How To Choose Between Domestic Vs. Foreign-Based Call Centers
Customer support is an incredibly important part of any business. For a lot of customers, customer service reps become the face of an organization, and are often the only people clients interact with directly. For this reason, many businesses choose to outsource their support to customer care specialists who are specifically trained in empathy, de-escalation, and problem solving.
So if you decide that outsourcing is the right choice for your business and begin looking for an outsourced call center, only one question remains...should you work with a domestic or a foreign-based call center?
Below is a list of pros and cons for each type of call center. Weighing the benefits of each can help you decide which type of vendor is right for you.
Domestic Call Centers:
Pros:
● Domestic agents will be able to better empathize with your customers. Right away, your clients and your customer service reps will have something in common, which is a great starting off point when it comes to solving problems.
● 80% of domestic agents have some college education and have developed strong problem-solving skills.
● Domestic agents are more likely to be familiar with local geography, national holidays, and upcoming events.
Cons:
● Domestic call centers can be more expensive than foreign-based call centers.
● The domestic holiday schedule will affect agents in domestic call centers.
Foreign-Based Call Centers:
Pros:
● On average, foreign talent is less expensive to employ and maintain than domestic talent. Those savings are passed on to customers which can make foreign-based call centers an appealing choice.
● Call centers offer fantastic careers internationally, so there will be a large candidate pool to choose from. This can mean more reps on the phone waiting to help your customers.
Cons:
● Time zones can become an issue. If you have an immediate need for more support, it will be easier for a domestic center to scale up than a foreign-based call center on a completely different schedule.
● Language & cultural barriers are more likely. It is significantly more difficult for foreign-based customer support agents to empathize with American clients.
● Less industry and product knowledge. It is difficult to provide support for an industry or product that the customer service rep is not familiar with.
Overall, domestic call centers ensure a higher level of attention and connection, which are the pillars of good customer support. Recently, several major companies like Delta Airlines and Sallie Mae have transitioned from foreign to domestic call centers, and have achieved fantastic results.
At (V)WeCare Tech, we support hundreds of businesses with domestic-based top-of-the-line customer support professionals. Businesses in a variety of industries outsource their customer support to us. We can handle call center outsourcing, chat outsourcing, and email outsourcing, all from within the United States. With our reps, your customers will never face a language barrier, a cultural barrier, or general knowledge barriers that can often lead to frustration.
So if you are ready to outsource your customer support to our fantastic team, call today to discuss the ins and outs of your business. We will be ready and waiting to take that call!