At some point, businesses of all sizes find themselves in need of technical support, whether to support day-to-day operations of the business or specifically to support customers’ needs. So, how do you know when it is time to outsource your company’s tech support needs? Let’s break down the different types of tech support, what it takes to provide those services in-house, and how to know if it is time to get outside help.
There are three general tiers of tech support.
Tier – I Support
Tier I Support is your basic level of customer support. Customer service representatives providing Tier I support have a broad understanding of the product. With Tier 1 Support, the representative usually identifies the customer’s issue and uses a FAQ or knowledge base to help solve the issue. Many companies offer Tier 1 support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Tier I teams often are used for triaging. Which is basically identifying and classifying customer issues into the appropriate solution channels. This often overlooked opportunity can really pay off, as it impacts the efficiency of handling customer issues and can directly impact the customer experience in a positive way.
Tier I Support is your easiest and most profitable tier of technical support to outsource. With proper training, an outsourced vendor can easily provide round-the-clock support to your customers quickly and efficiently solving most of the common issues. This leaves your employees open to help customers with more advanced issues.
When the Tier 1 support agent isn’t able to assist the customer, they open a support ticket and it moves to Tier II support.
Tier – II Support
Tier II Support requires technicians who have a deeper knowledge of the products and have troubleshooting skills beyond the Tier I employees. These specialists work with the customers to understand the extent of the issue and use diagnostic tools and data analysis to find the right solution. In most organizations, the technicians specialize in certain aspects of the products so customer issues are routed to the appropriate support person.
Tier – II support is another level of support that can be outsourced to a third party but requires more advanced training to develop specialists. Depending on the type of product, this level of support may need to be handled in-house.
When Tier II support cannot handle the issue, it moves to Tier III Support.
Tier – III Support
This level of support usually requires the skills of someone within the product development team. They deal with complex issues and problems that haven’t been seen before. With Tier III support, the product team collects as much information as possible from the customer and the employees dealing with the issue in Tier I and Tier II.
For most companies, Tier III support needs to be handled by in-house experts. However, by outsourcing Tier I and possibly Tier II to an outsourced vendor, this leaves the companies’ resources available for the more complex issues.
To outsource or not to outsource tech support?
As we discussed above, companies can choose to keep their technical support in-house or outsource to a vendor that is experienced in providing technical support for a variety of products.
Which you choose depends on your needs and the desired investment level. Sometimes the demand and frequency of support requests is too great or maybe you just don’t have the time to provide the amount of support needed so outsourcing becomes an attractive option.
In-house: This type is basically what it sounds like. Companies hire employees who work for them within the company to provide dedicated technical support for their customers. These in-house service costs include employees receiving payment, either an hourly rate or a yearly salary plus training costs, a benefits package, employment taxes, technology costs. and the cost of their office workstation setup as well.
Outsourcing: When a business seeks an outside company to assist them with tech support services, they are outsourcing instead of relying on in-house services. The business relies on the expertise of the outsourced company to fully handle the incoming technical situations. The cost for this type of service is usually a monthly fee with an agreement stating which specific services will be provided. Outsourcing is usually a very cost-effective way to get assistance without the expense of full-time, in-house employees. One way to even further reduce costs is to outsource to a partner with a near-shore support center like Centris.
When it comes to providing tech support for your business, Centris has the experience and best practices to proactively support end-users with high service levels and responsiveness. We are also PCI and HIPAA compliant, enabling us to provide tech support for industries handling sensitive data.
There are many benefits to outsourcing tech support for your business to Centris:
- Enhanced customer service
- Reduced costs
- 24/7 service available to customers
- Product and service insight
- Consolidation of repetitive tasks
We operate two contact centers in Mexico, providing technical support solutions in English and Spanish. We are PCI and HIPAA compliant and ensure all our programs meet necessary regulations.
Whether you are looking for technical support using traditional voice services, live chat, emails, social media, or text messaging services, you can rely on Centris to provide a high-quality experience for your customers. Outsourcing allows you to focus on your CORE business and leave your tech support to us! Spend your time more productively by letting us focus on providing your customers with outstanding support.
Do you have additional questions about outsourcing your customer support? Contact us, we’d love to help.
