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For many years, the Philippines has been known as one of the top BPO service providers worldwide. Until now, both global and local businesses have considered this country due to the fact that it has the capacity to provide top-notch support – this is why call center outsourcing Philippines is so popular. Options such as an inbound call answering service and an outbound calling service are popular for cost savings when it comes to customer service operations.
How did the Philippines turn into the top outsourcing customer service destination? There are many reasons behind this, and that's something we're going to talk about later.
What Is Customer Service Outsourcing?
Your customer service representatives play a large role in your business, but they only have so much time. Call center support is the customer service portion of the business where direct customer transactions take place. Take an inbound call center as an example – this is directly related to customer service.
There are a variety of call center customer support services. Many mediums or omnichannel support also exists – this is where the BPO solutions or call centers have different channels that are available for their clients.
For example, a company can use email, social media, phone, or live chat to conduct customer services. This allows them to reach out to even more customers and make them happier.
In general, with call center outsourcing in the Philippines, your company and your customer service department can:
- Solve issues in a timely manner
- Server customers 24/7
- Offer multilingual support
- Take care of those overflow calls
- Reduce labor costs
The Power of Outsourced Customer Support for Businesses
To remain relevant in a highly competitive business environment, excellent customer service is essential. It helps to retain your existing customers while attracting new ones to your business. It's important to know how to choose the right call center for your business.
If your customers have a positive experience, it can help them remain loyal to your company and brand in the big picture. It can also lead to economic growth through word-of-mouth marketing while helping your business achieve a proven track record of success. On the flip side, business operations that fail to provide a positive customer experience can result in a damaged brand reputation and broken customer relationships.
According to a Qualtrics 2022 Global Consumer Report, a large majority of customers are inclined to purchase from businesses that treat them better. In fact, 60% of respondents even claimed that they'd be willing to spend more money if they were treated better by a business while 62% of respondents noted the importance of a business caring more about their needs. Many business owners underestimate the importance of a positive customer experience to give them a competitive edge with potential customers.
Even if you have a highly skilled workforce, your resources may be limited. This is where you can benefit from business process outsourcing to improve your customer interactions. Many industries benefit from the Philippines' outsourced customer support such as information technology, real estate, retail, e-commerce, insurance, and more. Many businesses want to outsource customer service to ensure quality while reducing costs. Offshore outsourcing frees up invaluable time for your employees to focus on other areas for growth.
Exploring 10 Key Benefits of Choosing the Philippines for Customer Service Outsourcing
Tapping into outsourcing companies and Filipino call center agents for assistance comes with many benefits. Whether you're hoping to improve the quality of your customer service department or tap into cost savings, the outsourcing industry offers many benefits.
1. Skilled Workforce
Outsourcing to the Philippines means you're gaining access to a highly educated workforce. The offshore team that you hire is filled with talent that can help you establish a strong brand image. Plus, finding suitable customer service representatives in the U.S. isn't always easy, and even if you are able to secure top talent, they come with a high price tag.
There are cultural differences to consider as well; customer service representatives in the U.S. might be seen as a filler job that someone takes between college semesters, but the Filipino culture isn't the same. Working at a contact center is something to be proud of and it can help businesses achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. Customer service jobs in the BPO sector are always in high demand which further motivates employees to excel at their jobs.
2. Lower Labor Cost
Using multinational companies for business process outsourcing can significantly reduce your operational costs. Both large and small businesses alike are often surprised about how affordable it is to utilize a third party for customer service. Not only are you saving a significant amount of money, but you're also saving invaluable time for your in-house employees. With an offshore staff, you won't need to worry about office space, employee benefits, or equipment. This can help significantly improve your bottom line without sacrificing the quality that your customers experience.
You'll be able to reach a larger volume of customers in less time, and you'll have a team of experts answering calls around the clock to solve issues before they snowball into something catastrophic.
3. Industry Expertise
Another advantage of outsourcing customer service to the Philippines is its strong presence across industries such as IT, healthcare, e-commerce, and more. Over time, the Philippines has established itself as a leader in various industries with a strong emphasis on proper planning, education, and training. This helps to increase your trust in your outsourced team's ability to handle various types of customer support. You won't have to worry about a decline in quality as your representatives already have a strong understanding of how your industry operates.
4. Focus on Customer Satisfaction
The Filipino outsourcing industry has a strong emphasis on customer service and satisfaction. They help to deliver a high-quality customer experience while prioritizing satisfaction with every customer interaction. For example, companies experience higher customer ratings and satisfaction metrics which results in long-term loyalty and business consistency. Regardless of the issue that your customer is experiencing, Filipino customer service agents are able to professionally handle the issue and ensure that your customers leave the conversation feeling respected and satisfied.
5. Government Support and Stability
Call centers in the Philippines have favorable government support and policies to ensure that the industry continues to thrive. The Philippine government openly supports outsourced customer service and call centers in general, continuing to support new business initiatives and startups. For example, outsourcing companies can get noteworthy tax breaks and tax holidays when they are establishing themselves to make it easier for them to compete with both local and international call centers. Significant tax breaks also help to lower the overall cost of outsourcing.
