In today's hyper-competitive global marketplace, companies need more than great products and services to attract and retain customers. They must also offer attentive, immediate, and highly personalized interactions. Today's customers want to feel taken care of. They want to know that a company understands and respects their wants, needs, and concerns.

"Effectively meeting these customer demands for excellent experiences has become an essential part of every business' success strategy. The quality of customer service can directly impact customer retention, company reputation, and, ultimately, the bottom line," says Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global, one of the leading mid-sized call centers in the Philippines.

What exactly is customer service?

Quite simply, customer service is the assistance a company provides to current and prospective customers. Customer service professionals commonly answer questions and resolve issues through in-person, phone, email, chat, and social media interactions. Customer service happens wherever companies and customers meet.

"Stats about the importance of excellent customer care speak for themselves. 96 percent of customers say the quality of service is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand. Additionally, satisfied customers are five times more likely to make repeat purchases and four times more likely to recommend the company to a friend. Conversely, 61 percent of consumers are willing to switch to a competitor after just one bad customer service experience," said Ellspermann.

To ensure they deliver dynamic, proactive, and memorable customer experiences, companies are increasingly outsourcing key business functions like call centers to offshore providers. And these days, they are turning to the world's leading contact center outsourcing destination — the Philippines.

Four ways outsourcing to the Philippines can improve customer service

The Philippine BPO industry has become well-known for its long history of saving companies as much as 50 percent on operational costs. But the country's outsourcing industry also has many attributes that measurably improve customer experiences. Here are four of them:

24/7 customer service

By partnering with call centers in the Philippines, outsourcing companies can offer their global clients 24/7 customer support. Philippine contact centers generally operate day and night shifts. Teams working round the clock can address customer queries and concerns at any time of day or night, including weekends and holidays. Timely availability can dramatically increase the quality of support and significantly improve customer satisfaction and retention.

Excellent communication skills

Agents in in the Philippines speak fluent English with a neutral accent, two traits conducive to rewarding customer communications. The Philippines is the world's third-largest English-speaking country, with more than 70 percent of Filipinos speaking the language fluently. Since companies in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada are the biggest clients, English proficiency gives the country's outsourcing industry a significant competitive advantage. Customers feel positive about a company when they know they can communicate clearly and effectively with call center agents.

Friendly and effective interactions

"Filipinos are known for their warmth, hospitality, strong work ethic, and innate sense of loyalty — desirable qualities that can greatly enhance the customer experience. Philippine call center agents bring these same qualities to the workplace, along with patience, a customer-centric work philosophy, and deep empathy for customer concerns. Empathy helps agents build rapport with customers, making them feel that their needs and concerns matter. The result can be increased customer satisfaction and deeper, more fulfilling customer experiences," said Ellspermann.

Embracing new technologies

Premium call center and BPO providers are increasingly implementing automation and artificial intelligence into their business strategies.

"AI can automate simple tasks, leaving agents open to address more complex customer issues that only a human can handle. With the help of AI, contact centers in the Philippines see improvements in important metrics like response times and first-call resolution. By enabling agents to create more engaging customer interactions, implementing this new technology leads to more streamlined and productive customer experiences," said Ellspermann.

The takeaway

It's important to note that not all call centers in the Philippines are the same and partnering with a lower-cost provider that delivers inferior service can do more harm than good.

"But global companies that have chosen to work with premium providers, which offer highly skilled, English-proficient agents and state-of-the-art facilities, can see a tremendous ROI and long-term outsourcing success. Just the improvements in the customer experience alone make the investment well worth it," said Ellspermann.