SupportYourApp

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a recently launched startup - our product is a platform for building digital community online through 1-on-1 and group video interactions. I am in charge of aspects of our operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SupportYourApp?

SupportYourApp is providing outsourced 24/7 customer support, primarily through live chat.

What were your goals for this project?

Find a provider for 24/7 live chat coverage so that the rest of the company could focus on their core work.

SOLUTION

How did you select SupportYourApp?

I interviewed seven different companies with various mixes of domestic / off-shore staff and a number of distinct business models. SupportYourApp was right in-line with our pricing expectations for off-shore staff, but provided a better structure for scaling with our company and limiting the fragmentation of its representatives across shared clients.

Describe the project in detail.

We needed tier-1 support via livechat 24/7 at a reasonable cost who could spin up quickly and scale over time with our organization. I drove the vendor selection process and made the final call. The vendor helped us roll out a more sophisticated process around conversation tagging and analytics and took on all training/hiring of their staff beyond our onboarding process.

What was the team composition?

Four standard reps, one team lead, one manager and a short-term engagement manager focused on onboarding. No changes in staffing as of yet, but as we grow our team at SYA will grow as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

They did a great job of spinning up quickly and owning the process. They integrated with our Slack fairly seamlessly and developed expertise in our product within the first few weeks. The % of live chats that had to wait more than 2 minutes for a response fell dramatically, and the % above 5 minutes was almost eliminated.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It went fairly smoothly - our manager has been hands-on throughout the process and responsive to any changes we needed to make.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're an all-around solid provider with no major issues and they seem to treat their staff very well. The company's CEO also reached out personally after our onboarding for feedback - they are very in-touch with the needs of their customers.

Are there any areas for improvement?

For startups it would be great to get additional guidance on best practices and protocols during the setup process, but it still went very smoothly. I imagine that more established clients wouldn't need the same resources we did.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a software development company specializing in providing digital services to businesses with different technical needs. I am the COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SupportYourApp?

We were looking for a team that could professionally handle a very large amount of calls and chat conversations, primarily for tier 1 and 2 technical support during business hours and occasionally after them.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to see customer satisfaction grow and resolution time decrease.

SOLUTION

How did you select SupportYourApp?

We started looking for a support vendor when the communication flow became too much to handle. So, the ability to scale the team fast and deal with a large flow of customer tickets was the key point for us. We were also looking to cut back on expenses when it came to support.

SupportYourApp was perfect for us, because they offered a very flexible solution — best value for the offer.

Describe the project in detail.

We operate within business hours Monday-Friday 9 AM-6 PM. First we only wanted a support provider that would swiftly take care of our communication with the customers over chats and occasional emails.

But with the offer from SupportYourApp we also saw that their team would be perfect for handling our calls. Their offer included 4 dedicated consultants who could also work in shifts and provide us with around-the-clock support as well as a free first month of integration.

What was the team composition?

Over time, we expanded the support team to 6 support consultants as the flow of incoming messages and calls became even bigger. It also allowed us to have an efficient rotation and have 24/7 support during hot seasons.

We did not notice a bigger-than-usual turnover inside the team, so we can say that we are very satisfied with the support consultants that we have been working with for the last 2 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After hiring SupportYourApp, our team saw a lot of resources to focus on our own business processes. Having SupportYourApp team handle all the customer communication allowed us to save a lot of time and improve our own company structure.

We started to get letters commending our technical support for the speed and accuracy of the service. Overall, the expectations for SupportYourApp's services were met by 110%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We asked the management team to conduct a QA process at least once a month as well as provide us with the numbers for the KPIs that were the most important for us — average handling time, first response time and resolution time.

And while we did have to reach out to their management team the first couple of times to ask whether the QA results will be delivered on time (which they were), after that they have been sending the numbers to us themselves without any reminders and additional questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

SupportYourApp team uses their in-house built CRM system for our product. I believe that this was one of the reasons for such a quick set up although I do not see a reason why the process would stall should they work with any other CRM system.

We were also pleasantly surprised when we learned that their team was open to integrating any of the needed communication channels upon request, so that surely influenced the way that we can communicate with our customers and vice versa.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Didn’t see anything for my team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a triage solutions manager at Accelo. We provide a SaaS service automation solution for companies that deal with service as a business, such as law offices, real estate agencies, IT experts, and so on. Our software has CRM, invoicing, and project and ticket management functionalities, and allows clients to focus more on their actual work. We automate aspects like dealing out tasks, emailing, scheduling, and so on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We were having difficulties providing adequate support to our customers at a reasonable cost. Like many advanced CRM and invoicing platforms, ours is quite complex and difficult to understand at times. So, our own support agents would have trouble understanding the product in a reasonable amount of time and addressing client issues. We were looking for a way to get a high level of dedicated support. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SupportYourApp adopts the process and training methods that the client outlines, and we can further groom it from there as the platform evolves. I set up a training document for them to utilize, with exercises to put through. I haven’t updated it since the beginning, but they’ve done so themselves after the initial training. There’s a seamless process for any new hires or switching of agents. It’s rare that they ask us a question regarding training.