6. High Level of English Proficiency
Many Western countries may feel hesitant to turn to the Philippines for outsourced services due to fear of a language barrier. Even though the national language in the Philippines is Tagalog and there are many dialects, in reality, English is the primary means of communication in both businesses and schools. You can rest assured that any virtual assistants or customer service representatives that you hire will have no problem speaking or understanding English and that they are taught strong communication skills from a young age. In fact, GlobalEnglish, a software company, launched a survey that found the Philippines as the top performer in Business English, ranking ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom.
7. Cultural Compatibility
There's a cultural compatibility between the Philippines and Western culture that you might not be aware of. The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 300 years, so this is the origin of many of its traditions and practices. In addition, the Philippines has been a colony of the United States and Japan. It's lesser known that for a long period of time, the Dutch people were predominant foreigners in the Philippines. Over the last several hundred years, the Philippines has been a trading partner with surrounding Asian neighbors.
Due to all of its cultural influences, the Philippines has become a cultural melting pot that has inherited values and traditions from other places. With that, Filipino call center agents can adapt to any cultural differences that you may have.
8. 24/7 Availability
Many countries also rely on cost-effective services in the Philippines due to the beneficial time difference. While your in-house team cannot possibly work around the clock, having another set of team members in another country like the Philippines helps to ensure that no matter when your customers need you, they will be able to get in touch with someone for the help that they need. Even if something is needed during non-business hours, Philippines customer service outsourcing ensures that they can maintain your high level of customer satisfaction. As outsourcing services are a large part of the Filipino culture and economy, it is also normalized within their culture that it's normal to work an occasional night or weekend instead of strictly working 9-5.
9. Great Work Attitude
Creating a positive experience for your customers is what Filipino call center employees love to do. There's no denying the impressive work ethic that is instilled into this culture and they are known to be very respectful and passionate people. This is strongly due to the strong family ties that are established in the culture. They are taught to communicate in a respectful manner and to always respect their elders and peers. Roughly 81% of the 100 million Filipinos are Catholics, so much of their belief system is rooted in Catholicism. Even when customers call with complaints and negative attitudes, you can rely on your outsourced provider to respond in a positive and professional manner.
10. Reduced Legal Liabilities
Finally, the Philippines is known as the call center capital of the world partially due to its reduced legal liabilities. While other countries and sectors might have more burdens, this isn't the case for the Philippines. There is a very established labor law in the Philippines and they are generally pro-labor. You can help to protect yourself from any recourse of employing people directly or in-house. It's important that you partner with a reputable outsourced provider that understands and adheres to all legal requirements and data security standards. Rest assured that working with an outsourced supplier means that they will be managing all day-to-day and compliance facets of your team's human resources needs.
Challenges Faced by the Philippine BPO Industry
- Data Analytics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cybersecurity
These are three things that threaten the growing industry in the Philippines. Yes, artificial intelligence isn’t exactly new as it's been around for decades, but more and more businesses are now turning to them to take care of those simple and mundane tasks.
However, despite this, the BPO in the Philippines has remained strong.
Companies, combined with the government, are discovering new ways to solve the problems. They're stepping up their game and one of those ways is by educating the workforce to learn higher-level tasks.
Along with this, data analytics is becoming even bigger behind the scenes. This is due to its advantages and uses, so many companies give importance to huge data and information.
The Philippines aren't the only ones that are affected by cybersecurity – this is something that has impacted brands, companies, and corporations around the world. The European Union has stricter online regulations, so BPOs are required to pass stricter online security. Is this going to do any good? Sure, this means that customers and clients will be safe from online fraud and other illegal transactions that may take place via the World Wide Web.
Through the collaboration of the government and various companies, the BPO Industry in the Philippines is here to stay.
When Did BPO Begin in the Philippines?
Believe it or not, BPO started in 1992 – many are under the impression that it was 2000, but it was actually 1992. An international Global Resource Center instigated the beginning of the local BPO industry in the Philippines in 1992. Three years later, in 1995, Congress managed to pass the Special Economic Zone Act. In return, this led to the creation of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, also referred to as PEZA. This is why so many doors for international BPOs have opened up in the country.
Meanwhile, in 2001 and 2003, a multinational BPO and a US-based company opened up their branches in the Philippines, and this generated jobs and increased the GDP in the country.
The latest report from PSA tells us that the Philippines has a total of 851 registered BPOs and a total of 429 call centers that are registered. With figures like this, the Central Bank of the Philippines is expecting at least a 10 percent increase in revenue, which puts them at approximately US $24.5 billion.
The majority of the clients come from the United States. There's also a growing list of clients in countries like New Zealand, Australia, and Europe.
Outsource Your Call Center Services to the Philippines Today with Hit Rate Solutions
As you can see, outsourcing customer service, particularly in the Philippines, is an easy and effective way to achieve cost savings without sacrificing quality. The Philippines offers many services that can benefit your business including chat support, digital marketing, customer support, and many other services. Because the English language is widely spoken and there's a high literacy rate, you can rest assured that your outsourced team will fully understand everything that's needed to achieve success.
Hit Rate Solutions understands the importance of delivering quality customer service in today's business landscape. Our team offers you a cost-effective solution to keep your customers happy while freeing time for your employees. Contact us today to learn more about our service to the Philippines and how we can assist you.
