Offshore -Call-Center

Offshore call centers are a great cost effective solution for call center needs. Call centers allow customers to receive quick and in depth answers to their questions regarding a business’s products and services. Call center agencies provide companies with the opportunity to outsource their call center services to established call center agencies. This allows businesses to focus more on continuing to develop and refine their business instead of the development and maintenance of an internal call center.

What is an offshore call center?

Offshore call centers are operated outside of the United States and are utilized by various companies for their call center services. These offshore call centers are located in countries far from the United States, as opposed to nearshore call centers which are located outside of the United States, but within a close distance. Offshore call centers are owned and operated independent from the businesses that hire them, but work closely with their clients to ensure they are providing the services that they need.

Benefits:

  • Cost effective

Offshore call centers are more affordable than onshore, and even nearshore contact centers. The economic differences in the offshore developing countries allows for a lower cost at the same level of service. This can provide companies the opportunity to utilize higher quality tools within their call center services and enhance the customer experience. 

  • Bilingual services

Due to the fact that offshore contact centers are located in varying countries all over the world, bilingual services can be offered. Providing bilingual services allows for customers from all backgrounds to receive the support that they need. It creates and inclusive atmosphere for your customers and allows all customer needs to be met no matter their language.

  • 24 hour services

Since the offshore option is more cost effective, businesses can afford to obtain 24/7 customer service. Having the option of 24/7 customer support greatly improves the customer experience and ensures customers have the help they need whenever they need it.

  • Established agents

Contact center services already have hired contact center agents that are trained and ready to learn about your business’s products and services. These customer service representatives are knowledgeable about the systems and services the outsourcing company provides which means they would only need to be trained on your company’s specific products and services.

  •  Automated Intelligence

Many offshore centers will offer affordable automated intelligence options to enhance the customer experience and provide simple communication to customers without the need of talking to a physical call center agent. These services can include options such as:

●    Omni-channel capabilities

  • Phone
  • Live Chat
  • Email
  •  SMS
  • Social Media
  • Bots
  • Speech Analytics
  • ChatBot

Drawbacks:

  •  Low control

Since offshore centers are a long plane ride away, businesses typically have less control than they would at onshore sites. While it can be challenging to manage the offshore center from another country, a trusted contact service will work well with your business to ensure a high level of management is not necessary.

  •  Security

It can prove difficult to regulate offshore contact center’s security systems and protocols. A quality contact center will provide enhanced security systems to prevent data breaches and customer information.

  • Cultural and Language Barriers

Offshore call centers residing in foreign countries can create language and cultural barriers between the agents and the customers. Though these centers offer services in English, the agent’s knowledge of English may not be all encompassing and they may have trouble should they need to stray from their script.

  • Time Zones

Offshore centers are also typically located in different time zones. This means that the normal business hours in that country would be different from the normal business hours within the United States. This is where the choice of 24/7 contact center services would be valuable.

Offshore-Call-Center

Why should your business outsource to an offshore call center?

There are many pros and cons to outsourcing to an offshore contact center. It is important to determine what matters most to you and your company when choosing a type of call center to outsource to. Offshore call centers value efficiency, 24/7 services, bilingual services, and the customer experience. 

What to look for when choosing an offshore call center:

1.    Customization

  •  Are the services customizable?
  • Can the outsourcing company provide you with services specific to your business?

2.    Security

  • How much do they value their data and customer security?
  • Do they have agent training on data security?

3.    Certifications

  • Are they PCI compliant?
  • Do they have HIPAA certifications?
  • Are they willing to obtain any other certifications?

4.    Ease of contact

  • Are they responsive to you and your business needs?
  • Is their location easy to get to?
  • Who will your business be in direct contact with?

5.    Bilingual services

  • Do they offer bilingual services?
  • How many languages can they offer?

6.   Time zones

  • Will the differing time zones affect call center agents availability?
  • Do they offer 24/7 customer support?

7.    Laws

  • Will any of the laws in the offshore country affect your business?
  • What are the labor laws?
  • How will politics within that country affect services?

8.    Technical support

  • Do they offer technical support for both the call center agents and the customers?
  • Are the technical support agents consistently available or do they only work within the offshore countries time zone?

9.    Cost

  • How cost effective is it compared to onshore?
  • What services do they offer at a lower cost?
  • What is the cost to quality ratio?

10.    Current business satisfaction

  • Are businesses who currently use their services satisfied?
  • What problems are current customers facing, if any?

Offshore Call center 1

Offshore call centers are designed to provide businesses with the opportunity to obtain a quality customer support experience without the high cost associated with onshore or internal call center services. The savings obtained from hiring an offshore company can allow for the business to acquire a greater number of high quality services that enhance the customer experience as well as the businesses perception among its customer base.

A company that offers a well run customer support center will create goodwill and a warm perception among its customers. The way a customer base feels about a company and its support team is integral in the retention of that customer base. Offshore call centers have many pros and cons, so it is important to evaluate what your business values most when making your outsourcing decisions. For this reason contact us and learn more about offshore Call centers.

About the Author: Neal Topf

Neal Topf, a seasoned contact center expert, is dedicated to transforming customer experiences. With years of industry wisdom, he guides businesses to excellence. His articles provide actionable insights for live answering, tech support, appointment scheduling, and implementing automated services, ensuring unparalleled customer experiences and operational efficiency.