Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Small businesses and large corporations leverage outsourcing for a number of reasons. For example, most business executives (81%) rely on third-party partners for their cybersecurity needs, whereas over half of global firms (59%) choose to reduce costs through outsourcing or multisourcing.. While India, Malaysia, and Poland are some of the top outsourcing destinations, the Philippines is still the cream of the crop.
As the business processing outsourcing (BPO) capital of the world, the Philippines boasts not just hundreds of the best BPO companies, but also a wide talent pool of English-speaking professionals who can provide high-caliber services and adapt to Western culture.
However, companies must remember that evaluating potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines is like evaluating an applicant for a particular role. You assess their background, qualifications, cultural fit, track record, and experience to ensure that your outsourcing partner is the right one for your needs and goals.
Outsourcing to the Philippines may be a gamble, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. If you don’t know where and how to begin your search, we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive guide on how to evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines.
Before you scour the internet or your network for a potential outsourcing provider, it’s first important to know the qualities you should look for in an external provider. This way, you can narrow down your choices and find the best outsourcing company for your business needs.
BPOs in the Philippines offer a wide range of services in various industries, such as data engineering, game development, graphic design, and many more. Knowing all the services a potential Philippine outsourcing company offers is key to ensuring your specific outsourcing needs will be met throughout the partnership.
A BPO’s experience and track record in delivering your required services is a critical aspect of your future partnership. Without a solid track record, how can your future outsourcing provider in the Philippines drive growth to your business?
Check for certifications, accolades, or testimonials that showcase their competence in providing high-quality outsourcing services. Most importantly, find out how long the service provider has been in the outsourcing industry. This gives you an idea of the company’s ability to identify your needs, provide specialized expertise and solutions, and scale your business.
Your potential outsourcing company’s workforce is a determiner of whether their employees are equipped with the skills and experience needed for the tasks. It’s also vital if the company’s employees are abreast with current industry trends, or if there are training programs for upskilling its workforce.
Whether you’re outsourcing accounting or customer service, working with the right outsourcing provider comes a long way. Some clients even become long-time partners of BPOs, with the local staff consistently providing high-quality services. Others, however, choose to terminate their partnership with a BPO due to breaches in contract or any circumstance.
Although there’s no perfect BPO partner, carefully evaluating your potential outsourcing partner in the Philippines and avoiding common outsourcing mistakes makes the difference between a successful outsourcing partnership and wasted time. Likewise, you should also be aware of the pros and cons of outsourcing to the Philippines.
Outsourcing in the Philippines is not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Much like any business venture, it requires deliberate planning and decision-making. Deciding to outsource services boils down to identifying inefficiencies in your business:
Such insights help you gain a clearer picture of your company’s status and workflow, thus making it easier to set goals and draft a contract when you evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines.
You can check LinkedIn or do a Google search of Philippine-based BPOs. If you’re resorting to the latter, here’s how you can make the search process easier:
Don’t underestimate the power of your own network, too. Sometimes, your friends and colleagues can point you to outsourcing service providers in the Philippines.
Business owners who frequently outsource services will notice a common marketing ploy among BPOs: Significant cost savings for quality work. While the overarching goal of outsourcing is to lower overhead costs, it doesn’t mean you should accept the cheapest offer. Ask for detailed price quotes and go for outsourcing packages that bring the best bang for your buck.
A company website tells a thousand stories. By thoroughly exploring your potential outsourcing partner’s website, you’ll have an idea of its services, values, and workplace culture. Case studies and design portfolios showcase the quality and the impact of a BPO’s services to its client as well as the expertise and competency of the offshore outsourcing team.
Client testimonials and success stories — though they only highlight the positives of the partnership — are also a good way to assess its level of professionalism. If the testimonials on the company website don’t convince you enough, reach out to the clients themselves for a more objective and nuanced perspective.
With the prevalence of cyberattacks in this digital age, keeping your company’s data safe is always a must. When finding the right outsourcing partner in the Philippines, make sure the company is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and upholds the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
For your peace of mind, ask about your potential outsourcing company’s disaster recovery plans for cyber attacks as well as how the company encrypts, stores, and deletes sensitive data. This is to ensure that all information will remain secure and confidential throughout your partnership.
Timezone compatibility is an important factor when you evaluate outsourcing partners in the Philippines. But with BPOs operating 24/7 and Filipino workers being flexible, your offshore outsourcing staff can adapt to your timezone and provide seamless, real-time services just like your in-house employees.
While big time zone differences can be intimidating at first, such gaps can be addressed with regular communication between you and your outsourcing partner. So before closing a deal, find out how often your future BPO partner maintains an open line of communication with its clients.
Clients like you deserve a competent Filipino offshore team that meets your standards and expectations. When you evaluate potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines, you must have an idea of how the company conducts its hiring process and assesses a candidate’s portfolio, so you can be sure your Filipino staff possesses not only the hard skills, but also the necessary offshore staff soft skills to do the job.
Having the right number of staff helps ease your workload while providing ample assignments for each team member. When assessing potential outsourcing providers in the Philippines, ask the company if they have — or can onboard — enough staff members to meet urgent deadlines without compromising quality and avoid heavy workloads or droughts in task assignments.
With an adequate number of Filipino team members working for you, do expect achieved goals and a greater soar in productivity and efficiency.
There’s only so much research and discovery calls can do. For some clients, nothing beats requesting a trial period or a pilot project when evaluating outsourcing service providers in the Philippines.
A pilot project gives you ample time to see if your Filipino team’s outputs and professionalism are up to standards. If the trial did not work out as expected, it’s best to terminate the partnership and move on to your next prospect.
Outsourcing services is no walk in the park; it’s a major business move that requires a balance of risk and investment. Because evaluating potential outsourcing partners in the Philippines involves background checks and discovery calls, it should be treated like hiring the right person for the job.
While it’s easy to get swayed by cheap outsourcing packages, it shouldn’t be the sole basis for working with an outsourcing company. There are other factors to consider as well, including cultural fit, workforce expertise and knowledge, data privacy policies, track record, and many more. Once you know what to look for in the right BPO partner, it becomes easier to learn how to outsource work to the Philippines.
If you’re on the hunt for a BPO with a strong portfolio and a large client base, choose KDCI. Established in 2011, the company offers a whole suite of services — from customer service and sales to software development. As an extension of your business, we deliver round-the-clock work with passion and competence.
Ready to streamline your day-to-day operations? Contact us today and get ready to embark on a productive outsourcing journey with us!
Did you know that the world has around 7.21 billion smartphones? In China alone, 974.69 million out of 1.43 billion people own a smartphone, with India and the United States following suit at 659 million and 276.14 million users. With people using their phones online for almost four hours, attracting them with a beautifully designed mobile app from the brand itself or mobile app design agency becomes even more crucial.
At this time and age, you’ve probably enjoyed using an app because of its user-friendliness or visually striking interface. You can thank the app designer or a mobile app design agency for that, but you should also give credit to their expertise in mobile app design. Also called mobile UX/UI design, mobile app design refers to the creation of an interface that’s accessible, responsive, and easy to navigate for on-the-go users.
This is no easy feat for any designer or mobile app design agency, as designing a mobile involves not just the placement of the visuals, but also the platform and target demographic. Before we share our roundup of the best mobile app design agencies and exclusive guide on finding a mobile app design agency, let’s tackle the benefits of good mobile app design.
Good design is the foundation of any mobile app. How many times have we uninstalled or left bad reviews on an app because of its clunkiness or unprofessional design? As users, we want a mobile app that gets the job done. After all, any mobile app design agency or freelance mobile app designer knows that mobile app design is not just an art; it’s a practice.
