How a managed service provider can help improve your customer service and satisfaction

In the business world, the customer is king. If this mantra is implemented, your business can seriously collect on its benefits — but only if it has the time and resources to do so. Outsourcing IT is one viable solution to help you free up resources and focus on your customers.

Managed service providers (MSPs), a type of outsourced IT support, are an excellent way to improve customer satisfaction and overall service. These qualified professionals manage your company’s information systems so you don’t have to. In other words, becoming the client of an MSP allows your business more time to focus on its customers. Features of a reliable MSP — such as 24/7 support and ready infrastructure — give businesses back the time and money they need to perform other essential tasks. 

What’s more, the global managed service market is growing. It is expected to reach $309.4 billion by 2025, up from $178.5 in 2019. 

How MSPs can free up time to focus on customer service

The overarching benefit of MSPs is that they allow you to reinvest the time and money spent on onerous IT tasks into what matters — your customers. With the help of these professionals, your company can go throughout its day without being interrupted by tech problems that were never your specialty in the first place. You’ll get the solutions you need, when you need them, at a fixed monthly rate. 

Below are a variety of ways in which an MSP can free up time so that your business may focus on customer service:

Support from experts

Hiring a reputable MSP gives your company constant access to highly qualified professionals. Your service provider may even possess a wide range of knowledge and experience in the field of IT. The expertise can be accessed without having to recruit or hire the experts. 

One reliable point of contact

Instead of rotating through a cast of employees, you’ll have one outside team whose only intention is to provide your business with the solutions it needs. In addition to that, you’ll work with a single customer success manager. 

Ready infrastructure

Concerning cloud storage, in-house developers may need months to write the codes necessary for configuring all of your organization’s applications. MSPs, however, come equipped with ready infrastructure to help clients migrate to the cloud. All they have to do is a little tweaking to customize their cloud infrastructure to your company’s needs. 

Some MSPs may also offer you the ability to tack on cybersecurity software and antivirus protection, further safeguarding your critical infrastructure and facilitating faster, pre-emptive updates and responses to digital threats.  

Centralized systems

Ready infrastructure is also matched with a centralized system. An MSP can take all your servers and integrate them into one central data center. Company data, such as customer satisfaction and retention rates, becomes easy to access and put into action. 

Downtime is minimized 

The last thing your company wants is for an integral part of the business’s technology to be down. Every second your business isn’t fully operational, money is lost. MSP software minimizes downtime by providing 24/7 monitoring and data collection. With MSPs, any issue can be dealt with by a professional before it escalates into a full-blown problem. 

Saves time and money

Businesses usually want to save time and money — doing so means the ability to reinvest what you’ve saved back into your customers. 

MSPs are one of the easiest ways to save both time and money. Since tech malfunctions are unpredictable, and often costly, having an internal IT team can end up becoming an excessive expenditure. One pro behind an outsourced IT team is that it requires only fixed monthly payments. 

Ultimately, you’ll see lowered labor costs, as well as the elimination of some other costs. Your business won’t have to worry about recruitment, training, salaries, network problems, or downtime in the realm of IT again.

Types of support MSPs provide businesses

A reliable MSP knows how to help clients with their biggest pain points. Just as your business needs to focus on customer service, MSPs do too. Features such as self-service portals make it easier for them to answer your questions quickly and competently. 

Below are three types of services and support MSPs may provide the businesses that retain them:

Helpdesk software

Helpdesk software makes communicating with clients seamless. User-friendly and intuitive services help your customer service resp navigate their issues quickly and efficiently. Some helpdesk software even includes articles and tips for clients to read up on between being serviced. The software is great for businesses and clients alike. 

Self service portal

A self-service portal is another tool that may come when you hire an MSP. This portal allows businesses to create and track tickets by themselves, as well as search for tips on how to resolve an issue. 

MSPs with self-service portals grant their own businesses more time to dedicate to difficult IT problems. 

Live Chat

Although an uncommon tool among MSPs, live chats serve an essential purpose in this day and age. Instantaneous response times are highly desired now that society has gotten used to other forms of instant communication. 

For businesses, a live chat tool allows them to address a small issue of their clients’ before it becomes a big issue. 

Why good customer service is important

There are myriad reasons why providing good customer service is important — all of them relating to the fact that the customer is king. 

Below are a few reasons to keep in mind when considering MSPs:  

• Client retention: Retaining clients is less expensive than taking on new ones. Customer satisfaction is thereby key to saving costs down the road. Remember to always engage with them and prioritize building strong relationships. 

• Brand reputation: Customers talk. A happy versus a dissatisfied customer can mean the difference between good reviews and bad reviews. Brand reputation is at stake when it comes to servicing your patrons and marketing your products. 

• Prevents business failure: Never forget that your customers are the ones powering your business. Not only are they the reason you’re in operation, but they’re the reason you’re getting paid. Poor customer service can lead to business failure when your patrons are taken for granted.  

Keep the above tips in mind when determining whether an MSP is right for you and, ultimately, your customers’ satisfaction.