The issues they’ve helped address are to do with our coverage and support. They offer 24-hour support for our clients. 

They can respond to all our clients within two hours at most, but we try to prioritize certain clients based on size, level of complexity, and so on. They usually respond to all emails, chats, and phone calls within 5–15 minutes, depending on how much they have to dig into the issue before responding.

We have regular phone support through a hotline that routes calls to one of our agents. For live chats from the website, the agents are able to see details regarding the client’s account and try to troubleshoot accordingly. People that don’t have SLAs with us are routed to the appropriate sales funnels, whether it be account management or otherwise. Regarding email support, SupportYourApp is quite well-versed in triaging and troubleshooting the issue.

Even if they have agents that are new to this, their peers and training process will ramp them up to the quality we require before they start charging us for the agent. The training is also free.

What is the team composition?

We started with 3–4, but we’re using six agents from SupportYourApp at the moment. We have four agents on the tier-two team, and two for tier-one. One of them is the team leader. If the team gets to a certain size, it’ll be nice to have more than one team leader. We also have a dedicated service manager who jumps in if there’s a higher-level issue.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We were researching outsourced companies on a whim, to see if we could get the coverage and expertise needed, and SupportYourApp stood out from the rest. They were able to address our needs and concerns in a way that we didn’t think they could.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re paying $10,000 per month, and the overall cost so far is around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SupportYourApp in March 2018, and it’s ongoing. We were hoping to expand the team, but Coronavirus has, unfortunately, hit all companies. We’ve implemented a hiring freeze to make sure that we don’t expand too much during these uncertain times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We send out customer service satisfaction surveys with most of our tickets. There is variability between the tier-one and tier-two agents, but their scores are often higher than those of our local staff. That’s a nice thing to see. They average a 4.8/5.

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

They meet deadlines and perform tasks like making sure our help pages are up to date without issue. They’re very concerned about making sure they can do the job, and they don’t make too many presumptions about whether or not they can. They like being clear, and they ask lots of questions.

The service manager was one of the original agents we hired. Knowing that there’s internal growth at SupportYourApp gives us relief knowing that there isn’t a high turnover level with agents. It’s also good to know that the service manager used to be an agent because he knows our platform in and out and has dealt with our customers. That helps us get high-quality agents when we need it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They aim to please. They’re receptive to feedback and usually deal well with criticism. With a lot of outsourced companies, the team members will give stock responses like “We understand”, and escalate things to their managers. SupportYourApp’s team tries to understand whatever we’re telling them.

They really want to know what’s best for the customer and what the mindset behind a decision was, so that they can be more autonomous in the future. We were surprised by how driven they were.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The collaboration within their own team could be improved. While they do work together well, they don’t push themselves amongst each other. If we tell them to train an agent because they’re lagging behind, that’s fine, but they don’t push each other as much as we’d like.

It could be our fault for separating them into two teams. Oftentimes, the tier-one support team would ask us a question when someone in tier two could answer it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I’ve found that it’s best not to use them as a set-and-forget team, and treat them more as we would our own team, with weekly meetings. They get invested in learning and doing new things. Just like with anyone else, stagnation doesn’t help, and a sense of progression is what they need to enjoy their job day-to-day. If the client makes sure that they have those, they’ll really excel at their roles.

Similarly to hiring within their own company, the client needs to know exactly what role they want them to fulfill, and set up clear training for them, but don't expect them to wear multiple hats. They won’t know what to do if the client just expects them to fill in the blanks.

There must be a clear regiment and examples for them to look at. A key feature to SupportYourApp’s success is their internal training process, which they evolve and use as a reference source. If what’s put in there isn’t very good, we can’t expect good agents to be rolled out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive of a company within the hospitality space. We own vacation rentals in Europe and the Middle East.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

As we’re in the hospitality industry, a lot of our work involves communicating with guests. We worked with a communication center but realized we overpaid for their services. We also lacked in-house expertise in communications and decided to look for another third-party vendor.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SupportYourApp provides agents who communicate with our guests via phone calls, emails, and messages through our application. Their team takes care of the whole customer journey from reservations to post-date communications. There’s also a sales aspect of their responsibilities. To make reservations, they collect financial information from guests and take care of payments.

What is the team composition?

