8 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA)

Hiring a Virtual Assistant isn’t like hiring a traditional employee. They don’t sit in your office, absorb your company culture by default, or pick up processes through casual conversations. Success with a VA depends on how well you define their role, communicate, and set them up for success.

How much does it typically cost to hire a virtual assistant?

Ever noticed how brands like IKEA or Zara seem to respond to customers instantly online, post consistently on social media, and keep everything running smoothly? Behind the scenes, Virtual Assistants (VAs) often handle much of this work, helping these brands stay organized and efficient. But here’s the question every

Back Office Support in DTC: The Unsung Hero of Customer Experience

When you think of delivering the best customer service as a DTC brand, your mind likely jumps to fast replies, friendly chat agents, and maybe even AI handling the basics. But behind the scenes? There’s a lesser-known function quietly holding the entire customer experience together: back office support. It

Top Tools to Manage a Remote Customer Support Team Efficiently

Managing a remote customer support team is no longer just a trend. It is now a fundamental part of how modern businesses operate. Whether you are scaling globally or just getting started with customer care outsourcing, the right tools can make or break your ability to offer the best customer

Customer Support Staffing Mistakes That Could Cost Your Brand

Every brand wants a shiny 4.5+ star rating on the App Store or Play Store. But very few actually work toward earning it. Why? Because most don’t truly listen to their customers. They miss out on understanding what people need, ignore feedback, and keep repeating the same mistakes,

Ready to Hire Customer Support? Why This Week Might Be the Best Time

A few years ago, most founders didn’t really care about customer support. It wasn’t something people spoke about in pitch decks or tweeted about on founder threads. You focused on product, growth, ads, support came much later, often as a reaction to angry emails. But today? That’s

The Benefits of Hiring a Remote Customer Support Team for DTC Brands

“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” — Seth Godin If you run a DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) brand, you already know how important customer support is. Unlike traditional retail, you own the entire customer journey, from the moment someone discovers your product to long after they

5 KPIs to Track After You Hire Customer Support

Table of Contents 1. Introduction: Why Support KPIs Matter 2. 5 KPIs to Track After You Hire Support a. First Response Time (FRT) b. Resolution Time c. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) d. Ticket Volume & Distribution e. Customer Feedback Trends (Beyond CSAT) 3. Don’t Just Hire Support. Measure It.

Hire Customer Support for Industry Experience or Soft Skills? Here's What Actually Matters

If you're hiring customer support for your ecommerce or Shopify store, you're likely stuck on one key question: Should you hire someone with deep industry knowledge, or someone who simply knows how to treat people well? It feels like a tradeoff. A rep with industry experience

Hire Customer Support to Take the Weight Off Your Founder’s Plate

Let’s be real: founders already wear enough hats to open a department store. Between pitching investors, refining the product, managing a team, and firefighting chaos at 11 p.m., there’s barely time to breathe. Now add customer support to the mix. Emails. Refunds. Live chat. Instagram DMs. That

Hire Customer Support to Improve Your Online Reviews and Reputation

“This product is amazing… but the customer service? Absolute nightmare.” Sound familiar? We’ve all seen (or maybe written) reviews like that. And in 2025, where one viral Reddit thread or Trustpilot rant can dent your entire business, poor support isn't just a bad look, it’s a

How Startups Successfully Hire Customer Support Without an HR Team

Hiring customer support reps might sound like a job for a full-blown HR team. But for most early-stage startups, that luxury doesn’t exist. Resources are tight, headcounts are lean, and speed is everything. The good news? Some of the best customer service teams in fast-growing startups were built without

How to Hire E-commerce Customer Support That Scales During Peak Season

Your peak season can make or break your entire year. Most e-commerce brands spend weeks perfecting ad campaigns, prepping inventory, and building up excitement for the big sale. But when the orders start flowing in, one critical piece often falls apart - customer support. Hiring customer support that can scale

Real Stories From Founders Who Waited Too Long to Hire Customer Support

You can build the sleekest product, the flashiest ad campaign, and the most viral brand, but if your customer support is broken, it will catch up with you. And when it does, it’s not just about fixing tickets. It’s about losing trust, sales, and sometimes the entire business.

Hire Customer Support or Use AI? Here’s How to Decide

If you're running an online business, especially on platforms like Shopify, you’ve likely hit this moment: “Do I hire a customer support agent… or do I automate with AI?” It’s a real question. One that gets trickier as you grow. Because support isn’t just about

Top 8 Customer Support Skills to Look for Before You Hire

Because polite isn’t enough anymore. When a customer contacts your support team, they’re not just looking for answers, they’re judging your brand. One clumsy interaction, and you might lose a sale, or worse, a loyal customer. That’s why hiring the right support agents isn’t just

How to Budget Smartly When You Hire Customer Support for Your Brand

Hiring customer support shouldn’t feel like a luxury or a risk. Whether you're launching your Shopify brand or scaling post-product-market fit, building a smart support budget is one of the most strategic moves you can make. Many eCommerce brands either overspend on full-time agents or underinvest in

Signs It's Time to Hire a Customer Support Team for Your Online Store

When you first launch an online store, you're wearing all the hats: founder, marketer, inventory manager, and yes, customer support agent. At first, it works. You reply to every email, manage DMs, and solve shipping issues with a smile (or a deep sigh). But as your business grows,

Top Benefits of Hiring a Customer Support Representative for After-Hours Coverage | KIMCC

Benefits of Hiring a Customer Support Representative for After-Hours Coverage

In today’s always-on economy, customer queries don’t wait for business hours. They ping in at 11:30 PM, during binge-watching breaks, or just before bed. If your brand isn’t available when customers need help most, you’re not just losing questions, you’re losing conversions, loyalty, and

Top Interview Questions to Ask When Hiring a Customer Support Representative

Customer support isn’t just about solving problems. It’s about how those problems get solved, under pressure, often with incomplete context, and in a tone that reflects your brand. That’s why hiring for this role requires more than surface-level questions. The right rep doesn’t just know how

Why Every Shopify Store Needs a Virtual Assistant in 2025

Introduction Running a Shopify store in 2025 isn’t what it used to be. With customer expectations rising, competition getting sharper, and tools evolving faster than ever, simply having a great product isn't enough. Today's successful Shopify merchants are those who operate with precision, agility, and

10 Best Customer Support Outsourcing Companies in 2025

👋 Hey Shopify Founder, Thinking of Outsourcing Support? Running a business today, especially an eCommerce or SaaS startup, means juggling a hundred priorities: marketing, product, hiring, scaling, operations… and oh yeah, keeping your customers happy. Let’s be honest: support is rarely anyone’s favorite job. It eats up your time,

Things to know before you call your customers

April 2025 If you run an e-commerce business and are thinking about following up with customers by phone — especially those who’ve abandoned their carts — you might be wondering how the rules around telemarketing apply, and whether it’s straightforward to manage. The reality is, it’s much more manageable

Enhancing E-commerce with AI Virtual Assistants: A Game Changer for Shopify

Unleash AI Power! Boost Shopify Sales with Personalized Support & Insights. Increase Efficiency. Learn More at Kim.

Revolutionizing Customer Support with AI-Driven Tools

Kim uses AI to empower agents & personalize customer support. Learn how AI helps Kim deliver efficient & empathetic service.