Pros & Cons Of Call Center Services In The Philippines – Is It A Good Option For Your Customer Support Operations?

For a business to succeed, it is absolutely critical to ensure efficient and effective communication with clients and customers. However, this includes everything from marketing communication and lead generation to sales and after-sale customer support. For clients, such communication may include anything from appointment scheduling and management to answering general inquiries and contractual discussions. As a result, many brands utilize professional call center services for these non-core business functions to ensure superior interactions. This also enables companies to focus on their business’s more important core responsibilities and improve outcomes. At the same time, companies can also reduce operational expenditures, resulting in improved productivity and profitability for their businesses.

However, some companies often fail to achieve their potential simply because they cannot ensure satisfactory communication with all parties involved. This is especially true for customer support operations where brands opt for in-house operations. Since these in-house operations often lack the expertise and experience to deliver top-notch industry-standard customer services, brands are unable to maximize customer engagement for improved revenue generation. Therefore, while keeping your customer support operations in-house certainly has its merits, you will also miss out on the many benefits of customer support outsourcing. And where better to outsource your customer support operations than to an offshore call center in Cebu or other cities in the Philippines, one of the most popular offshore outsourcing destinations worldwide?

In this article, we will look at some advantages and potential risks of engaging a call center company in the Philippines for your customer support operations.

The benefits of outsourcing customer support operations to a call center services company in the Philippines

In the current business landscape, where competition levels are going through the roof, every inch you gain over your competitors can significantly contribute to your business’s success. In such a situation, the professional call center services of a BPO company in the Philippines can be of great value to your brand for a multitude of reasons, including:

• Massive cost-savings

Operating an in-house customer support department can be very expensive and reduce the overall profitability of your business.

1. You must set up the necessary infrastructure and use the latest hardware and software for your call center operations. You must also update the infrastructure regularly and always utilize updated systems for your customer support operations. This will help you deliver industry-standard customer service.
2. You need to set up adequate recruitment and training processes to hire customer support operatives and equip them with the necessary knowledge and tools for efficient customer service deliveries.
3. When you have a team of call center agents handling customer interactions, you need to pay them salaries and cover other operational expenses. As a result, your overhead costs can amount to large sums of money that will surely take a massive chunk out of your annual operating budgets.

However, you can easily mitigate these expenses by choosing the professional call center services of a BPO company in the Philippines. Since they already have the infrastructure and the human resources for superior customer support operations, you do not have to worry about these expenses. As a result, you can ensure professional customer support deliveries for a minimal operational charge, saving large sums of money along the way. Additionally, outsourcing to call centers in the Philippines is much cheaper than choosing BPO companies in the United States. Companies have sometimes managed to save as much as 60% on operational expenses by choosing the Philippines over the US.

• Workforce scalability

Your customer support operations are bound to expand with the business’s growth and expanding customer volumes. Moreover, there is also a spike in the volume of incoming customer communications during special occasions around the year, such as Black Friday sales, festive seasons, etc. For businesses in the healthcare industry, disease outbreaks can increase the volume of patient inquiries by massive proportions. On such occasions, you need a customer support partner with the necessary workforce and infrastructure to match the increased demand. This is where the professional call center services of a BPO company can greatly assist your business’s smooth and successful operations. The BPO industry in the Philippines has a never-ending supply of skilled and trained professionals, allowing businesses to quickly and easily scale their customer support operations on demand.

One of the best aspects of the call center industry in the Philippines is that many professionals see a job in a BPO company as a serious career option. This is because contact centers in the country pay attractive earning and growth opportunities for professionals in the industry. As a result, even the top professionals in the Philippines don’t hesitate to work in a BPO company. So, you can always find top talent in a call center in Cebu or Manila, enabling you to deliver top, industry-leading customer engagement. And BPO companies in the Philippines often utilize this factor to help their global clients scale customer support operations according to their requirements.

• Superior CX management

The BPO sector has become increasingly competitive, especially in the last decade. As a result, contact center companies have upgraded their services to ensure superior customer interactions. This has also led to a significant improvement in the quality of customer engagement delivered by modern call centers in the Philippines. Earlier, companies outsourced their customer interactions to a BPO company in the Philippines to reduce costs and the workload on core team members. However, recent improvements in the quality of call center services in the country have prompted businesses to opt for these companies for their superior-quality customer engagement practices. This will invariably lead to improved brand reputation and excellent customer relationships for your business, helping you retain the lion’s share of the customer base in your target demographics. This will also help you improve your revenue generation through increased sales volumes to new and existing customers.

For the past few years, BPO companies have begun to focus on customer experience management over simple customer support solutions. Today, it is absolutely imperative for you to deliver superior and satisfactory customer experiences through personalized solutions and increased customer-centricity. Moreover, when purchasing from brands, modern customers value CX more than the price or quality of products/services. As a result, even brands are opting for BPO companies that prioritize CX management through their professional call center services. This is why outsourcing to a call center in the Philippines would be a great idea, ensuring superior customer engagement with premium contact center services across industry verticals and communication channels.

• Improved competencies & outcomes

Let’s face it, your business’s core competencies are what matters at the end of the day. If you are unable to deliver good-quality products/services at competitive prices. The quality of your customer support operations wouldn’t really matter that much. Customers are often willing to stick with brands even if they have to pay a little extra for the products or services. However, customer support quality has become uncompromisable in the current competitive business landscape. As a result, your choice of call center services will significantly impact your ability to retain customers and promote brand loyalty. This is where BPO companies in the Philippines trump their counterparts in other popular outsourcing destinations worldwide. Call centers in the country train their operatives to deliver personalized solutions to customer grievances and ensure satisfactory CX delivery in every interaction.

Customer-centricity in their contact center services is one of the most attractive features that make BPO companies in the Philippines the primary choice for global clients. Call center companies in the country put in great effort in analyzing your business operations to determine specific requirements. Then, with a fair understanding of your requirements, the call center in Cebu will identify appropriate solutions and offer you a customized package and price. This will help you get the precise solutions you need while also saving money on unnecessary services. As a result, you will be able to maximize your investment in professional customer support outsourcing for superior CX management.

Potential drawbacks of outsourcing your customer operations to a call center in Cebu

While the advantages of outsourcing to a BPO company in the Philippines are plenty. You may also experience potential risks with such an association. Therefore, you must be aware of these drawbacks to ensure that you prepare well to counter any obstacle that may present itself.

• Offshore collaboration challenges

Engaging in the professional call center services of an offshore BPO company comes with its unique set of challenges. You may have to overcome multiple obstacles with your offshore call center outsourcing partnership, from onboarding-related issues to miscommunication due to language barriers. Hence, hiring a BPO company with prior industry-specific experience with another company in your location is essential.

• Limited oversight

One of the biggest drawbacks of offshore call center outsourcing is the severe limitations in overseeing your customer support operations. Since the call center company is situated in a different country, you may not have complete transparency of their operations. Hence, you need to hire a call center in Cebu that monitors agents performances and provides regular updates. Helping you regulate the quality of your customer service deliveries.

Other challenges with offshore call center services outsourcing to a BPO company in the Philippines include cultural barriers. Inadequate inter-department communications, data security risks, etc. These challenges can be easily mitigated by engaging a top, reputed BPO company in the country.