Ensuring your business’ long-term success can be tedious. It requires setting business goals, identifying where to invest resources, and measuring progress.
But first, you must understand the key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to your business objectives.
Understanding and utilizing these metrics should be the starting point of your strategy. KPIs can vary depending on the business function or industry, but return on investment (ROI) is one of the most utilized.
We recently interviewed our Chief Financial Officer, Laresa McIntyre, to discuss the importance of return on investment when outsourcing customer support for e-commerce. She said:
“ROI provides a clear measure of the profitability of how resources are invested, allowing businesses to make informed decisions. ROI helps identify which initiatives yield the best returns and which ones may need adjustment or which ones need to be discontinued. If you consistently monitor ROI, you can allocate resources more effectively, optimize strategies, and ensure long-term financial health.”
The Importance of Customer Support ROI in E-Commerce
The e-commerce market is ultra-competitive, and e-commerce and multilevel marketing (MLM) businesses must adopt various methods to thrive.
These methods include investing in strategies that drive customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. In line with these strategies is outsourcing e-commerce customer support.
Of course, the road to growth continues beyond finding an ideal outsourcing partner. Tough competition brings rapid industry changes.
To remain competitive, you should foster a culture of accountability and adaptability and base business decisions on data-driven insights.
Laresa McIntyre highlights the importance of tracking and understanding your ROI:
“For e-commerce businesses, ROI is invaluable because it directly ties investment to performance. It also offers insights into the effectiveness of various strategies, such as marketing campaigns, customer support enhancements, and technological upgrades. By tracking ROI, e-commerce businesses can understand which efforts drive sales and customer engagement, ultimately guiding them toward more profitable and sustainable growth.” – Laresa McIntyre, ClearSource Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Like any significant business move, ensuring your success takes consistency. Regularly tracking your ROI helps you make informed decisions about your outsourced customer support.
Factors That Shape Outsourced Customer Support ROI
According to our CFO, Laresa McIntyre, here are three factors that impact outsourced customer support ROI (supported by external data and statistics):
1. Cost Savings
With in-house teams, businesses shoulder the cost of paying full-time salaries and benefits. They would also need to invest in infrastructure, training, and other overhead expenses.
Outsourcing partners address these concerns at a lower cost. Your e-commerce business can save up to 60% of operational costs through outsourcing.
2. Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Sustainable business growth happens when customers remain satisfied and willing to stay. 95% of consumers consider customer care crucial to driving customer loyalty.
Outsourced partners address this challenge through enhanced customer experiences, highlighting the value outsourced teams bring to customer retention.
3. Operational Efficiency
Over 50% of companies outsource customer support for cost and operational efficiency because outsourcing partners often have years of operations experience in various industries.
The expertise of business process outsourcing (BPO) providers makes outsourcing the ideal customer support model for e-commerce and businesses. Outsourcing can address challenges, enhance operational efficiency, and provide consistent support during seasonal demand spikes.
7 Best Practices for Measuring the ROI of Outsourced Customer Support
Here are seven critical steps in measuring your outsourced customer support ROI:
1. Establish Baseline Metrics.
Establish baseline metrics (metrics before outsourcing your customer support), including expenses, efficiency, and customer satisfaction scores.
Set clear objectives for what you want to achieve through outsourcing because they will serve as your guiding light for future improvements.
2. Apply Comprehensive Tracking.
Monitoring your KPIs is critical to measuring your ROI.
Track performance metrics using advanced analytics tools and leverage data from channels such as CRM, call center software, or financial systems.
3. Measure Cost Savings.
Compare the costs of in-house and outsourced operations. Examine labor, infrastructure, and other relevant overhead expenses. Covering such will give you a clear picture of the cost benefits of outsourcing.
4. Track Efficiency Improvements.
Monitor changes in metrics such as Average Handle Time and First Call Resolution. These metrics communicate better performance in outsourcing partnerships.
5. Assess Revenue Impact.
Accurately measuring your ROI means understanding your outsourcing partner’s financial benefits. Document any changes in customer retention and measure revenue from cross-selling and up-selling.
6. Analyze Long-Term Gains.
Determine how outsourcing changed your business’ customer lifetime value. Consider how improvements could impact your brand reputation and market position.
7. Conduct Regular Assessments.
Sustainable growth requires adaptability. You can achieve this by performing quarterly or bi-annual assessments of your outsourcing team. The results from these assessments are vital to adjusting your strategy and maximizing returns.
How To Maximize Your Outsourced Customer Support ROI
Our Chief Financial Officer, Laresa McIntyre, discussed four ways your e-commerce business can ensure a positive ROI when outsourcing customer support:
- Partner with a BPO with a proven track record and expertise in your industry.
- Define specific goals for customer support. Be consistent in measuring performance against these targets.
- Use advanced tools and technologies to enhance efficiency and service quality.
- Ensure continuous training and quality assurance to maintain high service standards.
Industry-Leading Customer Support Solutions
ClearSource has delivered exceptional customer support solutions to many industry leaders for years. We understand the value of providing outstanding service while remaining adaptable.
Our scalable solutions address the many challenges faced by e-commerce and MLM businesses. We invest in our team of experts to ensure our partners’ growth. We leverage data-driven insights to ensure continuous improvements and informed decision-making.
Learn how ClearSource can maximize your outsourced customer support ROI. Get in touch with one of our experts today!
