Growth and expansion are one of the priorities of an emerging business and generally, entrepreneurs struggle to devote their in-house resources to each and every area of their business.
This leads to overwork done by employees which directly affects the productivity and efficiency of your business.
So in this situation, offshore outsourcing is a great way of improving business productivity.
Outsourcing is the trend and it is estimated that global spending on outsourcing could hit $731 billion in 2023
Offshore call center outsourcing services help you to scale your business sustainability without drilling a hole in your pocket.
Thus, offshore outsourcing continues to transform economics and the current global market size of outsourced services is 92.5 billion dollars as more and more companies are outsourcing their human resources, IT, marketing, and customer support services.
Thus offshore call center service is one of the effective ways to scale your business and utilize your resources effectively.
Let us fully understand the concept of offshore call center outsourcing service and how it can help in your business growth and success.
What is offshore call center outsourcing?
Offshore as the name suggests is the call center that operates from offshore or outside the region of regular business.
The offshore call center is one type of outsourcing service where your company employs an outside service provider from a foreign country that will offer 24/7 customer support service.
Offshore call center outsourcing refers to a practice where this external partner Located in a different country and in a different time zone, manages all your business processing and customer service on behalf of your company.
An offshore call center outsourcing is an efficient way to streamline your customer service. But finding the right offshore customer service provider that works as per your business vision and goals and as per your budget is a crucial task.
So before you jump in deciding your offshore partner there are certain factors you should consider before you offshore your call center service.
Pros of offshore call center outsourcing
Let’s discuss the benefits of offshore services
Cost-effective
Globally, cost reduction is one of the primary reasons for Outsourcing. Around 70% of industries outsource due to cost benefits.
One of the primary reasons that most companies outsource their customer support services to an offshore call center is cost.
An offshore call center is significantly cheaper than an in-house customer service team.
As your in-house department can chunk up your funds in various forms like administrative and recruitment costs, physical workspace, equipment facilities, training costs, regular maintenance costs,s, etc.
Thus sending your business process offshore can help you to reduce or eliminate the above expenses and will help you to control your business expenditure and also help you to free up capital for other investments.
Better resource utilization
It is better to hire an offshore call center for your business. Nearly ⅓ of consumers would switch competitors as a result of poor customer service.
Consumer reaction to bad customer service (source – financesonline)
As an offshore company will utilize its 100% resources for your customer and thus you will utilize the best resources for your company making a win-win situation for both.
Thus leveraging customer support to an offshore call center can help help your company to shift focus to more value-added business functions.
As a result, you can concentrate more on the core areas of your company, which will help you to expand your business sustainability.
Access to skilled labor
One of the benefits of call center offshore outsourcing is your business has access to skilled representatives.
These trained agents will provide their best services at a cost-effective rate which will be beneficial for your company. The most important aspect of the customer support matrix according to customers are as below and the below aspects can be achieved by trained and skilled labor.
- Resolving the various issues in a single go
- Have detailed knowledge about the product or service.
- Have good listening skills; the client doesn’t want to repeat its issues.
- Finding customer details prior to their mention means being proactive in their work.
Thus, this can save you from the trouble of building a team from scratch and training them.
As this offshore company already invests in training and enhancing the skills of its members.
Reliable 24/7 support
Ideally, your customer service line should be reachable 24/7. But in reality, your business operates on a standard timing of 9 to 5.
Hence answering customer queries post-business hours seems Impossible for small businesses.
But with an offshore call center 24/7 customer service at a low rate seems possible. Additionally to ensure immediate customer support to keep your customers engaged live chat outsourcing is always a great option.
Thus your customer will get around-the-clock support because this offshore agent is available in a variety of time zones.
This flexible nature of customer service will allow you to meet your customer’s expectations and help you to achieve your business goals.
New market opportunities
If your business is looking to expand in the international market then an offshore call center can help you.
Not only will your offshore outsourcing partner help you determine the best approach for market entry, but they will also help you implement the correct strategy and explore another market.
Cons of offshore call center outsourcing
There are drawbacks of offshore outsourcing which you have to consider before signing your offshore partner.
Lack of control
One of the drawbacks of offshore service is the lack of control
The geographical distance can make controlling your operations tougher.
If your offshore partner doesn’t have the proper technology.
Cultural and language barrier.
One of the biggest cons of offshore outsourcing is the language and cultural barriers. This can become a big hurdle in outsourcing services.
Changes in Language accents and differences in cultural knowledge can cause misunderstanding in communication and can affect your business operations.
But if your offshore business partner provides training to its employees to familiarize themselves with the tone, culture, and brand of your company then this hurdle can be overcome.
Security risk
While outsourcing customer service to an offshore call center, you have to provide them with company data.
Thus it is natural to be concerned about the security of your company’s data and the privacy of your customer.