We had 11 agents but reduced the number to eight because of COVID-19. Their team includes an account manager.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We conducted robust research and interviewed over 20 companies. In the end, we chose SupportYourApp.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between €12,000–€13,000 (approximately $13,900–$15,000 USD) a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement around October 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

I’m happy with the quality of their work. We can happily say that we now have communications expertise. Their agents continuously learn and adapt to our business needs. They also advise us on changes to make. Their team's service-oriented, and we’re happy to work with them.

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

We treat them as part of our team because their function’s essential to our organization. We communicate daily, and there’s a person in-house who manages the communication center. I touch base with the account manager and the company’s CEO about once a month. If there’s a topic we need to discuss, they’re available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SupportYourApp has two stand-out qualities. One is their professionalism. They’re experts in their field. Communication’s essential to us, so their professionalism eases any concerns we could have. The second quality is agility. They’re able to change on an ongoing basis. For example, their team reacted and worked with us to maximize our value during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m happy with the relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand the scope of work and the processes that scope may entail. Also, work with them to optimize the relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of an ad-blocking software service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We needed a company that could provide customer support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

SupportYourApps provides customer support. They underwent an educational stage before working with us, which has improved the overall experience for our customers. They answer calls and emails, and they do live chat support. The team even has access to our internal bug tracker, and they file bug reports on their own. They sometimes analyze the app logs and try to figure out what the problem is.

What is the team composition?

They have an account manager that works with us. If I have a question, I usually talk to their CEO, and she’s quite helpful.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We met with the CEO. We liked her presentation, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spends $15,000 monthly.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They offer our customers frontline support. They don’t just use scripts; they really try to understand what it is they’re supporting. All of the support agents understand our apps and the problems that we have. Sometimes, our customer’s issues don’t even get elevated to the second level. 

There have been a lot of benefits to bringing them on and adding phone support. We’ve seen a significant increase in the conversion rate and overall customer satisfaction. It’s important that we’re able to provide 24-hour support because we have a lot of customers in Asia, the United States, and Europe who are all in different time zones. 

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

I’d give them a 4 out of 5 for project management. My company’s head of support is the one who communicates with them. We’re happy with the current account manager. There are no problems with changing the account manager if we want to. We’ve worked with three different account managers, two of whom we were quite happy with; the other one wasn’t necessarily bad but wasn’t as good as the other two.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Companies generally offer to provide outsourced or in-house support services. I’ve found that outsourced support is generally lower quality than in-house, but it’s more expensive to do it in-house. SupportYourApp provides the same quality of services as if they were in-house, but for a more cost-effective rate. We’ve saved a lot of money by using their services rather than trying to build in-house support.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some things could be better, but I don’t have anything specific to mention.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want a good quality support service, you should definitely engage SupportYourApp. It would be beneficial to connect with the CEO because she is very involved and wants to provide the ideal service.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of customer relations service at MacPaw Inc. We develop software for Mac and Windows.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We needed help with support and chatbot development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re doing several jobs for us. They organized the support functionality at our company and set up a call center. They take phone calls, answer emails, and also do chats. They also handle our service-level agreements (SLAs). They have their own CRM system that handles calls and some emails, and then they also use Zendesk and Intercom on our side. 

They’re currently working on building out a chatbot. They’re supporting two different projects for us. We’re growing our business with them.

What is the team composition?

There are 35–40 people and two teams. Some of them are support engineers who offer the highest level of support, and some of them are first-level support for easier tasks.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We found them online. Since they are in the same city as us, we were able to meet, get acquainted with each other, and start cooperating.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2012, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We have a 95% satisfaction rate for answering customers. Our average speed of answer is 18 seconds over the phone and 30 seconds over chat, which is great considering how many customers we have. 

Together, we’ve set up the highest level of support engineers on their side. Those engineers are communicating with our engineers to constantly improve software functionality. We’ve done several optimizations of our email handling flow due to their feedback. We’ve optimized the chats several times due to their feedback as well.

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at managing the work. I don’t know if they use any project management tools on their side; we don’t on our side. We communicate via Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re flexible and have the ability to adapt to any new changes, challenges, and improvements. When we wanted to launch a new team to handle a new type of request, they set up a new team for us in less than a week. We fully educated the team and started working in a week, which was really impressive. They’re ready to perform actions quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re doing really great. They’re constantly improving.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who wants support services that can be launched really quickly should go with SupportYourApp. You won’t have to wait months to hire a local support team; you can start within a week with the external team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief customer officer of a company that provides AI solutions for natural language processing. This includes chatbots and other services for companies wishing to improve their customer experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We’re a startup, so we needed a team of people who could communicate with our customers and handle pre-sales work. It was our goal to have our hobbyists become our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled pre-sales and customer support. Their team communicates with our clients through chat and email.  

What is the team composition?

