statistics show that over 68% of online shops lose customers due to ineffective support. Customers expect immediate interaction, and even the slightest delay – one second of page load time reduces conversion by 7% — or unprofessional advice means delays, abandoned baskets that reduce loyalty and increase the cost of conversion by 5-25 times.
Imagine your business losing customers simply because your support team isn’t available 24/7. This is an unprofessional approach, but in the experience of our experts at N-iX, the problem can be prevented. In fact, here is the solution — top nearshore outsourcing companies that work 24/7, providing greater convenience to your customers and strengthening the position of your business.
Importance of 24×7 support in today’s business
In the e-commerce ecosystem, fast and efficient customer service is the key to success. If your company doesn’t provide the convenience your customer expects, others, your competitors, will. Buyers are not willing to compromise with their time, they want everything at once, and this is especially true for industries related to financial services, telecoms, and in the travel industry. Every website failure or overly complex and time-consuming processes is a missed opportunity that translates into a missed sale.
The solution lies in providing 24/7 support, though — it’s a big burden: overwork, burnout and excessive labour costs for night shift workers make it a heavy task, especially for smaller companies. The next level solution, meet — nearshore teams. These are the ones that are located in neighbouring time zones and have extensive experience in 24/7 customer support. With this method, it is possible to fully delegate customer service to the nearshore team or diversify the support provided, taking some excessive workload off the core staff.
Forbes states that after companies implement 24/7 support, customer retention rates increase by an average of 30 per cent. Speaking of support, some people think they can get by with chatbots. Indeed, chatbots are great at answering simple queries, but when it comes to complex situations, human involvement is required. This applies to situations with returns, conflicts and any other non-standard issues. Alternatively, you can consider full support by an in-house team. But only Nearshore outsourcing, such as from N-iX, can solve the issue of 24/7 customer support inexpensively and as effectively as an in-house team providing 24/7 services.
How nearshore teams provide 24/7 support
A key advantage of nearshore teams is their ability to provide continuous support because they have the expertise, infrastructure and properly organised processes.
Key points that ensure the effectiveness of nearshore teams:
- Nearshore teams are already prepared for the specifics and work in shifts to provide quality support, ensuring prompt response at all times of the day.
- Modern tools such as Zendesk & Jira,help to control processes, ensure transparency and provide analytics on all customer calls.
One important element is the adaptation of the nearshore team to the specifics of the company. Joint planning of SLAs (service level agreements) helps to harmonise goals, expectations and required standards. Thus, integration into business processes simplifies interaction and speeds up the processing of requests.
One important element is the adaptation of the nearshore team to the specifics of the company. Joint planning of SLAs (service level agreements) helps to harmonise goals, expectations and required standards. Thus, integration into business processes simplifies communication and speeds up the processing of requests.
An SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a document that defines mutual obligations and parameters of service delivery between a provider and a customer.
The main elements of SLA include such items as:
- Service Level: minimum performance and quality metrics are defined, such as response time, availability, speed of request processing and resolution of technical problems.
- Metrics: clear parameters are specified by which the fulfilment of obligations is measured.
- Responsibilities of the parties: stipulates what each party is obliged to fulfil within the agreement.
- Consequences for non-compliance: penalties or other measures for non-compliance are specified and fixed in advance
SLA protects the interests of both parties. The client receives guarantees for himself, and the service provider receives clearly defined tasks and standards.
Based on real examples of companies that use nearshore teams, we can talk about the reduction of the average waiting time of customers from 6 hours to 10 minutes, which significantly increased user satisfaction.
Objections
Sceptics may be sceptical about slow communication with external teams. However, these fears are unfounded, as nearshore teams specialising in this type of service pay special attention to employee training. And one of their top priorities is to ensure quick responses and smooth communication with internal client departments. Near-shore software maintenance allows you to take the benefit of proximity of teams, which improves communication and speeds up development processes.
Offshore support can be an alternative solution. This can be a cheaper option, but the frequent problems associated with language barriers, cultural differences and large time gaps negatively affect the speed and quality of service. Therefore, nearshore teams that offer flexibility, speed, and high levels of service are clearly the best solution to help businesses seamlessly transition to 24/7 support without excessive complexity and cost.
Choosing the best nearshore partner for 24/7 support
To ensure that your 24/7 support is of the highest quality, you need to choose your nearshore partner carefully. This decision has a direct impact on the stability of service, customer loyalty, and the overall conduct and reputation of the business.
Deciding an unsuitable nearshore partner can cause your business losses, both financial and reputational. Therefore, to minimise the risks, take a detailed look at the key criteria to consider when making your selection:
- Experience and testimonials: You need to make sure that the nearshore partner has successful cases in your industry and positive feedback from clients.
- Certifications: Professional certifications that confirm the partner’s high standards.
- Tools and technology: Make sure nearshore partners use platforms that are compatible with your processes, such as Zendesk, Jira, or Freshdesk.
As an optional extra for your insurance against a failed partnership, it’s worth discussing the aforementioned SLA to make sure they meet your expectations. Be sure to offer a test period to assess the nearshore partner’s actual capabilities.
If you are considering hiring one super specialist, this is a bad idea. An individual employee may be the right solution for small tasks, but they are not capable of covering 24/7 support with the same level of scalability and reliability that a professional nearshore team offers.
With the right approach, your partner will become not just a contractor, but an organic extension of your team. Partnering with a nearshore company like N-iX that is pre-tailored to your values and goals is guaranteed to provide your customers with the highest level of support and strengthen the position of your business.
Conclusion
Modern business dictates its rules to everyone, without exception — so 24/7 support has long been a prerequisite for customer retention. And nearshore teams appear to be an effective tool to provide quality 24/7 support in a budget-friendly way. The perfect combination of professionalism, flexibility and affordability, will help your business stay competitive. Software development on-site lets you take advantage of the proximity of teams, which enhances communication and accelerates development cycles.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, there are many tools — ratings, reviews, test periods and more — to help you make the right choice.
