The importance of having after-hour customer service

You can never predict when your customers will have concerns or issues with your products or services. What happens if your customers need assistance after your regular business hours? Open Access BPO discusses how you can handle your after-hour customers.

As much as you want your customers to call you within your regular business hours, it is inevitable that some of them may have to make a spur-of-the-moment product inquiry during ungodly hours. If a prospective buyer tries to ask for assistance in the middle of the night or three hours ahead of your opening time, and your sales team is not available, chances are, the prospect will go to your competition rather than wait for you to resume operations the next day.

The advancements in technology indirectly created a mindset among customers that continuous service is always possible, hence, they expect it from almost every business. Your after-hour customers, just like your regular daytime customers, also want to reach an actual person after dialing your hotline or to receive an instant reply through live chat or e-mail. But, because of constraints, you may lose them to other businesses that can provide 24/7 customer service.

Quick solutions

Automating responses through interactive voice response (IVR) systems can be a good remedy to this problem. For example, a customer may record a question and have an automated response ask for more details to narrow your prospect's concerns. This way, you can immediately make a return call when your sales team is back the next day.

This follow-up call must eliminate unnecessary steps such as asking the customers to explain their inquiry all over again. If the concern is addressed with enough information, there's still a good chance that the lead can be converted into a successful sales deal.

Your official business website and social media account can also help you cater to your after-hour customers' needs. Since these channels are open 24/7, you can either ask them to leave inquiries in your business page or refer to helpful resources such as a dedicated page for frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The best way to go

If you think your business needs a faster sales cycle, then outsourcing is the best solution. You can either outsource inbound customer service, live chat support, or even an entire sales and marketing team. This will make sure that your business is operating non-stop, even during holidays or weekends. Product support and technical assistance can then be provided whenever the need arises.

Outsourcing can prevent your business from losing customers to competing brands. At an affordable rate, your outsourced call center in low-cost regions such as the Philippines or India can help your business become a winner in customer service without having to gather the necessary resources or hiring an in-house after-hour sales team. The quality of call center outsourcing in the Philippines is unmatched. Hence, a Philippine call center can be your best 24/7 customer service provider.