Customer service is a vital component of any plan for business success. For software companies, that service must include competent software support as well. Do you create an in-house support team, hire an external firm or set up an offshore software support team? Each approach comes with its own set of challenges, so it’s important to understand the pros and cons of each to help you decide which route is best for your company.

Why Provide Software Support?

As you consider your best options for creating a software support team, you should think about why you’re providing assistance in the first place. Ultimately there’s only one real reason to provide support: your customers expect it.

The fact is that they are going to have questions about your product and they will expect you to provide the answers they need quickly and proficiently. Good customer support is the one factor that will help differentiate you from the countless software providers in the market. The key is to decide how much support you need to provide and the best way to accomplish that goal.

We’ve written before about how to determine the right level of post-purchase technical support, but the approach you choose will largely depend on your company’s customer service values.  How much emphasis do you want to place on support? What do the words “great service” mean to you and your team? Will different technical questions require different teams and management styles? It’s a good idea to get everyone involved in these discussions as each member will play a role in bringing those company values to life as you implement your support plan.

Three Approaches to Customer Support

Depending on the objectives you seek to achieve, each of the options below has their advantages and disadvantages. Examine the pros and cons of each so that you can evaluate which approach will best align with your company’s customer support goals.

In-House Support

This involves setting up a software support team in-house and managing all customer enquiries internally. Establishing a team internally allows you to provide the best support as your team will have immediate access to the knowledge they need.

You have oversight and control, ensuring that you are meeting the company’s stated goals. If they need training on emerging issues or processes require updating, then you have the power to carry out the necessary changes without delay.

One of the drawbacks however is that this is by far the costliest option. It requires the greatest expenditure of resources since it requires training, supervision and resource-intensive nurturing. For much smaller and mid-sized firms, those costs can easily outweigh benefits. For companies that can afford creating a team within the firm should give it strong thought.

Third-Party Support

Another option involves outsourcing the customer support capabilities to an external provider. For most companies, this can be the least expensive option which makes it an attractive choice for many. Firms that choose this path can reserve their resources to be used in other key areas such as additional software development or important growth and expansion needs.

There are some disadvantages to consider. The fact is that any third-party provider is almost always going to be less knowledgeable about your products and that typically remains true no matter how much training and education you provide. There are also inherent control and supervision issues that will come into play whenever you rely upon external providers. Since their work ethic and management is outside of your control, it can be difficult to oversee the support given to your customers and ascertain if it’s the level that you expect.

Offshore Support

This approach has been widely used in recent decades and is becoming more and more popular. This is by far the cheapest option and typically requires the least amount of resources. It places little stress on your team, freeing them to pursue your firm’s core competencies.

On the other hand, there are flipsides to this approach. Since some low-cost support options are located in countries with different cultural environments, there are almost always language barriers involved. Customers often prefer a more localised approach to their customer service, and that can create dissatisfaction with the overall level of support service that those companies provide.

Other Factors to Consider

In addition to choosing who provides your software support, you also need to identify the channels you want to use. E-mail support is the most common and readily available channel for many companies. It can facilitate resolution for most minor and moderately-involved software challenges but is not typically the best option for dealing with more complex needs. Phone support tends to be more conducive to meeting those needs. Of course, live chat can be just as effective as phone support and can make it easier to handle multiple client requests with less personnel.