When running a startup company, you should constantly care for your customers. However, getting a customer service team might not be the best move here. The small size of your business might not be enough to sustain it.
An alternative here is getting a client care virtual assistant. But how does it work? And how can you get more out of this solution? Let’s explore this idea further.
What Are Client Care Virtual Assistants, Anyway?
Client care virtual assistants are VA that deal with handling client relationships. Unlike getting whole customer support teams, you often get one or two of them for the work. That makes them ideal for smaller companies with fewer client volumes.
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Getting a client care virtual assistant offers various fascinating benefits. These will give you a clear idea of how they can help your startup company.
Providing Greater Savings
Arguably the most significant benefit of any outsourcing effort is providing greater savings. That is more so the case with getting a client care virtual assistant. With usual outsourcing, you often have to pay for a whole team. That can be particularly costly for firms that might have a smaller requirement.
With customer service virtual assistants, you can get a smaller group. You can even get one agent if that is all you need. That reduces your operational costs. Furthermore, you can get more savings since you do not need to spend on training. These VAs are highly skilled and will be able to engage customers quickly.
Better Customer Engagements
If your business runs on a subscription model, you often engage with the same customer multiple times. That can be rather challenging since you have other customers to entertain. A client care virtual assistant can handle specific customers for you.
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Here, they will be able to provide more than just constant attention. These VAs can also deliver a more personalized service to the clients assigned to them. That will better show your customers that you are serious about catering to their needs. Additionally, they deliver consistent support that strengthens your brand image.
Greater Efficiency For Your Startup Company
Okay, so this is a fairly obvious advantage of outsourced customer support. However, it is still worth pointing out how this applies to client care virtual assistants. The main takeaway is that it can help you relieve the pressure off your team.
With their expertise, these VAs can take on some of the more complex clients. That helps your main better direct their efforts at resolving other concerns. You can also use these VAs to handle fluctuations in customer support demand.
How Your Startup Company Can get The Right Client Care Virtual Assistant
Getting a client care virtual assistant for your startup business can be surprisingly involved. While you might hire just one or two, they will be doing a lot. As such, you need to be strategic when choosing your agents.
The tasks they will handle determine the kind of client care VA you need to get. Some of the most common ones that you will see outsourced here are:
- Email support
- Phone support
- Chat support
- Upselling
- Outbound calls
- Message handling
- Helpdesk service
You need to ensure that the skills of your chosen VAs align with the tasks at hand. That ensures that they can quickly jump into the work.
In the case of Virtua Solutions, the client-care virtual assistants we deploy are part of our larger customer service team. They have years of experience doing CS work for different clients. Additionally, the setup lets us deploy them individually or as part of a team, depending on client needs.
Connecting With The Service Provider
Once you have fleshed out your service requirements, you should work closely with the provider to develop the job agreement. Here, you need to ensure that you and the provider are on the same page about the scope of the work.
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At this point, you can negotiate additional terms that might not be present in the initial job order. Here, be realistic about the increased scope. Keep in mind that this is not a full team you are hiring. Thus, you need to set clear expectations but still be aware of how feasible those expectations are.
When you sign up with us, we will assess your job order thoroughly. We then match you with the right agent in our roster. If you have extra requirements, we will determine whether we can provide them and make recommendations.
Onboarding Your Client Care Virtual Assistant
The next stage to accomplish after signing up a client care virtual assistant is onboarding them into your startup business. The goal of onboarding is not just getting the agent accustomed to your work environment. You should also synchronize your processes with them.
For instance, decide whether they will work within your business hours or operate outside of it. Both have their benefits, so you need to choose which one would suit your needs. You can also determine at this point how they will communicate with you.
Another part of onboarding is giving the agent access to the tools that you will be using. Depending on the setup, they might use these tools exclusively or in conjunction with their own. In the latter case, you should make sure these tools are compatible. Ensure your in-house agents are available to assist the external VA in getting used to the tools.
Engaging With Your Client Care Virtual Assistant
One thing that you need to make sure of when working with client care virtual assistants is that you should treat them as part of the team. Ensure that they have constant communication with other members of the team. This will make for better working relationships.
You also want to encourage knowledge exchanges between the VA and your internal team. These experts have a lot of techniques that can help your team improve their customer engagement strategies. You can also request some informal training sessions if the contract permits.
Help Your Startup Company Customers With Our Virtual Assistants
Client care virtual assistants are helpful additions to a small startup company like yours. But you need the right people by your side. We at Virtua Outsourcing are ready to give you the agents that suit your needs. Contact us today for consultations.