There about five people on their side communicating with our clients.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We were browsing through the market for companies that specialize in customer service. They were one of the top-ranking companies on Google, so we decided to go with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $7,200 each month for their whole team. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our work in January 2019, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Whenever we have a new client come through one of our channels, we ask them how they found our company. About 20% of our customers have found us through their sales work. Additionally, our customers often comment about the quality of their support, showing high engagement. They also leave us reviews that show they’re happy with our customer experience.  

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a dedicated project manager. That means that all of our communication goes through them rather than us directly addressing the team. The send us reports on a monthly basis and pass on all feedback. I’ve enjoyed keeping the communications centralized.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had a seamless integration process during which they offered us their CRM solution. That was a fantastic integration experience. Their ability to deliver is great as well. They’re extremely responsive, and we’re confident that our customers are getting personalized service. Their personal touch and approach make them feel like they’re talking to a person, not a robot. They’re not only efficient, but they go the extra mile to personalize. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve been able to solve all of our issues on the go. Everything has been very manageable so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They do a great job but make sure that you’re clear with your needs and goals. That will help them allocate the right resources to the project. For instance, we wanted to prioritize technical skills over soft skills, and they were able to find employees that met those requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior manager at a mobile finance and payment platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We were looking for multilingual 24/7 customer support. We also wanted a partner that could scale up with us as our company grows. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked remotely from the SupportYourApp offices to provide customer service support to our users. 

What is the team composition?

We had both dedicated and shared customer support agents. At present, there are eight people on the team. 

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

I was referred to them by multiple friends. I interviewed several other vendors, but I chose SupportYourApp based on the anticipated level of service and price. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $15,000-$20,000 each month, so we’ve invested between $45,000-$60,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our ongoing engagement at the beginning of 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Initially, I was skeptical of working with outsourced providers. However, I’ve been impressed with the work they’ve done thus far. They grew the team quickly and easily met our expectations.  

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. We had a dedicated project manager that assisted with recruitment, integration, and process management. We used Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Slack to communicate with them. Our team also used Trello to manage the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with the level of service. It was important for us to provide high-quality service to our customers. They’re dedicated to servicing us and our customers. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

While ideally, it would be nice if the price was a bit more affordable, but the quality of their work makes it a worthy investment. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend being transparent about your timeline and expectations. It’s also important to be prepared and organized. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO for Waverly Labs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We had an influx of customer support needs and requests, and we needed help addressing them. Our internal team wasn’t adequate enough.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used Zendesk. We needed to implement a support process to manage our tickets. Then they went back to find support issues that we overlooked. Then we prioritized different support needs. Then they addressed the press, media, and investor interests. So, the deliverables were regarding our communication strategy and getting on top of everything.

What is the team composition?

We had four—three support reps and an account manager.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

They were referred to us through a community we’re involved with.

How much have you invested with them?

It has fluctuated with the size of the team and our needs, but I would estimate that we’ve spent $120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We don’t use any metrics to measure productivity or performance for this relationship. It was a smooth transition. Since working with them, we’ve seen  a big improvement compared to what we were doing previously.

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

We had an account lead that communicates tasks between myself and the people assigned to our project. They also disseminate that across the support team. When we need it, we use Asana. We used Slack for communication in general, and when we onboarded them, it gave them broader access to our teams. That smoothed communication very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to respond to support tickets in general. That’s their strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that stands out. All things considered, they managed tasks and performed well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your processes and technology across their team, so they can fully onboard and understand what support needs you require. That alleviates and smooths the communication process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead product specialist for an employee training SaaS platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SupportYourApp?

We had an in-house support team, but we also needed to provide support to our customers on a 24/7 basis. We decided to look for an outsourcing staff augmentation service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We interviewed their agents before training them on how to provide support for our customers. If their request is more sophisticated or requires more technical knowledge, they will escalate the requests to our in-house software team. They do only inbound calls for us.  

What is the team composition?

Currently, we’re working with three agents.

How did you come to work with SupportYourApp?

We found different companies online. We chose SupportYourApp because they seemed like a great candidate. Their website and reviews were positive.

How much have you invested with them?

Each month, we spend $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with SupportYourApp started in October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I provide biweekly statistics to SupportYourApp for their agents. They use those statistics to check their metrics that include first-time reply and how many tickets were solved. I’m happy with their work; it’s been great.

How did SupportYourApp perform from a project management standpoint?

At first, we were involved with them a lot during the whole set up of the process. They keep us updated to train any new agents that come on board. As time goes by, we don’t have that many calls with them because everything works very. Since we’re in a good place, no calls are required, unless an incident comes up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their efficient workflow really works.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing we need to be done differently. Their team fits perfectly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should be clear on what type of customer support service they’re looking for in order to not confuse needs with the actual result. Once you put in place what it is you want, their team will work on adjusting their services in order to accommodate your needs.