Forming a customer service team for a start-up company is quite a challenge. Since it is a start-up, a dedicated team that handles customer service is a distant dream. So, you have to think of a mini unit that would multi-task and take care of customer care.
How would you go forward with customer service with the limited resources that you currently have?
Multi-task
Start-up organizations have few employees and it is sensible to train resources to handle all fronts. So, it is not surprising to find the same personnel handling HR, marketing, finances and operations. You can train existing personnel to handle customer service calls and mails. A start-up would not really see major volumes of customer service requests in the initial days. When you find the right people who handle customer service efficiently, make sure you train them well and also retain them long term. It is a terrible mistake to let go of quality personnel in a start-up, considering the effort both sides have put in to be trained and getting trained.
Automate
As much as you can, automate the process. When a customer mails or calls regarding a service request, document it with every minute detail there is. Invest in a good automation system that helps the process. An acknowledgement mail, even when it’s automatically generated from the customer care department, goes a long way. Most queries are repetitive and they can be handled by voice recorded messages. By automating, you greatly reduce man hours that are required to run the process. So, your staff from other departments can handle this along with their other duties.
Hunt
It is a good idea to hire interns and train them to handle customer service. Interns are not as expensive as regular employees are and if you find the intern good enough, you should think of hiring them part time or full time. Interns are a good choice whether it is customer service or other arenas you are looking to staff. You can look at universities nearby and interview students who are willing to do internships with you. Customer service positions require excellent communication skills. They should also be able to understand all possible customer queries. So, this is what you must look for, when you interview candidates.
Document
The most important aspect of good customer service is efficient documentation. Every request should be uniquely identified. It should be tracked periodically until it gets resolved. If you promise to resolve it within a stipulated time, do it. Managing this with limited resources can be a problem if you don’t plan it well.
Outsource
If the volume of customer service requests gets bigger than what can be handled by your existing staff members AND if you are unwilling to hire more members to take care of it, you can think of outsourcing the process.