Like people, brands have their own identity. A brand’s identity is reflected in its logo, communication style, choice of colors, and history. All of these are present in the applications developed by in-house designers or a mobile app design agency. Remember, a beautifully designed mobile app integrates such elements well, from the layout of the user interface to the style of writing.
Outside of visuals, ease of navigation is also a critical aspect of mobile app design. If a mobile app is too clunky or cluttered with unnecessary elements when navigating from one page to another, users are more likely to stop using it out of frustration. In addition, accessibility features such as text-to-speech, auto-fill, and one-hand operation help create a better app experience for users with disabilities.
When shopping online, we check reviews to gauge the product’s quality and durability. The same principle applies to mobile apps. When a mobile app design agency or a business designs an attractive app with an accessible user interface, users are compelled to recommend it to their loved ones and leave positive reviews on its app page — greatly boosting your brand image.
Mobile apps are the epitome of convenience, and all the better for a business or a mobile app design agency to integrate mobile features into an application. If you’re designing a shopping app, for example, implementing a visual search functionality that uses the phone’s camera or gallery helps simplify the tedious process of finding a product. Hence, by leveraging smartphone features, there’s less need for customers to use their computers to perform a certain action.
A mobile app design agency is a company that offers app design services to clients. It doesn’t program a mobile application. Rather, a mobile app design agency creates unique, compelling user interfaces, taking into account the colors, placement of the tabs and navigation bars, and screen size to provide a seamless experience for customers. If you’re unfamiliar with mobile app design and don’t have the time to learn the tools of the trade, these mobile app design agencies will take care of your design needs.
Located in Pasig City, Manila, Philippines, KDCI is a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm established in 2011. It has partnered with clients such as Art Brand Studios, Nielsen, Softonic, and many more, offering cost-effective, high-quality graphic design, content creation, and many other services. Like any reputable mobile app design agency, KDCI designs mobile applications across various platforms with user-friendliness, creativity, and originality in mind.
The company also trains and onboards employees with excellent complex problem-solving skills and a solid grasp of UI and UX design. With KDCI’s team of mobile app developers and designers, businesses can provide their customers with functional, well-designed mobile apps that make a long-lasting first impression and maintain brand identity.
Founded in 2009, DottyStyle Creative is an independent company that excels in digital product creation. Working with clients from and outside the Philippines, the digital production agency boasts a diverse portfolio of landing pages, website design, mobile app development, and design projects. All of which reflect the unique identity of each brand and the web and the team’s competence in UI and UX design. Dottystyle Creative has offices based in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.
Pixelmojo is a Makati, Philippines-based website and mobile app design agency founded by Lloyd and Marc — referred to as Pixel and Mojo, respectively. With clientele consisting of Saas (software as a service) businesses, the development agency has helped these clients establish a customer-attracting brand identity, convert leads from a landing page, and improve customer satisfaction and retention, to name a few.
Thanks to Pixelmojo’s expertise in mobile app and UI and UX design and intelligent use of analytics to make optimal design choices, a SaaS company's mobile app will not only be more functional and eye-catching, but it will also retain and adopt more users. The website and mobile app design agency’s forward-looking approach enables its clients to scale and ensure their business’s competitiveness and relevance in the future.
Based in Cebu City, Philippines, Symph is a company founded by three men: Dave Overton, Dan Pantinople, and Albert Padin — who are CEO, CDO (chief design officer), and CTO (chief technology officer) of the web and mobile app design agency, respectively.
Since its founding in 2010, Symph has partnered with local and overseas clients in various industries to deliver services in design, website and e-commerce store creation, and web and mobile application development. The web and mobile app design agency’s human-centered approach to mobile app design ensures that the needs and expectations of clients and users are at the forefront of their applications.
Headquartered in Muntinlupa City, Philippines, 1902 Software Development Corporation is a long-standing website and mobile app design agency founded by Dane Peter Skouhus, the agency’s president. Since its inception in 1998, 1902 Software Development Corporation has collaborated with clients based not just in the Scandinavian region, but also in Asia, Oceania, and other parts of Europe.
The website and mobile app design agency’s foray into mobile app development started in 2012, beginning with the creation of the company’s own Mobile App department and the provision of native development for two platforms: Windows and iOS. Native development for Android and Xamarin-based cross-platform development followed suit in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
1902 Software Development Corporation’s Android and iOS app design process follows a collaborative approach and meticulous project planning. User experience and Baymard Institute’s research insights are successfully interwoven into the company’s mockups and prototypes, boasting their design prowess as a reputable mobile app design agency.
Operating in the capital city of Manila, VenderIT Information Technology Solutions’ product catalog mainly comprises digital products and services — which include graphic design, video creation, and mobile app UI/UX design — and comprehensive mobile app and website solutions for businesses. The IT and mobile app design agency offers a subscription-based e-commerce package, too.
Any mobile app design agency can promise quality outputs, higher ratings, and improved customer retention rates. When searching for the right mobile app design agency to work with, you can’t go wrong with a background check.
Browse the company’s website and portfolio or services catalog. Client testimonials also give insights into a mobile app design agency’s professionalism, quality of work, and the results and impact of their design services on the business. You may also contact the client for more insights on their relationship with the mobile app design agency.
It’s not just the portfolio and testimonials you must factor in your search, but also the compatibility of your business’s goals and values and that of your preferred mobile app design agency.
If you’re looking for a mobile app design agency, a creative agency, or an offshore development company in the Philippines, it’s recommended to familiarize yourself with Filipino values. This way, you have an idea of how Filipino employees work with their peers and foreign clients. If you’re lucky, you can find a Philippine-based mobile app design agency that accepts trial periods.
Mobile apps are the technological staples of everyday life. Without them, we won’t be able to shop, initiate transactions, stream music and videos, or communicate with our loved ones at our fingertips. Unfortunately, the competition to stand out from the sea of aesthetically and poorly designed mobile apps is an uphill battle.
This is why working with the best BPO company, app design agency, or mobile app design agency is worth the investment. A BPO and mobile app design agency is equipped with the technology, background, skills, and mindset to design a captivating yet functional app.
At KDCI, we offer software development services for mobile applications for different platforms and work with QA testers to ensure your app is free of technical issues.
Don’t let your mobile app remain a dream. Contact us and let’s make it a reality!
Businesses in all industries live and breathe data. From improving performance to gleaning customer insights, data is a powerful asset that helps brands make wise decisions and achieve success in a fast-paced, data-driven world. While data entry is commonly associated with mindless typing, it is a critical back-office task that requires organization and precision. With brands wanting to save time on data processing and management, the decision to outsource data entry to a foreign country like the Philippines becomes a promising decision from a time and business perspective.
The Philippines is a bustling hub of call centers, data entry outsourcing companies, and business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies. With this in mind, you have a wide pool of companies you can outsource data entry to. If this is your first time dipping your toes into outsourcing, you might have some doubts about your decision to outsource data entry jobs. Below, let’s debunk four myths about outsourcing data entry to the Philippines.
On the contrary, the Philippines has a robust data privacy and protection law, and it’s called the Data Privacy Act of 2012. This law underscores the responsibilities of organizations to safeguard sensitive data from tampering and unauthorized disclosure, giving you that much-needed peace of mind when you outsource data entry to your Filipino team.
Both onshore and offshore data entry professionals are capable of producing high-quality work. But if you want to cut costs without sacrificing quality and productivity, choose to outsource data entry to the Philippines.
Because many Filipinos are educated and fluent in English, you can expect your offshore team to follow and execute instructions and minimize errors — especially when data entry involves transcription.
