Having a native speaker represent your brand around the world is an important way to ensure customer satisfaction and promote trust. Therefore, multilingual customer service is essential if your business operates globally. When you outsource with a multilingual customer support team handling international business becomes smoother and more effective. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this type of service.
Advantages:
Repeat business
While expanding your company, one thing that should be taken into account is the different cultures and languages you’ll encounter. Hiring multilingual customer service representatives is a way to show your customers that you care while providing them with a great experience. When a customer is satisfied with the help they’ve received, they’re more likely to use your services again, increasing customer retention and loyalty. One of the key steps towards growing your business is gaining your customers’ trust and ensuring repeat business.
Positive reviews
Customers normally check reviews about your company before buying from you. Customers who have had a negative service experience are unlikely to use your business again in the future and will, instead, choose a different company. By catering to their needs and ensuring they have the best quality service, you can avoid any upset customers, encouraging them to give positive feedback and help promote your business. Providing multilingual customer service helps you in improving customer satisfaction to the point where customers leave positive feedback. Good reviews and word of mouth allow other customers to find your business and help you establish a strong presence in your field.
Set yourself apart
A lot of customers prefer assistance in their native language, but not many companies offer it. By offering multilingual support, you can attract more customers, helping your business stand out in a crowded marketplace. This is ideal if your business operates in regions where there is commonly more than one language spoken.
Disadvantages:
Poor communication
Although there are so many advantages to multilingual outsourcing, there are also some disadvantages to be aware of. Most multilingual call centres will use English as their base language so communication can be efficient. However, this can create more problems with issues like accents, fluency and having to deal with translations. There can even be differences in cultures that make messages difficult to convey. When preparing your multilingual team, be sure to consider including ways for communication to move efficiently.
Training
Training a multilingual team is tougher than if you were training an all-English speaking group. A problem some businesses have is trying to use the same training programmes for every employee. It’ll take longer, but ensuring there is training catered to each individual is the best way to ensure everything runs smoothly. Supporting your staff by clearly communicating policies and guidelines can help you avoid any bumps in the road.
Cost
The costs involved in setting up and maintaining a multilingual customer service can add up, potentially making this quite an expensive investment for your company. Therefore, it’s important to weigh up all the variables and make a decision that aligns with your business’ requirements.
Ultimately, the decision to set up a multilingual customer service really depends on where your business currently stands and what goals you hope to achieve. Even though there are both advantages and disadvantages, with plenty of research and planning, making this decision can be simple.
