Q&A with Urth: How Outsourcing Customer Support Improved Service Quality for a Purpose-First Startup

Conscious design and positive impact—these are at the core of Urth. This Australia-based startup, formerly known as Gobe, makes premium camera accessories for creators who care about the environment. With social impact as the guiding principle of their business, it’s unsurprising that even on the back-end, their business decisions always lean towards sustainability and long-term benefits.

We spoke with Poppi Kuropatoff, Team Lead for Customer Experience at Urth, and talked about how outsourcing a customer support team at Boldr aligns with their people-first and conscious business model.

“Outsourcing customer support seemed like the best option for us moving forward. We could entrust this vital function to an expert customer service partner. On top of this, we could scale much easier than if we hired and trained internally amid the rapid growth phase we are experiencing.”

Improving Service quality Through an Outsourced Customer Support Team

What prompted Urth to consider outsourcing?

We needed a more sustainable, scalable solution to support a growing number of queries that our internal team could not efficiently manage on their own. As our audience and sales grow, the need for support grows with it. For a small team like ours, it’s become challenging to keep up with the demand for customer service alongside the other projects that require our focus.

Outsourcing customer support seemed like the best option for us moving forward. We could entrust this vital function to an expert customer service partner. On top of this, we could scale much easier than if we hired and trained internally amid the rapid growth phase we are experiencing. It’s this emphasis on focus and expertise in building an excellent customer support team that pushed us to find an outsourcing partner.

Related read: Q&A with an Australian Startup: How Coassemble Decided to Outsource Key Processes to the Philippines

What advice do you have for other Australian companies looking to outsource?

With a reliable outsourcing partner, you have to trust the process during the implementation and hand over your product or service knowledge with confidence.

“Before you start, really think about what’s essential for your business and see how the customer support team you’re outsourcing can support your vision and your values.”

It helps to have all your processes, tone and voice, and product information to make documentation and training more efficient. Before you start, really think about what’s essential for your business and see how the customer support team you’re outsourcing can support your vision and your values.

What we realized is that consistent reporting and excellent communication with your outsourcing partner can take your relationship further. We’re able to get all the information we need from the team, monitor progress, and help improve performance as we would with our internal team.

We did not need to micromanage and take care of the nitty-gritty. Now we’re focused on making sure that we treat our new team members as part of our own so that information can flow openly both ways.

Also read: Evolution of Business Process Outsourcing: From Tactical to Human-Centric

What surprised Urth about the outsourcing experience so far?

Initially, we were reluctant to let go of customer support as it is such an essential aspect of our business. And we know that a little mishap can immensely impact all the other parts of our operations. But we decided it’s time to take the plunge and see how this venture can help us accomplish greater things.

So far, it has been a fantastic experience. Boldr’s attention to detail and the level of support they provided during the initial stages up to this day is commendable. We’re impressed with how quickly the team is picking up and adapting to the complex issues they face. Ultimately, it still boils down to the quality of service we provide to our customers and how our conscious mindset manifests in all aspects of our service.

With our extended customer support team, we will be able to provide more professional and dedicated customer support. We are now offering a better experience for anyone reaching out to us, with reduced first response times and increased live chat coverage.