The decision to outsource data entry to a foreign country means facing potential communication mishaps due to cultural differences and varying levels of English proficiency. Thankfully, Filipinos are exposed to the language at a young age through media and education, so their English writing and speaking skills are honed to perfection. Their affinity and familiarity with Western culture are also a plus, which makes communicating with your Filipino team a pleasant experience.
Likewise, time zone differences are not an obstacle when you outsource data entry tasks to Philippine-based BPOs. This is because BPO employees align their working hours to their client’s time zone to ensure real-time collaboration and submission of deliverables. Hence, if your business operates in the USA, your Filipino team will work at night to overlap with your business’s operating hours.
Outsourcing data entry to the Philippines doesn’t necessarily mean laying off your onshore team. In other words, an offshore team complements, not replace your onshore team. When you outsource data entry to your Filipino staff, your in-house team can enjoy a lighter workload and improved well-being and job satisfaction.
This means they have more time to complete tasks appropriate to their skill level and area of expertise. Most importantly, you don’t have to deal with all the hefty costs of hiring and training new staff when you outsource data entry to Filipino employees.
Choosing to outsource data entry to a foreign country is a risk. However, outsourcing doesn’t have to be a liability if you work with one of the best companies for data entry outsourcing. If you’re new to this venture and consider the Philippines your outsourcing destination, look no further than this tutorial on how to outsource data entry to the renowned BPO capital of the world.
It’s easy to be blinded by success stories of outsourcing. While your decision to outsource data entry does wonders for your brand and employees, knowing your whys is key to a successful outsourcing experience. These questions help you identify the whys behind your choice to outsource data entry — and at the same time — paint a clear picture of your business needs:
It’s also important to know which types of data entry work you want to be outsourced to the Philippines. Here are some examples of data entry tasks:
Numeric data entry involves accurately encoding statistical or financial data on a database or worksheet. Finance industries often outsource this task to an offshore staff.
Employees are responsible for updating or removing outdated information, such as phone numbers and emails.
Transcribers listen to audio or watch videos, converting all data into accurately written text.
A product data entry specialist inputs product information on a retailer’s official website or e-commerce platform to update product pages or boost cross-selling rates.
The employee reviews emails and categorizes them based on urgency and other factors.
A contract is a legally binding document detailing the responsibilities and expectations of your outsourcing partner. Hence, when you outsource data entry to a Philippine-based BPO, be sure your contract has the following clauses:
This section lists all the services to outsource to a third party, giving your BPO partner a clear idea of the required deliverables.
SLAs include the performance metrics and benchmarks for assessing the quality of work rendered by the outsourcing partner.
This clause highlights the expectations and compliance of the outsourcing partner in ensuring the protection and non-disclosure of customer data when you outsource data entry tasks to an offshore team.
This clause includes all the conditions and circumstances for terminating the partnership. After drafting your contract, go over your document and see if all clauses are concise and easy to understand. You can then search for a BPO firm to outsource data entry assignments to.
With hundreds of BPOs all over the Philippines, finding the right BPO firm to outsource data entry is like finding a needle in a haystack. You can start with a Google search of the best BPO companies in the Philippines and shortlist from there. Another way is to type “how to outsource data entry” or any industry- or service-related keyword followed by “outsourcing” or “outsourcing companies” (ex: data entry outsourcing) — which may yield articles written by BPOs about data entry. Platforms like GoodFirms or LinkedIn are a good place to start, as well.
In addition to checking a BPO’s website and portfolio, reaching out to its former clientele is a good idea, too. This way, you can better assess a company’s professionalism and reliability in delivering high-quality data entry services within a specified time frame.
While reputation is important, it’s also worth checking out your future outsourcing partner’s values, mission, and vision to see if they’re compatible with yours. Likewise, knowing how the company stores and protects sensitive data is paramount given the inherent risk of working with data.
Even if a BPO offers the cheapest data entry services, or has worked with a big client, don’t just close a deal with any BPO you find online. Take your time and consider your options before you outsource data entry projects.
At this point, you’ve probably shortlisted one or a couple of BPOs. Before you close a deal and outsource data entry tasks to your chosen BPO, be clear about your expectations and goals. Because outsourcing entails a little risk to your business, BPOs willingly offer a trial period to see if the delivered results are up to your standards, or if the partnership benefits your business. Once everything is settled, you can start to outsource data entry projects and work with your Filipino team!
Your Filipino data entry specialists are newcomers to your business, so expect them to overcome a little learning curve when you first outsource data entry tasks to them. Get them up to speed with your business’s in-house policies and workflow, and provide them with training manuals and resources.
If your organization uses Microsoft Teams, Slack, or any communication platform, you can set up accounts for your data entry specialists and their team leader. Creating a dedicated group chat or channel for your offshore staff makes it easier to outsource data entry projects and report technical issues. Weekly virtual catch-ups also help establish a stronger professional bond between you and your offshore team.
Feedback is key to improved motivation and performance. Before you further outsource data entry jobs to your staff, it’s recommended to appoint the team leader as a quality control checker to speed up the validation process and provide a daily or weekly performance report.
Through this report, you’ll be able to identify trends and patterns in your team’s performance. Here are some guide questions to kick off a feedback session with your data entry specialists:
Whatever the outcome of the feedback session, share practical tips on how your team can improve their typing skills and accomplish tasks faster without compromising quality and accuracy. Hence, the next time you outsource data entry projects, your team will know how to maintain optimal performance.
Data entry is commonly associated with mundanity and endless typing on a computer. However, what some people don’t understand is it demands precision, organization, and technical know-how. Because of the influx of data, many businesses outsource data entry assignments to the Philippines.
KDCI onboards data entry specialists who exhibit ample technical knowledge, keen attention to detail, and excellent typing skills. By availing of our data entry services, you’re getting high-caliber work at a fraction of the cost.
Ready to outsource data entry projects to KDCI? Contact us for inquiries, and start building your team of Filipino data entry specialists today!
The customer service support of old relies on the classic phone-based support for inquiries and concerns. As technology advances, customer service has evolved to support multiple communication channels, including email, chatbots, and many more. With businesses leveraging modern communication tools and clients expecting high-quality customer service support, optimizing their digital customer service becomes a strategic endeavor.
As the name implies, digital customer service support refers to the provision of customer care support and assistance through digital means, such as social media and live chat. According to McKinsey & Company, most customers (76%) have shown satisfaction with businesses offering digital-only customer support. After all, good digital customer service comes a long way. If they have a bad experience, they can just walk away and move on to another brand.
Below, let’s check out the success stories of companies with different customer service support channels. In addition, this guide includes apps and platforms that act as a role model for a particular digital channel.
Email is a classic customer service support channel. Customers can send an email to a brand at any time and wait patiently for a response — which can take hours or days. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of time.
That doesn’t mean businesses should completely get rid of email support. But with the help of the right customer service support solution, email support can be less of a drag for both agents and customers.
Hiver is a customer service support software with features ranging from email tagging and shared inboxes to supported integrations with Slack, WhatsApp, and many more. Like any helpdesk program, Hiver streamlines customer care to ensure customer concerns and inquiries are attended to without delay.
For companies like Flexport, Hiver was of great help in optimizing their email customer service support. Nathan Strang, the company’s Ocean Freight Operations Manager, uses the helpdesk program’s email tagging feature to assign an email to a customer agent. Thanks to this convenient feature, unanswered emails and email forwarding are now a thing of Flexport’s past, enabling its customer service support team to answer queries and concerns quickly.
