While many contact centers have English-speaking support agents, customers often need multilingual services. Customers that come from various locations around the world look to brands that can offer help in their native language. Here’s why contact centers should consider being multilingual.
1. English isn’t 100% comprehensible to everyone.
Even customers who speak English as a second language may have difficulty understanding complex sentences and ideas. The more in-depth their support query, the more likely it is that they’re going to have trouble communicating with an English-speaking agent. This can also cause problems when it comes to understanding things like terms of agreement or the ordering process.
2. Multilingual support gives contact centers a competitive edge.
In a market where many contact centers are not multilingual, offering support in different languages can give your business an edge. Having multilingual live agents, both on the phone and via chat, as well as a website that can be viewed in different languages are excellent marketing to
3. Speaking the customer’s first language enhances personalization.
Today’s customers want personalized, one-on-one support experiences. By being able to communicate with them in their primarily language, they’ll feel important and catered to. When a customer knows they’ll receive customized support, they’re more likely to reach out to an agent if they have a problem or question.
4. Communication will improve, which increases the chance of success.
It’s easier to cooperate with a customer if communication is clear. The customer will be able to understand that the support agent is working on their behalf and both parties will understand the other’s point of view. Fluently speaking the customer’s language decreases the chance of misunderstandings and, in turn, can help support agents increase the rate of first call resolution.
5. You’ll have a chance to analyze your market.
To decide which languages your contact center should support, you’ll need to analyze your market, possibly in a different way than you’ve done in the past. Determine the geographical areas that make up your target audience, then figure out which additional languages are needed to accommodate those customers. In addition to language, features like dialects and location-specific customs should be considered.
How to Deliver Multilingual Support
Knowing why you should offer multilingual support doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to setup your contact center to meet those needs. The first step is to recruit agents who have advanced language skills – knowing which languages you most need to support will help you narrow down your options. Offer help materials, like FAQ website pages and product support documentation, in a variety of languages. Utilize translation software for when multilingual agents aren’t available to serve a customer or to help agents communicate in languages that aren’t supported yet by the contact center. To track performance, add location- and language-specific questions to post-support surveys, such as, “What is your primary language?”
Brands that reach customers globally or that are looking to expand should prioritize multilingual customer support. Optimized customer support has a better chance of meeting customer needs, which promotes brand loyalty and credibility.
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