October 1, 2019

Customer Service: The Basics

Customer Service, while simple in theory, is quite complex. Keeping customers happy so they can continue to doing business with you is becoming increasingly more difficult in the digital age of rapid information-sharing. In this 1st article of our Customer Service Best Practice series, Diane Pierson walks through a primer of what Customer Service is, how it’s changed, and why it’s important.

Establishing a Customer Service Department

Whether you’re new to running customer service or at a growing company that is just building out a formal customer service department, preparing a customer service plan for your company should start with what you already know. Like any journey, the secret to creating an effective Customer Service department is starting with a compass and a map – and refining as you move forward. In this 2nd article of our Customer Service Best Practice series, Diane Pierson walks through the basics of setting up your own customer service department.

Outsourcing Customer Service

When you’re ready to implement customer service activities, you’ll have to decide whether to hire direct employees or to leverage an outsourced call center. Companies just starting out often leverage a virtual receptionist to make sure the phones get answered, and as they grow they may outsource all aspects of customer service while others choose to keep all activities in-house. In this 3rd article of our Customer Service Best Practice series, Diane Pierson walks through the difference between an inside team versus an outsourced team and 17 questions to ask potential customer service vendors.

Recurly Raises $19.5 Million to Fund Sales, Marketing and R&D

Subscription management platform Recurly is wrapping up September in style. Last week the San Francisco-based startup announced it raised $19.5 million in Series C funding. This brings its total venture capital raised to date to $39.1 million, according to Crunchbase. The latest funding round was led by F-Prime Capital with additional investments from Silicon Valley Bank, Polaris Partners and Greycroft.