HappyFox is a help desk software with a ticketing system that streamlines a company’s email customer service support, automating email routing, ticket priority setting, and other mundane, time-consuming tasks through its Smart Rules. In case of complex customer concerns, the program’s Private Notes tool functions as an internal collaborative space for agents to converse and work on a ticket without the customer’s knowledge.
Improved Racing is one of HappyFox’s users. Thanks to the program, Improved Racing can now route tickets to the right customer service support agent for faster email resolution. What’s more, all three of the company’s brands have their dedicated email category, ensuring both efficiency and brand identity consistency.
Unlike most digital customer service support channels, over-the-phone communication is more personal — albeit with the caveat of hold times and higher costs. While phone support may be another classic customer service channel, it doesn’t mean it’s losing its relevance in a digitized world. These programs prove that phone support can work in your agents’ favor.
Zoho Desk helps streamline various customer service support channels, including over-the-phone communication. The software features call scheduling and a call reminder for hassle-free follow-ups to customer calls. Automated voice messages are also delivered to inform customers of agent availability or busyness, or remind them that your shop is closed after business hours.
Also known as De Surinaamsche Bank NV, DSB Bank, is a successful user of Zoho Desk. But before it implemented Zoho Desk, customer service support was done manually — from ticketing to tracking messages.
Thanks to Zoho Desk, a ticket is created for every customer query made via phone and other customer service support channels, and the bank’s customer agents work on their assigned tickets until a customer concern is resolved. This led to not just better customer satisfaction ratings, but also a 50% boost in agent productivity and efficiency.
CloudTalk is a call center software platform with a smart dialer that simplifies the repetitive act of dialing numbers to initiate outbound calls. With its three-way calling support, senior customer service support agents can help newer agents learn the ropes of customer care. Besides that, CloudTalk’s Call Transfer feature lets agents transfer calls to a more qualified agent without the long wait time, promising seamless and satisfactory communication.
Nokia is one successful user of CloudTalk. With its dedication to providing high-quality customer service support, the telecommunications company implemented CloudTalk into its workflow. Using the software’s Analytics feature, Nokia drastically improved its customer service — reducing call hold times by 47% and boosting productivity by 10%.
We commonly associate customer service with phone calls, emails, and live chats. But did you know that customer service support can be delivered via text messaging? Businesses can capitalize on SMS customer service to keep customers in the loop of the status of their orders, remind clients of upcoming appointments, request feedback, and many more. Because people spend most of their time on their phones, SMS customer service support is a gift of convenience.
Want to improve your SMS customer service support? Look no further than SimpleTexting. This product supports two-way messaging to encourage free-flowing conversations between an agent and a customer.
What’s great about two-way messaging is you can use a business number to facilitate such conversations, creating a clear boundary between personal and business texting. Automated text messaging is also another standout feature of SimpleTexting. With it, you no longer have to manually send a text message informing your customers that your business is closed for the holidays.
For A-1 Self Storage — a San Diego, California-based company under Caster Group — using SimpleTexting was a huge step up to their customer service support. Apart from reminding customers of their overdue payments, the software enabled A-1 Self Storage to reply to inquiries faster — creating a positive impact on its customer base.
Supporting both SMS and MMS, Textline is a business texting program that features two-way texting, automated messaging, scheduled messages, and the like. Its Shortcuts feature is every customer agent’s best friend. Instead of typing the same canned responses daily, agents can use Shortcuts to craft templates or use pre-existing ones to speed up customer service support with little to no manual input.
Prior to the implementation of Textline, tire size confirmation was a tedious process for Roll By Goodyear, with the brand reaching out to customers via phone call or email. With the help of Textline, Roll by Goodyear created templates for size confirmation and other purposes. Because of Textline, response rates improved and sizing errors dropped.
We often use WhatsApp or any messaging app to communicate with family, colleagues, and friends. But did you know these same apps can be used for messaging businesses? Let’s look at how the below applications are used to supercharge a brand’s customer service support experience.
WhatsApp has transformed into a customer service support hub. This is backed by statistical data from Spectrum, with 39% of survey respondents using the said app to inquire about a brand’s services and products, and 11% to report complaints and ask questions related to shipping, delivery, and the brand.
Supporting media and document files, WhatsApp enables customer service support agents to send messages in the most appropriate format. In addition to its intuitiveness and chatbot integration, the app also boasts end-to-end encryption that gives customers peace of mind whenever they interact with a customer service agent.
Decathlon is a popular sports retailer with over a thousand stores across the globe. To keep up with the influx of customer inquiries and concerns, Decathlon started to leverage the power of live chat. Delivered via WhatsApp, the retailer powers its live chat system with automation, allowing seamless, hassle-free self-service customer service support and contributing to a 50% reduction in handling time.
This is also a blessing for Decathlon’s customer agents, as they are now less swamped with simple customer queries — which means they can simultaneously work on multiple complex customer concerns.
For entrepreneurs and brands, Apple Messages for Business is their best friend. While simple customer queries are answered through automation, customers can opt to chat with a human agent for more complex concerns. This application also features a host of features to elevate the customer service support experience, such as Apple Pay integration, appointment scheduling, and many more.
However, there is one standout feature of Apple Messages for Business — Chat Suggest. Not only is it convenient, but it also promises seamless communication and better customer satisfaction due to reduced hold times. Lush, a retailer that sells handmade, cruelty-free cosmetic products, uses Chat Suggest to minimize calls from customers.
AI has taken the world by storm, and it’s no surprise that this technology has made its way to the customer service and sales industry. Through AI, brands can provide faster support and assistance while preserving the human element inherent to customer service support.
With the support of automation, businesses can deliver high-quality customer care without overwhelming agents with queries. Below are examples of AI messaging in action.
Kik is home to a thousand chatbots. From chatbots that give a dose of entertainment to those that streamline the shopping and customer service support experience, there’s a chatbot for everyone. For Kik users with a penchant for fashion and style, H&M’s homegrown Kik chatbot is heaven-sent. Powered by natural language processing (NPL), this chatbot can understand natural language and provide human-like responses, even to the point of using emojis!
Through the chatbot, customers can ask for personalized recommendations and fashion tips without the hassle of contacting a human retail customer service agent. They can also take a quiz that lets the bot determine their personal style. Unsurprisingly, the chatbot led to increases in click-through (8%) and engagement rates (86%).
While Facebook Messenger is primarily used for keeping in touch with loved ones, it also serves another purpose — customer service support. This does not come as a surprise given the app’s convenience and high user count. If you’re a long-time user of Messenger, you’ve probably come across or interacted with several chatbots from your favorite companies.
1-800-Flowers is one of those businesses that leverage the app for its chatbot. The chatbot eliminates the hassle of calling the retailer’s eponymous number to purchase flowers. Additionally, the speed and accessibility of the chatbot drew in a slew of chatbot-based orders from new buyers.
For entrepreneurs, social media is not a waste of time; it’s a battleground for marketing one’s brand to build an online reputation and attract new customers. As most people are online and have social networking accounts, it just makes sense to provide customer service support via social media.
Businesses can’t just create a Facebook page, do the bare minimum, and call it a day. Nowadays, content and customer service support go hand in hand. This means creating relevant content, such as product tips and showcases, to encourage new and old customers to reach out to your brand.
Moreover, businesses should make their presence known by responding to comments, private messages, and reviews. BlendJet, for example, answers customer queries in the comments section.
TikTok conjures images of content creators and influencers dancing and sharing short-form content. Surprisingly, this app is also a viable customer service support tool. Businesses with Creator accounts can use TikTok’s Q&A feature to answer customers’ questions via written (comment) or video format. Q&A supports TikTok LIVE, so there’s real-time interaction between your brand and audience.
