Should I outsource customer services to Asians?

Customer service refers to the provision of assistance to your clients. If you intend to retain your current clients or plan on expanding your business, you need to offer extraordinary customer service. In today’s world, customer care is so much more than the basic call support agents. It can be done through the web, text messages, email, and social media. Many businesses for instance CenturyLink customer service offer self-service channels, which allows the customers to obtain solutions at any time of the day. Customer service is not just about answering questions; it’s a critical aspect of a commitment your company makes to its customers. Excellent customer leads to exceptional client experiences, especially when your support staff is willing to go above and beyond to react to the different scenarios and learn to anticipate those problems. 

Outsourced Customer Service

When the customer services and consumer-facing communication channels are diverted to a third-party services provider, it is called outsourced customer service. It is typically outsourced to the call centers, which then employ people who are well-versed and highly trained agents, pro at taking incoming calls on the behalf of the company.

In recent years, the APAC region has emerged as a true and major outsourcing power hub. With millions of agents providing customer services for both, Western and as well as Asian businesses. The reasons for this rapid boom in the call centers business are mainly the rise of the internet and a large pool of educated and trained agents. Many renowned companies in the US are shifting towards outsourcing. Western companies are taking advantage of the developing economies of Asia, as they have skilled and high-performance labor to offer to them. 

Pros of Outsourcing Customer Service to Asians

Outsourcing to Asian countries has proven to be a successful approach for several businesses. There are many reasons to outsource, rather than hire internal staff. Here are some reasons why it can be an appealing solution for many companies. 

1. Cheap Labor: Businesses have lower labor costs in the Asian regions. This is one of the biggest reasons that firms outsource their customer services to offshore centers as they have lesser salary demands as compared to an average US citizen. This furthermore leads them to specifically outsource the customer services to the developing countries. These cost cuts lead the companies to higher turnover rates. 
2. After-Hours Availability: Having 24/7 coverage has a lot of potential benefits. Customers today expect to be able to reach you whenever they require any assistance. In case you are not present to answer your customers’ inquiries and provide them with guidance while they shop from you or even after, they will simply go elsewhere. 
3. Lesser Workload: Outsourcing is a great way to focus entirely on growing your business and you can value your time more once you don’t have an in-house customer care department to run. It will free up your time and you can focus on the other bigger things like innovation and expansion knowing that the experts are taking care of your customer services. 
4. Multilingual Audience: Asian citizens tend to have expertise in foreign languages, commonly being French, Spanish, English and of course their native tongues as well. This will help you in expanding your businesses, even more, when you know that your customer services team will be there to cater to them. It boosts your confidence to up the game. 

Cons of Outsourcing

Everything comes with its pros and cons. That now we are aware of the pros of outsourcing to an Asian country, we shall take a look into the cons as well.

1. Lesser Control: Outsourcing your customer services can be beneficial for you in the terms of cost, but you must also be prepared to have a lesser amount of control over it. The geographical gap that comes with foreign outsourcing is surely something to keep in mind. You will not be able to keep track of the activities. You probably will not be able to visit overseas as often as you would like to think to observe the staff in action and to suggest any changes or modifications.
2. Security and Privacy Concerns: The agents working in call centers in other countries are not frequently subjected to the same background checks as those working in the US. As a result, the information of the customers might be less secure and might increase the chance of data breaches. 
3. Lack of Knowledge: Agents from outsourced call centers tend to be least unfamiliar with the company values and cultures. Resultantly they might not be as committed to the company itself or even the clients in providing them with the quality service that reflects the company standards.

Conclusion

In essence, outsourcing your customer services to the Asian regions does give you access to a bigger pool of qualified labor, and flexibility. However, it is crucial to ensure that you pick the right service provider. Once you do choose the experts and leave your customer service operations to the professionals, it is one of the most rewarding decisions your business can ever make.

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