question

We're expanding, and I've been handling the customer service myself. Does it make more sense to outsource customer service to a third party using a ticket system, like Zendesk, or hiring someone in a work-at-home fashion for a few hours per week? We handle only two to three customer requests per day, if that makes a difference.

Mark Aselstine

Founder, Uncorked Ventures

answer

As a small business, getting to know your customers is very important, especially with an online business. Handling customer requests gives you good insight into your customers' concerns and service issues, and allows you to listen and understand what they would like your company to provide.

The person taking the call or receiving the customer communication represents you to the customer. If you wish to have someone else as the face of your business to the customer, you need to trust that they will communicate in the same fashion as you would yourself. People buying your wine may want to chat with you about what they like or ideas for different wines.

Is customer service the best task to outsource, or are there other areas of the business that you could have someone do for you? If not, then it would be appropriate to look for assistance with the requests.

A third party, such as Zendesk, has the ability to answer your customer requests even when you are busy, giving the customers an impression that you are a large organization that is easy to reach. It can log and analyze the calls and collaborate with you as needed. This would relieve you of this work to allow you to focus on other areas, but at a financial cost.

The second option you mentioned is hiring someone in a work-at-home fashion. In this case, they may not have the tracking and analysis software, and may not be available to take requests at all times of the day, causing a gap in your customer service.

With a limited number of customer requests per day, perform a cost/time calculation to determine if this is a good decision at this point in your business.

About the author

Kathy Jenson is an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.