Furthermore, TikTok puts a creative, yet entertaining and grounded spin on customer service support. Zendesk reported that Starface, a skincare brand, uploads engaging tutorial and FAQ videos on its page to help customers with their skin problems and answer product-related queries.
Technology and digital tools complement human customer service support agents. Self-service portals put the agency of customer service to customers, which means they don’t have to contact a human customer agent to resolve an issue or get answers to common questions. Below are two examples of self-service portals.
Google Help features a treasure trove of guides for each of Google’s products and services. On the main page, click on an icon — say, Google Chrome — and it will take you to a list of help topics you can click and read at any time.
Don’t like doing your own research? The website has a digital support assistant called “Help Guide” to assist you with anything. Select a pre-existing response and “Help Guide” will share a relevant article. If you pick “Something Else,” you’ll be asked to provide an explanation of your issue. You can also look up, ask, and answer questions in “Community,” adding a social element to customer service support. Overall, Google Help is the best example of a self-service customer service support portal.
If you’re looking to create a self-service customer service support portal from scratch, check out Document360. Here, you can write articles and guides and organize them into categories and sub-categories. The software solution’s WYSIWYG editor works just like any word processing tool, whereas the Advanced WYSIWYG editor supports text writing and embedding of media content such as images and videos.
Finally, there’s the Markdown editor. While the word “Markdown” sounds intimidating, newbies with little to no experience in coding can use the editor to write and format text using the Markdown toolbar or writing the syntax. It supports live previews, too — which is a plus. Avontus, for instance, hosted and organized all their guides — from FAQs to installation guides — on Document360, providing round-the-clock, self-service support to customers.
Are phone calls, emails, and AI not enough? There’s video support. Video-based communication makes customer service support a highly personalized experience. For visual learners and non-readers, video tutorials are heaven-sent as they provide straightforward solutions to problems.
After all, why read a lengthy tutorial when you can watch and follow a three-minute video? If you plan to innovate your business’s customer service support channels, consider the following programs.
From marketing to customer service support, Loom is a must-try for any business. With this software, you can create personalized videos to address a specific customer concern, guiding the customer every step of the way. Postclick elevated and humanized its customer service support through Loom. By creating videos, customer satisfaction soared and customers could easily follow or understand even the most complex tutorials or topics.
ScreenRec is more than just a screen recorder for your personal needs. It’s also a customer service support solution for customer care agents. Because agents can just record their computer screen for demonstration purposes, or send pre-made video tutorials, it minimizes the need for typing long tutorials or responses. As of this writing, ScreenRec has garnered an average TrustPilot rating of 4.5 stars. Additionally, IT Specialists London’s director George S. claimed that the program enhanced customer communications and internal workplace processes.
In-app messages refer to messages that are integrated into the app itself, only appearing while you’re using the program. These messages can be in the form of banners, full-page displays, welcome notifications, and many more. Though some people find them annoying, they’re actually beneficial for customer service support. Check out how two companies use in-app messaging to their advantage.
Dribble — an online platform for designers — uses in-app messaging as a microsurvey channel for rating the quality of customer service support. You can select “Epic!,” “Meh…,” and “Scuk” or include written feedback on Dribble’s customer care.
With programs implementing new features, it’s hard to keep up and master them all. Web conferencing platform GoToWebinar displays an Appcues-created animated slideout demonstrating its Transcripts tool. A brief description of Transcripts is included to give returning users an idea of what it is. Thanks to the slideout, they can stay in the know of new features without being overwhelmed with information.
We hope this comprehensive guide sheds light on how brands and companies use various digital channels to deliver timely customer service support. Optimizing your digital customer service support may be challenging, but for KDCI, no challenge is too hard. KDCI only employs and trains customer service agents equipped with the essential hard and soft skills to deliver high-caliber customer service support.
With KDCI’s experience in the customer service industry, we are confident that our agents can streamline your brand’s customer service and make your customers happy.
What are you waiting for? Outsource customer service and build your customer service dream team. Contact us now!
Retail customer service is the bread and butter of online and brick-and-mortar retail businesses. With customers expecting high-quality customer service, it’s time for brands to step up their customer support game. In an article by Zendesk, just having a lot of bad experiences with poor customer service is enough for most customers (73%) to shift their loyalty to a competitor. As your business grows and the market economy evolves, choosing to outsource retail customer service to the Philippines is a wise venture.
The Philippines is home to a plethora of call centers and BPO (business process outsourcing) companies. No wonder the country has earned a well-deserved reputation for being the world’s BPO and call center capital. Let’s talk about why businesses outsource customer service to the Philippines.
Due to the country’s history, Filipino culture is a fascinating blend of Eastern and Western values. For many businesses based in the USA or any Western country, the Philippines is an attractive candidate for outsourcing. This helps minimize cultural clashes and misunderstandings between you and your Filipino retail customer service team.
Moreover, Filipinos are fluent in English. As of 2023, the Philippines places second among Asian countries in terms of English proficiency, as reported by the EF English Proficiency Index.
Plus, the neutral English accent of Filipinos and their ability to converse in business English give them an edge in voice retail customer service — ensuring clear and professional communication across the board. All these factors, therefore, contribute to a brand’s willingness to outsource retail customer service to the Philippines.
Hospitality is the staple of Filipino culture. This trait is manifested not just in the family, but also in the workplace. When you outsource retail customer service to the Philippines, expect your offshore Filipino staff to provide the best customer care to your clients. Because they feel heard and valued, your business is more likely to retain these customers who can become loyal to your brand.
Apart from culture and language, cost-effectiveness is also one of the factors why businesses abroad outsource retail customer service to the Philippines. By hiring offshore staff, you can drive more profit to your business without sacrificing the quality of customer care your overseas staff provides to your clients.
Unlike employing onshore staff, you don’t have to invest in a bigger office space to accommodate your new team. Computers and internet connectivity are not an issue either as the Filipino staff you’re going to outsource retail customer service to have the necessary equipment to get the job done.
The government’s support for the BPO industry extends not only to skills training and development, but also to the country’s legislation concerning data privacy and protection.
Since BPOs handle a multitude of customer data, they are obliged to protect such data from unauthorized access — accidental or otherwise — under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 or Republic Act No. 10173.
If violated, BPO firms will face penalties, which include fines and imprisonment. If you outsource retail customer service to the Philippines, rest assured that your outsourcing partner will have security measures in place to prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands.
In retail customer service, your workforce is the backbone of your business. If your business is attending to a large volume of customer inquiries, you can hire a team of freelancers or partner with a BPO company to boost operational efficiency. Either way, be sure to take note of the following factors before outsourcing retail customer service.
Because freelancers are their own bosses, they can work according to their preferred schedules. Freelancers are also based in different geographical regions, which means they can provide 24/7 retail customer service support. This ensures that your customers’ needs and concerns are resolved day or night. While the time zone difference can work to your advantage, take note that freelancers work on multiple projects with different clients.
There are instances when your business will face an influx of customer needs. When you outsource retail customer service to freelancers, you can scale your workforce as needed to ensure timely, round-the-clock support and customer satisfaction.
Freelancers often work from home or in public places like cafes, with the latter a cesspool of malware and cyberattacks. While they are equipped with the proper retail customer service skills as full-time employees, data privacy and protection remain a concern for businesses. Unless you provide freelancers with access to data security tools or orient them with your brand’s security practices, you risk compromising sensitive customer data.