But this bottleneck can be overcome if adequate due diligence is maintained and credibility is checked before signing the contract.
Hence data breaches can be avoided if proper plans are adopted.
Factors to be considered while picking offshore call center outsourcing service.
There are certain factors that need to consider before offshoring your customer support services
Analyze their operational cost
One of the main reasons you should pick an offshore service provider is the cost.
Generally, offshore companies leverage on lower rates or costs, this means that offshore companies help in building cost-effective solutions.
Besides this offshore call center, outsourcing service provides a lower cost as compared to the onshore service providers.
Hence before finalizing your offshore service partner you should carefully analyze their operational cost.
Check if your outsourcing partner is including any hidden costs in the agreement because if your offshore company adds any new expenses for the modification made during the service period then your offshoring budget will skyrocket.
And one of the main reasons for picking up offshore service will be unattended.
At the same time, you must pre-plan on how much budget to allocate to offshore call center service, as this will help you in the process of choosing your offshore partner.
Review their portfolio
As you are handling your call center service to a third party located overseas it is necessary to conduct adequate due diligence.
The first thing you need to check out is the previous work done by the offshore company and evaluate their reviews and performance.
By studying the portfolio of your offshore call center service partner you can get an idea about the type of service they provide.
Also, check if they comply with common industry standards and have proper certification,
Also, verify their overseas location.
Hence due diligence is one of the important factors to be considered while selecting offshore service partners.
Language barrier
One of the drawbacks of offshore call center service partners is language. Hence while choosing an offshore call center outsourcing partner verify that their supporting agents are well-versed in your business’s regional language.
As 75% of consumers say that they are likely to buy products from companies that provide customer support in their own language.
This way it is essential to eliminate the language barrier before outsourcing call center service to the offshore service provider.
Verify cultural and time zone differences
If you are deciding to offshore your call center service make sure that the vendor offers proper training for cultural understanding.
Any type of cultural barrier can reduce customer satisfaction as cultural differences can create misunderstandings between agents and customers while having conversations.
Also, this type of cultural gap can create a poor impression on customers and will decrease customer experience.
Thus to avoid this, you have to analyze the training process of your offshore service provider and also you can customize the script and can also train agents as per your country’s culture.
Time zones might seem like a disadvantage for offshore companies, however, if used in the right direction, the time zone will not be a bottleneck but an advantage.
So Yes, you have to make sure to communicate regarding the timing of your business accurately with your service provider.
This means that any feedback that arrives post-business hours can be handled by this offshore company resulting in an increase in customer satisfaction.
Check the availability of resources
You have to check that your offshore call center has the right equipment, resources, and knowledge about your business process.
Analyzing these criteria will help you to identify the quality of service that will be provided to your customer.
Additionally, you should also verify that they should have the potential to provide service during the time of distress and have adequate backup in unforeseen circumstances.
Also, you have to ensure that this offshore call center is well equipped with the latest technology and software to provide adequate customer service.
Check for confidentiality and security concerns.
This is one of the most crucial things to consider.
As to carry out their service successfully these offshore call center agents require all customer data.
And the data shared are very sensitive and confidential hence you have to analyze that complete confidentiality is maintained over this data.
Besides this, you can also properly screen offshore companies’ hiring processes as there are high chances that some agents may use this data for personal gains.
And this cyber security breach will affect your business reputation.
Clearly define your business objectives.
Before you choose your offshore call center vendor you have to be crystal clear regarding your business objectives and goals. Nearly 85% of customer churn is due to poor customer service can be completely prevented if there is transparency and crystal-clear communication.
Bad customer experience can be avoided ( source – PATLlive )
Hence clear communication is imperative to make your offshore partner understand your business procedure and policy.
Hence open communication will help to improve the quality of service delivered and also help in maintaining consistency and efficiency.
Verify government policies
One of the important factors that you consider while deciding on offshore call centers is to understand their government policy.
Hence understanding government policy that applies to an offshore call center is necessary to sync with your policies.
Analyzing government policy will help to ensure that proper safety measures are maintained and also you can take the probable initiative to keep your data safe and secure.
Thus, in the case of offshore companies, you have to work on the legal part closely to conclude a proper contract and also help in gaining a better understanding of rules and regulations.
Wrapping up
59% of consumers have higher expectations for customer service than they did just a 1 year ago.
Customer satisfaction and staying ahead of your competitors are what tops the priority list of every business.
Offshore outsourcing will help you to keep your customer happy and satisfied in this digital world,
Where there is the multiplication of contact channels used by the customer, who has now become hyper-connected, speedy, and wants an instant response to their queries.
In this situation, offshore outsourcing will be the right toss for your business
Offshore outsourcing is one of the biggest decisions for any company, keeping in mind the benefits and limitations of an offshore service you can carefully choose the right offshore outsourcing partner.
