Is it worthy to invest in a multilingual customer service? Of course.
In the nowadays global market, a multilingual service allows to the company and consumers to simplify the buying process of products and quality services.
When we think about a multilingual customer service, we see a clear benefit to the customer. That allows them to interact with the company in the language that they feel most comfortable with. But, what if we told you that a multilingual customer service also provides great benefits to your business? So that’s it. A multilingual customer service works both directions, offering personalized assistance to your customers and huge business advantages for your company
IMPORTANT ASPECTS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
Before starting, there are some important aspects you must take into account.
NATIVE IS ALWAYS BETTER
If you are going to offer multilingual customer service, do it with native speakers. Native speakers have a natural command of the language that allows them to interact with your customers with ease and fluency. This simplifies communication between you and your customers, ultimately contributing to a more natural customer service experience. Buyers from certain cultures may also only be willing to deal with a native speaker, regardless of your non-native representative’s background.
In a conversation with the Harvard Business Review, Priceline CEO Darren Huston explained that the Japanese, for example, are very good at identifying non-native speakers, and simply prefer to talk to native Japanese. And the same is true in the UK and Europe. German-speaking Swiss, for example, often prefer to speak with other Swiss staff members than with German-speaking Germans or Austrians.
DON’T FORGET YOUR WEBSITE
When we think about customer service, we often think of interacting with customers directly via phone, email, chat, or in person. But it is important to keep in mind that our website is also a powerful customer service tool. Internet is part of our daily life. Whether it’s looking for decorating ideas or finding a plumber, chances are we do it online.
And while many people like to interact with a customer service representative in person, others prefer to get their answers quickly and easily online. This is especially true among young people, as they are more likely to look for answers on a web page before contacting them by phone. Therefore, you will need to ensure that your website offers as comprehensive support as possible. And being multilingual is an important part of that support.
4 REASONS TO INVEST IN A MULTILINGUAL CUSTOMER SERVICE
Now that you know the importance of having native speakers and expanding the multilingual focus of your website, we are going to see 4 advantages coming from investing in a multilingual customer service.
1: CREATE LOYALTY AND CONFIDENCE
One of the biggest benefits of investing in multilingual customer service is this: building customer loyalty. Statistics from a 2020 report show that 74% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a company that offers after-sales support in their language. The same report also pointed out that more than 58% of companies that offer multilingual support have customers who are more loyal to their brand for this reason. And if we think about it, it’s easy to see why. You just have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
When you receive assistance from a company’s customer service, you want to make sure you can communicate clearly. Whether filing a complaint or getting a solution to a problem, you want your concerns to be clearly understood and you want to understand the company’s response. Being forced to communicate in a language you’re not 100% comfortable with could result in an unpleasant customer service experience, no matter how good the service or representative is. By offering multilingual customer service, you can eliminate this problem and provide your customers with express support, making them more confident in your products, services and brand.
2: IT GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE AGAINST COMPETITION
It has already become clear that multilingual customer service helps build customer loyalty and trust. What if we went further and told you that it also helps you impose yourself on your competitors? Here we explain how. Customers value their transactions and expect the same from the company they are going to do business with. This is because buying is not only a logical decision, but also an emotional one. How many times have you chosen a slightly more expensive product than another simply because the salesperson or the staff gave you excellent service? And how many times have you chosen a product just because the company offered better support options than its competitors?
It is undeniable; customer service influences us as buyers. And by investing in multilingual customer service, you’ll gain a huge advantage over your competitors. This is especially sensitive for companies working in highly competitive or oversaturated industries. If you can offer your customers personalized support in the language of their choice, you will greatly increase the chances that they will choose you over your competitors.
3: INCREASE THE SELLING POTENCIAL
Offering a multilingual service goes far beyond the relationships with your costumers. It can also expand your market opportunities. You wouldn’t open a shoe store for men with only 3 models of shoes in 4 different numbers, right? After all, you know that foot sizes and male preferences vary a lot. Instead, you will have to offer a wide range of models in various numbers in order to maximize your sales potential. The same goes for customer service. If you only offer support or information about your products in English, for example, you are seriously limiting your ability to acquire more customers.
But if you do some basic research on the language trends of your target and you use those results, you will have the opportunity to expand your business much further. This is especially interesting for European online businesses. In Europe, is very common to order products from neighboring countries and request home delivery. This means that even if your company is based in the Netherlands, for example, you can have customers from Germany, Italy, Spain and even the UK browsing your product pages at the same time. If you don’t meet the language needs of these customers, you’ll basically be saying “no” to a lot of potential sales.
4: BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY
We have focused on the business benefits of offering multilingual customer service. Now we will see how you can make your business run more efficiently. Many companies rely on phone contacts for their sales, in addition to other forms of communication. And one of the main goals of telephone communication is to reduce the time spent with a customer. The faster you can close a sale, or provide support, and move on to the next customer, the better.
One of the best ways to maximize your time when dealing with clients on the phone is to speak their language. Something as simple as an accent or misunderstanding can disrupt the content and add valuable minutes to the call. By investing in a team of specialized multilingual employees, you will be able to minimize these types of errors and maximize the productivity and efficiency of the entire company. Note: This is not only applicable to telephone communication. It is also used for email or chat service, as well as for the content of your website. The faster you can communicate with your customers, the better.
START EXPANDIND YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TODAY
We’ve just looked at some of the ways your business can benefit from multilingual customer service. If you’re ready to take the plunge and take advantage of these benefits, contact us today.
At MST Holding we have everything you need to meet the linguistic needs of your clients.