BPOs operate 24/7, and what better way to provide real-time customer support than to follow your country’s time zone? With the flexibility of BPO employees — especially Filipinos — your business can enjoy high-quality, round-the-clock retail customer service without all the long wait times.
BPO firms can scale according to the demands of their client. This can mean hiring more voice or non-voice retail customer service agents or downsizing the workforce without sacrificing the efficiency and quality of customer service.
Much like freelancers, BPO companies also have access to sensitive customer information. One edge that Philippine-based BPOs have against freelancers is better data privacy and protection, all thanks to the Data Privacy Act of 2012. These companies have data security policies in place to prevent breaches of confidentiality. As such, BPOs make for a safer option to outsource retail customer service.
Outsourcing retail customer service doesn't have to end up in a sour experience. This tutorial will walk you through the steps of outsourcing, from assessing the status of your retail brand to meeting and working with your Filipino customer service agents.
From your employees and customers down to the daily workload, examine the current needs of your retail business. Maybe your business’s voice or email retail customer service has become a source of stress due to increased call or email volumes, and there’s not enough staff to cover peak hours or seasons or certain tasks, such as product replacements and refunds. Understanding these issues can help you assess if you need to outsource retail customer service overseas.
After assessing your business needs, your next step is to establish goals for outsourcing retail customer service. You can also start drafting a contract outlining the following details:
A contract is a legally binding document that benefits the goals and interests of your business and your outsourcing partner. To avoid ambiguity and contract disputes, every clause must be clear, precise, and straightforward.
The Philippines is a treasure trove of the best BPO companies. While you won’t be out of options, finding the right outsourcing partner and assessing its cost of outsourcing customer service are paramount to the success of your business’s retail customer service. Do your research and choose reputable outsourcing companies with proven track records in the retail customer service industry.
Looking up client testimonials or reaching out to former or current clients also does wonders in your search. This way, you can better gauge if a BPO firm is reliable and capable of providing high-quality retail customer service through various communication channels, including email, phone, and live chat.
Getting up to speed with Filipino culture and Philippine laws doesn’t hurt, too. Once you’ve chosen a BPO company, present and discuss the terms of your contract. After closing the deal, the company will onboard the most qualified employees for your business.
Your first meeting with your Filipino agents need not be awkward. To facilitate hassle-free virtual communication between you, your Filipino staff, and their team leader or point of contact (POC), use Microsoft Teams, Skype, or any platform your business uses.
Share training manuals and scripts and orient them about your business’s etiquette and workflow. When your Filipino staff is knowledgeable of the ins and outs of your business, they can represent your brand, handle the rigors of retail customer service, resolve customer issues, and meet KPIs.
To maintain exceptional retail customer service, BPO employees undergo regular coaching from their team leader and clients. When reviewing the performance of your customer agents, take into account the following metrics:
Providing constructive feedback to your Filipino customer service agents equips them with the necessary skills to resolve complex customer issues faster. Giving kudos to your agents for a stellar performance or an achievement also motivates them to do better. With a successful team of customer agents at your beck and call, your brand can retain more customers and build a solid reputation.
Nowadays, a brand’s reputation is built not just on its products, but also on the quality of retail customer service it provides. With seasonality, peak hours, and omnichannel customer support contributing to an influx of customer inquiries, outsourcing to a BPO like KDCI makes all the difference.
Since 2011, KDCI has provided clients with state-of-the-art customer service. With our pool of talented agents, we are confident of their ability to provide exemplary customer support and improve your brand’s image.
Learn more about outsourcing retail customer service. Contact us today!
Nowadays, a well-crafted website is the bare minimum. According to Hostinger, 94% of first impressions are attributed to a website’s design. Whether you’re in charge of a large organization or an up-and-coming entrepreneur, having a user-friendly and responsive website with eye-catching visuals and relevant content can make the difference between converting visitors to customers and losing out on potential revenue. Building a website from scratch is doable; however, having the means to outsource web design to the Philippines can ease the burden off of your shoulders.
This allows you to focus more on formulating marketing strategies and other important matters, all while enjoying reduced labor costs and increased website traffic — backed by a highly qualified team of web designers. Below, we outline the reasons why businesses outsource web design to the Philippines.
For many foreign businesses, cheaper labor costs are one of the main factors influencing their decision to outsource their tasks. Hence — when you outsource web design to the Philippines — you’re not only cutting down on your business’s overhead and labor costs, but you’re also getting a visually engaging website that can further scale the profitability of your products and services.
According to the EF English Proficiency Index, the Philippines is one of the countries with the highest English proficiency, ranking at the 20th place as of 2023. Due to Filipinos’ proficient English skills, language barriers are eroded — ensuring smoother written and oral communication among overseas businesses and their offshore web design outsourcing staff.
Plus, given the Philippines’ culture and history, the country can effectively collaborate and forge strong working relationships with businesses in the United States or any western country without cultural clashes. When you outsource web design to the Philippines, the designers you’ll be working with will be familiar with common English slang and expressions.
The experience of Filipinos in web design — combined with their high level of education and English proficiency — make them a top contender among companies looking to outsource web design to the Philippines. Moreover, their drive to produce compelling web designs tailored to your organization’s needs reflect their hard work and competence in the field.
Being time-flexible is a plus when you outsource web design overseas. Fortunately, Filipino employees are known for their flexibility. When you outsource web design to your Filipino team, they can adjust to significant time differences to provide web design services to your business.
With Philippine-based outsourcing companies operating on a round-the-clock basis, you’ll have no problems requesting revisions and maintaining communication during working hours. In turn, this can help improve productivity and efficiency in web design project management.
Time and again, the Philippines has solidified its reputation as the “BPO capital” and “call center capital” of the world. Of course, this is all thanks to the government’s profound support for the BPO industry.
Local laws like the Special Economic Zone Act, or Republic Act No. 7916, enable the country to establish economic zones and forge industrial partnerships with other countries, giving the Filipino workforce a competitive advantage on the global market. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 — or Republic Act No. 10173 — also ensures your peace of mind as BPO companies will protect all the sensitive information when you outsource web design to your Filipino team.
Not only do these laws make the Philippines an attractive destination to outsource web design to, but they also help establish trust between foreign businesses and local BPOs.
For businesses looking to outsource web design, deciding whether to hire onshore or offshore web designers can be tough. Let’s take a look at their advantages and disadvantages.
Hiring in-house web designers means you don’t have to deal with language barriers, facilitating smoother and hassle-free communication between team members without accounting for cultural differences.
While it’s not bad to outsource web design to an offshore designer, an in-house web designer possesses ample knowledge of their local market’s consumer behavior, making it easier to design websites that appeal to their target audience’s tastes.
Because of the absence of time zone differences, you can better control the design and quality of your brand’s website. In case of revisions or urgent projects, your onshore web designers will get the job done quickly. If you outsource web design to other countries, you'll have to wait until the next business day for your team’s outputs.
In-house web designers — though they possess the same skill sets as their offshore counterparts — are often more expensive due to the higher labor costs in their home country. Hiring and training your onshore staff as well as investing in a bigger space or better equipment to accommodate your growing team entail additional costs. Due to higher overhead costs, many businesses choose to outsource web design to other countries, including the Philippines.
If, for example, your business is based in the United States, you’re more likely to hire web designers residing in that country. While they’re more familiar with the local market, there are plenty of talented web designers you can outsource web design to overseas.
With an offshore team, brands have access to a wider talent tool. Despite time zone differences, the offshore teams you outsource web design to can deliver quality work at a lower cost, driving more profit to your business.
