Nearshore or Onshore Outsourcing: How do I choose whether I outsource nearshore or onshore?
Customer support is vital to any well functioning business. For this reason, many businesses choose to outsource customer support to client services experts who are trained in resolving customer issues quickly, efficiently, and with a smile. When a company chooses to outsource their customer support, they have a variety of decisions to make including whether or not the outsourced company understands their industry well enough, how experienced the customer support team is, and where the outsourced company is located. In many cases, businesses looking to outsource call center support wind up choosing between nearshore and onshore support companies. But before that decision can be made, decision-makers have to understand the fundamental differences between nearshore and onshore companies.
Nearshore Companies: A nearshore company is a company that is headquartered outside of the United States, but in a neighboring company. For example, Mexico is a popular nearshore outsourcing location as it borders the United States.
Onshore Companies: An onshore company is headquartered in the nation that it provides services to. For example, a call center outsourcing company that is headquartered in New Jersey, but provides support services to all fifty states would be considered an onshore company.
So which is best for your business? As an onshore company, we think that choosing domestic support providers is the best option, and let us tell you why:
● Onshore representatives will not struggle with language barriers the way nearshore customer service reps might. Communication the cornerstone of good customer support, both in call center outsourcing and email chat outsourcing. The reps at (V)WeCareTech will be able to communicate effectively with your clients, 100% of the time.
● Onshore representatives share the same culture as your customers, and will, therefore, understand one another better and more quickly than two people struggling who have had very different life experiences. Onshore representatives are also going to be more familiar with local geography, national holidays and customs, and general cultural practices within the United States.
● You get what you pay for. Nearshore companies are generally less expensive than onshore companies, but onshore companies provide a higher quality of customer support. A bad customer service experience can completely sour an otherwise redeemable situation. Don’t take that risk with your customers.
● Security: you have background checks, drug tests for onshore reps, while with nearshore reps one does not get the same background checks and information security is a big risk.
● An onshore team is more likely to already be familiar with your industry and brand. Teaching a nearshore team how a domestic industry works can be a lengthy and frustrating process. In comparison, onshore teams are likely to have an existing base knowledge of your product and services, which shortens training times and gets them on the phone and helping your customers quickly and efficiently. Imagine how long it would take to teach a nearshore team of support representatives about the American healthcare insurance system. It would take weeks for them to obtain the same level of knowledge that all insured Americans have already.
● Infrastructure and internet: Onshore centers have great internet speeds and power hardly ever goes out.
So when it comes to choosing a company to provide call center, email, chat, and social media support, ask yourself how important a stellar customer experience really is to you. If it is important at all, then you should be going with an onshore company. You should be going with (V)WeCare.