What is a virtual service centre and how to set up one
Updated: Jul 23, 2020
What is a virtual service centre? And how can you set up a virtual service centre for your electronics, mobile, accessories and small appliance business
With the surging demand of small appliances, mobile, accessories, electronics and other small gadgets the chances are that the use of these is going to be more than the normal.
For example consumers would be now using their headphones a lot more than they did in the past. This could be due to being on conference calls through the day or watching movies or listening to music.
Small appliances and especially handheld items tend to have a shorter shelf life due to wear and tear, accident and other damages.
There are also a certain percentage of products that may leave the factory but may reach the consumer in a non-working condition. (Defective as Discovered on Arrival)
As a brand that is selling products to consumer specially electronics, IT, mobile and small gadgets you may find it challenging to provide after sales service for the following reasons:
The product is a small ticket size and does not justify having a full service centre for it
The range of products may be very wide and hence holding spare parts for each SKU may be difficult
With constant product upgrades and innovation, keeping stocks of old spare parts is another challenge
Hiring staff and technicians to manage a service centre is an expensive task that requires huge financial commitment.
With the advent of the new way of life and working, consumers could be offered an alternate way to be served for post sales:
Have a dedicated customer service line to be able to answer consumer queries on a timely basis. Social media is increasingly being used as a place to get customer service whereas that also causes damage to the brand as it is also the place where lot of potential and existing customers are present
Have a clear product replacement policy published on your website and in every other communication that the consumer gets including the in-pack communication
Setup a virtual service centre whereby your customers can send defective goods and get replacements (subject to adhering to your replacement policy) without having to visit an actual service centre
Setting up a virtual service centre needs the following essential components:
A good ticketing and CRM system that also allows you to create a workflow between different departments responsible for customer care
Web forms that can be published online for consumers to enter details about their product so that this information is received in a standardised format at the virtual service centre
Toll free line that enables the consumers to reach your call centre
A receiving centre for consumers to be able to ship their defective products. Such receiving centres should have processes in place to be able to verify products that are being received and to make a record of these on arrival
Adequate replacement items to be kept at the virtual service centre for quick resolution and replacement of defective products that are within the replacement policy.
Your Virtual Service Centre can be outsourced to a good company that provides such services.
One that is experienced not only in call centre management but also has capability of warehousing and fulfilment of spares as well as replacement.
To know more about how serviceontime.com can help you create and operate your virtual service centres, please contact us