In terms of scalability, offshore teams have the upper hand. This ensures your business’s flexibility when you outsource web design to foreign designers. Whether there’s a shift in market demand and consumer tastes, an influx of web design projects, or changes in the local economy, you can expand or downsize your workforce accordingly.
In addition, employing an offshore team of web designers gives you the gift of promoting your brand to a global audience — increasing your likelihood of gaining foreign customers. This reason alone incentivizes businesses to outsource web design projects overseas.
Time zones add a layer of challenge when deciding to outsource web design projects to another country. For example, the Philippines is ahead of Washington, DC, USA by 12 hours. This can lead to difficulties in setting an appropriate schedule for virtual meetings and maintaining productivity and quality control.
However, time zone differences are not an issue at all provided there is a standard of quality of outputs and open communication between you and your offshore members. Should you decide to outsource web design to the Philippines, most offshore web designers in BPOs are flexible, adapting to their client’s time zone to ensure real-time delivery of outputs.
Cultural differences can be a barrier when you outsource web design to offshore web designers. Some euphemisms in your home country may also not be understood by non-native speakers, even those proficient in English — potentially leading to misunderstandings and miscommunication.
Now that you’re ready to begin your outsourcing journey, below is a step-by-step guide on how to outsource web design to the Philippines— from finding the right agency or freelancer to establishing a long-lasting professional relationship with your offshore team.
Before you outsource web design to the Philippines, it’s important to take a hard look at your business’s workforce and budget. Here are three questions to reflect on:
Your answers to these questions should give a clearer picture of your organization’s shortcomings, and if these warrant a need to outsource web design to foreign countries.
Moreover, it’s also important to set expectations and present your potential outsourcing partner you’re going to outsource web design to with the scope, goals, and expected turnaround times of your web design projects. Identifying your website’s target audience and branding is paramount to helping your offshore staff incorporate proper design elements to engage your visitors.
There are a plethora of skilled freelancers and top creative agencies in the Philippines to outsource web design to. Generally, hiring a freelance web designer is more affordable. Freelancers also bring with them their skills, knowledge, and expertise to the table. But most of the time, they’re more suitable for short-term projects. They juggle multiple projects, which means they have more access to their clients’ data — which can be risky in case something goes awry on the freelancer’s end.
Likewise, partnering with outsourcing companies in the Philippines is a cost-effective endeavor, with the added bonus of developing long-term partnerships with your offshore Filipino web designers. Most of all, you don’t have to worry about data loss when you outsource web design thanks to the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Before you outsource web design tasks, conducting a background check on your outsourcing partner is paramount to your organization’s success. Whether it’s reviewing their official website or portfolio, scheduling a call, or reading about Filipino culture and laws, you’ll be able to gauge if a freelancer or a BPO you’re going to outsource web design to is culturally compatible with yours and competent in delivering quality web design work.
At this point, you’ve probably chosen the best BPO company to outsource web design to in the Philippines. Now, you’re ready for the next step: contract signing. The outsourcing company will provide a contract for your partnership, highlighting the responsibilities of both parties to ensure they’re met as expected when you outsource web design projects. Likewise, you can present an outsourcing firm with a contract or a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Before signing a contract, be transparent about your goals and the complexities of your web design projects. This way, the BPO firm can train and onboard the right people for your business.
Whether it’s Slack or Skype, having a dedicated platform for communication makes starting team-wide meetings, consolidating tasks, and reporting issues more convenient for your offshore web designers and Point of Contact (POC). It also promotes accountability for both parties.
When you outsource web design to your offshore team, don’t forget to set up login credentials for websites and provide access to web design tools, so your Filipino team can design your website to perfection.
Once you begin to outsource web design tasks, performance monitoring will be vital to your business. By making sure your offshore team meets Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and other performance metrics, you set your outsourcing staff for success and your organization for increased revenue.
Maintain frequent communication with your outsourcing agency’s POC, so you can provide regular feedback on your offshore staff’s design choices. This way, you can expect the same level of quality and professionalism when you outsource web design projects in the coming months.
Web design is not just an art; it’s a science of strategically asserting your brand to your potential customers. From the typography to the layout of the visual elements, creating a website that’s as creative as they are effective in converting visitors takes time.
This is where you can start to outsource web design projects. At KDCI, you’re not only getting web designers with an artistic eye, but also those who can maintain the overall functionality of your website. With more than a decade of experience in the outsourcing industry, we are confident that we are more than capable of taking your brand to new heights.
Learn more about creative and web design outsourcing. Contact us today!
There are many countries that make amazing outsourcing destinations in 2024, but we’ve narrowed down the search to help you outsource software development services by shortlisting three countries this 2024.
Since the early 2000s, the Philippines has provided IT education. And following in the footsteps of call center outsourcing in the 1990s, IT boomed around 2010s, which pushed local schools to double down on IT education to match the growing demand for IT professionals globally. This kickstarted the growth of Philippine IT-BPO industry (also known as IT outsourcing or ITO), making IT services, one of its biggest outsourced services to the US, Australia, and European markets.
At present, revenue of the Philippine IT services sector market is set to reach US$2.26bn in 2024, growing annually at 9.76% from 2024 to 2029. This is higher than the global growth rate of 5.76%, making the Philippines one of the top IT outsourcing destinations globally.
Among the services offered by IT outsourcing companies in the Philippines, the most popular are software development, followed by customer & IT support and back-office support & data management. What draws companies to outsource IT services to the Philippines are its cost-effective solutions, large pool of skilled workers, as well as its cultural affinity with Western countries.
A developing country in South-East Asia, the Philippines has one of the most competitive labor costs globally, with rates that are lower by up to 70% than those in the US, Australia, and Europe.
While the average cost of hiring a software developer is US$55.40/hr (US), US$58.65/hr (AU), and US$93.00/hr (UK). The cost to outsource the same to the Philippines is around US$30/hr, inclusive already of resources and tools, government mandated benefits, on top of the salary. This cost difference compounds significantly, attracting many Western companies to work with Philippine IT outsourcing companies.
With its large, highly educated population, the latest reports suggest that there are over 190,000 skilled developers in the Philippines. This large pool of talent is a great way for companies to access specialized skills, such as knowledge of coding languages like Javasript, Python, CSS, and more.
Another reason to work with Philippine software developers is the Philippines’ excellent English. Given its background as a former US colony, the Philippines’ medium of instruction has been English for decades. This is reflected in most Filipinos’ ability to speak English and communicate well with people from English-speaking countries like the US, Australia, and the UK. Not to mention, Filipinos’ English accent is generally considered more neutral than other English-speaking Asian countries, which can aid in communication and collaboration.
A global IT outsourcing powerhouse, India has been developing its IT and software development services since the 1980s, which gives it a head start over its competitors. This advantage allowed it to dominate the market, especially as the Indian government liberalized the economy in the 1990s, leading to its IT boom.
This policy attracted many global companies to build their offshore IT and software development operations in the country, particularly in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune.
Today, India holds a significant chunk of the world’s IT outsourcing market, with its highly qualified skilled manpower, English proficiency, as well as their solid reputation in the industry.
As India has the largest population in the world in 2023, along with it being known globally for its IT services, it’s no surprise it has millions of developers that can be tapped by foreign companies looking to outsource software development. With such an overwhelming number, there’s no shortage of skills when it comes to development. Most coding languages needed can be found in a skilled Indian software developer.
The British ruled India for over 200 years, ensuring wide-spread English adoption. This equipped Indian developers with the communication skills needed to collaborate with global companies for offshore projects.
With India’s strong reputation in technological services, its IT outsourcing industry is on a continuous rise and is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. And with the growing demand of tech professionals globally, India is likely to produce more professionals like software developers with world-class skills. This makes many global companies trust Indian software developers and want to offshore to India.
