By outsourcing customer service operations to South Africa, businesses are saving money without sacrificing quality.
Customer service is essential to any business and has attracted enormous investment in terms of human resources, technological support and strategic thinking. According to one report, more than half of customers believe good customer service is more important than the product itself. Even so, many businesses still seem to undervalue to role customer service plays in their operation, leading to a lack of investment, poor decision making, and ill-thought-out customer strategies. The result? Customer service is becoming a key differentiator between those companies that are doing it well and those that are lagging.
Outsourcing customer service
One of the biggest areas of contention has been the role of outsourcing. Dell, BT and British Airways have all outsourced large parts of their customer service operations to countries such as India. In each case, their motives were pretty one-dimensional – cost. Wages in India are a fraction of those in the UK. With a highly educated population with a good command of English, offshoring your call centre functions to low-cost employees overseas seemed like a no-brainer.
Companies quickly faced a backlash from their customers, frustrated by difficulties of communication, long wait times and inconsistent levels of service. BT and Dell, in particular, reversed their decisions in the face of rising customer complaints regarding the falling quality of their responses to customer queries. Aviva (once Norwich Union) also had to adjust its approach, which involved moving call centre operations overseas from its base in Norwich. Complaints revolved around the loss of local jobs overseas and the poor quality of service. As customers began to vote with their feet and look elsewhere, the company struck a compromise and sought to balance its operations with domestic and local staff.
When some companies fall down on customer service, other companies take the opportunity. PlusNet, for example, placed its local call centres at the centre of its marketing campaigns and saw rapid growth as it entered the broadband market.
When BT slunk back to the UK from India, it did so with the slogan “Helping you from the UK, not overseas”.
Each of these companies failed to understand the true value of good customer service to a business. While many have seen this as a simple cost, customer service is the critical meeting point between your business and its main source of revenue, namely, your clients.
Customers have more choice than ever and have shown a willingness to switch to different providers when they feel undervalued. Bad experiences with customer service have been one of the critical points of friction. It’s no good having super-fast broadband, for example, if you can’t get the help you need when something goes wrong.
Conversely, good customer service opens up opportunities across the board. It builds long-term relationships and boosts customer retention. The cost of maintaining a relationship with an existing company is a fraction of acquiring new customers from scratch.
Better communication can also increase revenue per customer and unlock new ways for businesses to offer value and sell related products. Excellent customer service, for example, means you will understand your customers’ needs and spot opportunities to sell them related products or services that can deepen their engagement with you and, ultimately, increase the amount they spend on you.
To that end, businesses are investing heavily in new technology, software and personnel to make their customer services more appealing and personal. The use of CRM software gives businesses deeper insights into each customer, giving people are personalised offering based on their profiles and prior purchasing decisions.
Optimising customer service outsourcing in South Africa
At the same time, the costs of doing business can’t be ignored. Businesses are coming under pressure from all sides, with profit margins shrinking and costs growing. The temptation will always be there to cut corners where possible, and customer service has often found itself in the crosshairs. Despite the public outcry, some companies continue to outsource call centres and customer support to low-cost locations overseas.
In reality, though, the problem is not outsourcing in itself, but the choice of an outsourcing partner. Traditional outsourcing hubs such as India have struggled with a reputation for poor quality and communication difficulties. Although English is spoken widely, it comes with a deep and hard-to-understand accent. Based thousands of miles away in a call centre in Delhi, it’s also a whole lot more difficult to connect with a customer in Stevenage.
For a growing number of businesses, the answer lies in seeking alternative outsourcing destinations such as South Africa. The cost of labour might be slightly higher than in India, but it’s still a long way short of the UK and other Western economies. English is widely spoken with a clear accent that is easy to understand. South Africa’s culture is also very similar to Western economies, with many common reference points, making it easier to build personable relationships with customers.
Customer service operations in South Africa can be backed by high-quality technological infrastructure. Broadband speeds are super fast, and BPO companies have the latest software to help you generate next-level insights into your customer service performance. You can also work closely with your staff based in South Africa to help them better understand your business, your service offering and what your customers expect.
South Africa’s outsourcing industry has also benefited from extensive government support. It is one of the key drivers of employment in the country and is key to generating future growth. Businesses that create jobs in South Africa can expect to benefit from lucrative incentives, grants and tax breaks depending on the number of people employed. When these tax breaks
are added into the calculation, the overall cost of hiring customer service staff in South Africa will be on a similar level to the lowest cost options in India and South Africa.
The business case, therefore, is compelling. Outsourcing customer service operations to South Africa is an outstanding chance to reduce your costs without drawing complaints from your customers. It streamlines services, reduces costs and maintains top-quality customer service. It’s a fresh take on customer service and one that offers all the traditional benefits of outsourcing without any of the traditional drawbacks.
