New Opportunities To Enhance Customer Care
As an increasing number of companies seek to outsource their customer care, support and outbound sales, the big question that arises is “where?” For years, India was the location of choice due to its extensive, high-skill, low-cost workforce. More recently, the Philippines overtook India in business process outsourcing (BPO). The Contact Center Association reported that the Philippines’ voice revenue doubled over recent years and now exceeds India by more than $200 million.
Why the Philippines? There is a strong affinity between the United States and the Philippines. There is also alignment in governments, and the regulatory environment is conducive to growth. The Philippines is an ideal location from an economic perspective. Low labor costs provide an opportunity for organizations to provide customer-facing services at very attractive rates.
But it’s not all about cost. The Philippines is one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world. Many analysts observe that the Philippines is the most westernized of the Asian markets, with the official languages Filipino (Tagalog) and English. The top three daily newspapers, magazines and a number of television shows are in English.
The Philippines workforce has a unique edge over most major worldwide markets in terms of labor quality. Many are college educated, with degrees in IT, communications, business and sciences. This enables companies to outsource everything from customer care to skilled technical services, such as engineering, architecture and software development.
Success in the Philippines is no accident. India was first to market as a viable offshore alternative, and early-adopter companies went into India from higher cost markets (the biggest adoption following Y2K). Business leaders in the Philippines learned from the BPOs in India and followed the tactics that proved successful for India, as well as the land mines to avoid. The Philippines government also provided a great deal of support, devoting resources to developing training methodologies and making sure each one of the BPO providers is training coaches.
Now that offshoring has proven its value, more businesses are outsourcing, and the Philippines has become the location of choice. However, a number of industries have yet to tap into the opportunities in the Philippines. Companies in the insurance, banking, healthcare, legal and knowledge management spaces are just now discovering the cost savings and quality of service the Philippines has to offer.
The key to success in the Philippines is training. In addition to training agents, it’s important to provide an extensive management development program to groom future leaders. Running a successful management program begins by teaching hands-on skills and training frontline managers to drive continuous improvement using variation-based management.
The Philippines is one of the most dynamic markets in the global economy. It’s growing at a phenomenal rate for services ranging from inbound sales, customer care and technical support to back office operations and collections. Take your business to the Philippines to improve customer care and your bottom line.
Recent MarketingTools: CRM Articles
-
The Snap Trap Of Loyalty May 21, 10 a.m.
Customers are not loyal; you know this, you have experienced it and, as marketers, it’s the ...
-
Going Mobile May 14, 9 a.m.
We recently commissioned a study that looked at what online marketers say that they want to ...
-
3 Steps To Socialize Your Customer Relations May 10, 9:45 a.m.
Social is a transformational and revolutionary medium that has given consumers worldwide an empowered and renewed ...
-
Infographics Help Customers Relate To Your Company And Ideas May 7, 9:50 a.m.
Mention statistics and data to most people, and they will quickly lose interest. Present this information ...
-
Social Media And The Customer Experience: Shortening The Path To Engagement April 30, 1 p.m.
Social media should not be just about listening and engaging with customers, but instead, should be about driving ...
-
Marketing That Has Been Cleared For Take Off April 19, 9:30 a.m.
In an evolving marketing world where consumers are often watching TV with a second screen in ...
-
The Enemy Mine April 16, 9:52 a.m.
When you report your social media metrics to your boss or a client, naturally you focus ...
-
The Relationship Is In The Story April 9, 9:26 a.m.
In his book All Marketers Are Liars, marketing guru Seth Godin emphasizes the importance of storytelling as a ...
-
Client Communication: Cut The Clutter And Maximize Your Message April 2, 9:53 a.m.
Aggregated. Summarized. Concise. These terms are referenced more often than not with regard to digesting news. ...
-
Customer Experience: The New Point of Brand Differentiation March 26, 11 a.m.
In an era when consumer products and services rapidly commoditize, the customer experience has become the ...
Be the first to comment on "New Opportunities To Enhance Customer Care "
Leave a Comment