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Why Outsource Customer Support to South Africa

South Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions for customer support outsourcing. Here’s why.

In 2021 the Annual Font Office Omnibus BPO survey named South Africa as the most favoured offshore CX BPO destination. After three years of hovering around third place, it had finally made the leap to the number one position. The move signals a significant shift in the customer support service – from one in which cost was the primary factor to one that prioritizes quality and service. Today the BPO sector has become South Africa’s biggest export and in the West, it is overtaking India as the preferred outsourcing destination. Here are just a few reasons why it can be a good idea to outsource customer support to South Africa.

Customer service excellence

South Africa has put customer service front and center of its offering. In a world in which customers have increasingly reacted against what they see as poor service quality – especially from outsourced call centers – companies have come to see customer service as a critical sales requirement.

According to data from Zendex, 90% of customers say they would switch companies after a poor customer experience. 43% of customers will be more likely to purchase a good customer experience. Data suggests improving customer service can boost revenue by between 10% and 15%. A growing majority of businesses now say that they compete almost exclusively on customer service.

Even so, India remains a ‘powerhouse of outsourcing’. In 2023 the Indian BPO market was worth USD38bn with an annual growth rate of over 7%. Customers might not like it, but despite all the negative publicity businesses were still willing to take the hit.

All of this is bad news for the traditional outsourcing powerhouse of India which has been dogged by a reputation for poor customer service ever since firms first started to relocate their call centers. centersIt backtracked on its decision and quickly promised that 80% of all its calls would be answered by staff based in the UK. Banks such as Lloyds TSB and Santander also moved their call centres while Aviva moved some operations back to Norwich. Powergen followed suit citing the negative impact on customer service. Businesses such as PlusNet began promoting the fact that their call centers were based in the UK – and picked up plenty of new customers as a result.

By 2006, newspapers such as the Guardian were asking “Is it finally time to hang up on Indian call centers”. The impact on reputation, customer relationships, and revenue began to outstri