Since the 2000s, Poland began its outsourcing sector, revolving around service like IT, which it’s widely known for today. As a European nation with relatively lower labor costs than neighboring countries like the UK, Spain, and Sweden, Poland easily became a strategic location for European outsourcing.
As global outsourcing companies built offshore centers in cities like Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław, and Poznań, Poland became known for its IT outsourcing, particularly their talented software developers.
This is reflected in their steadily growing IT outsourcing industry and with IT outsourcing accounting for 8% of the country’s GDP. This progress has made outsourcing software development to Poland very attractive, with primary drivers being cost savings, strategic location, and its skilled workforce.
Rates in Poland are 20-30% lower than those in the US and Western Europe, making it a great option for reducing overhead costs in software development.
Unlike other top outsourcing destinations for software development, Poland is located in Central Europe, much closer to countries with that outsource a lot of development work like the US, UK, and other European nations. This makes Poland not only an outsourcing destination, but a top nearshore destination, with minimal time zone difference.
There are hundreds of thousands Polish developers, top in the CEE. This is a good indication of the country’s extensive variety in terms of skill and specializations, making it an attractive location for tapping into emerging technologies.
As seen in the top 3 countries for software development outsourcing, the main reasons to outsource include cost savings, large pool of skilled developers, as well as easy of communication and/or collaboration brought about by language and cultural similarities as well as geographical position.
In the wake of a global pandemic that shook the world, there are major risks in global economy in 2024.These create uncertainty which urges companies to seek solutions that help them stay agile in the face of unpredictable market changes. And with rising costs and highly competitive job market, many developed nations choose to outsource to save money and improve efficiency in their businesses. Outsourcing to developing countries lends businesses a competitive advantage, not only by providing more flexibility and scalability, but also by giving them access into new markets.
Another reason to outsource software development is due to the nature of the work requiring specialized skills. It takes six months to a year on average to develop a deeper understanding of a programming language, and it takes even longer to learn how to resourcefully implement solutions using a specific coding language. This increases the demand for software developers, especially with the rapidly advancing technological landscape of 2024. With companies needing to go digital, many require custom and robust yet user-friendly software. And with the rising cost of labor, it becomes more attractive to outsource such specialized skills to countries with large pool of skilled developers like the Philippines, India, and Poland.
The nature of outsourcing entails working in different locations. This poses a threat to communication and collaboration, both of which are vital to the success and quick turnaround of development projects. Given this challenge, it’s imperative that companies work with software developers who have the ability to communicate and collaborate as seamlessly as possible. Such applies to both language and cultural affinity, as well as time zone similarities.
With both the Philippines and India having large populations of English speakers, their software developers are able to work well with countries from English-speaking nations, as long as they adjust their shifts to align with the time zone of their clients. Meanwhile, Poland is a European country, with language, culture, and time zone similarities to European nations that make it a very attractive location to outsource software development.
Whatever your reason may be for outsourcing, it’s important to work with a reputable outsourcing agency with highly skilled software developers to ensure the success of your project.
At KDCI Outsourcing, we’ve supported multiple global brands from across the world, providing them with skilled and vetted software developers who are proficient in various programming languages like JS, CSS, and Python to ensure the smooth execution of work and the delivery of high-quality software.
Interested to learn more about software development & IT outsourcing? Contact us today!
A study by McKinsey found that companies that prioritize customer experience achieve more than double the revenue of companies who don’t provide as good CX. This highlights the value of great customer service in business success and the importance of choosing how and who to outsource customer service operations to.
Holding 10-15% of the global outsourcing market, the Philippines is one of the leading outsourcing destinations globally, especially for customer service. Below are reasons why.
When outsourcing to an offshore destination, the biggest barrier is language. While English is an international language spoken all around the globe, many countries don’t have high English proficiency. Meanwhile, the Philippines is the 3rd largest English-speaking country globally and ranks 2nd in terms of English proficiency in all of Asia. This gives them an edge over other top outsourcing destinations like India, Malaysia, and South America, in terms of customer service, especially since their known to have a more neutral English accent.
Hospitality is one of the key traits of a good customer service professional. And this virtue of being warm and welcoming to guests and visitors is embedded in Philippine culture, passed down from one generation to the next. It’s in the Filipinos’ DNA to be hospitable, which is reaffirmed by the Philippine being one of the friendliest countries in the world. With this hospitality, Filipino customer service specialists have made a name for themselves as warm and friendly agents, offering best-in-class customer service.
As one of the key drivers of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector receives government support. From the Board of Investments, Philippine outsourcing companies enjoy tax holidays, tax exemptions, and simplified import and export procedures. Meanwhile, the Philippine Economic Zone of Authority (PEZA) provides incentives for companies in the BPO industry, including those providing customer support outsourcing services. These helped the industry to continuously grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic, a testament to the stability of the Philippines in terms of a customer service outsourcing destination.
The Philippines may not have the largest population, the most educated workforce, or the best infrastructure, however, it still manages to outshine other countries in terms of call center services. This is why the Philippines remains the call center capital of the world despite tight competition -- its large English-speaking population, high English proficiency, robust government support, competitive pricing and tax incentives, all make the Philippines a hard-to-beat outsourcing destination, especially for voice-based services like customer support and after-hours support services.
It’s almost impossible to talk about the Philippines as an outsourcing destination without mention of its significant cost saving potential. As a developing nation with lower labor costs relative to countries like the US, UK, and Australia, the Philippines can offer up to 70% cost savings through outsourcing. Not to mention, the cost of outsourcing already includes benefits, infrastructure, management fees, and so on, eliminating the requirement for many resources that contribute to even greater savings for foreign clients.
When it comes to outsourcing customer service and support to the Philippines, there are multiple arrangements you can engage in depending on your objectives and preferences. Below are four ways you can take advantage of Philippine customer service outsourcing!
Traditional call centers provide dedicated customer service teams that handle inbound and outbound calls. These centers are equipped with the necessary infrastructure and technology to manage high call volumes efficiently.
Key Benefits:
Dedicated offshore teams are exclusively assigned to your company, working as an extension of your in-house team. These teams can be tailored to meet specific business needs and are fully integrated into your processes.
Key Benefits:
Shared service centers provide customer service support to multiple clients. These centers use pooled resources to deliver cost-effective solutions without compromising quality.
Key Benefits:
Hire freelance customer service agents for short-term projects or to handle peak periods. This model offers flexibility and cost savings for businesses with fluctuating customer service needs.
Key Benefits:
Whether you choose to outsource customer service by working with one of the top call centers in the Philippines, by building your own dedicated offshore team, or by employing shared service centers or hiring freelancers, it’s important to follow the right process to ensure outsourcing success. Here are the steps you should take to help you achieve your customer service objectives through outsourcing.
Before outsourcing, you want to do a thorough review of your current customer service processes, understand the pros and cons of call center outsourcing that are specific to your business, and identify areas of improvement that can be addressed through outsourcing.. Determine which roles or processes you want to outsource, and list all the tasks involved. Know the level of complexity of the tasks, and already set criteria on the skills and experience needed when outsourcing the role or process.
With clarity on what you need, start looking into the top customer service outsourcing companies in the Philippines to find out whose services and expertise match your requirements best. The goal is to find an outsourcing partner who’s worked with companies similar to yours. This ensures a smaller learning curve, easing transition, minimizing errors, and maximizing efficiency.
When researching, start by looking at the companies’ websites and social media profiles. Check out case studies and portfolios to see their past work and gauge whether they can meet your expectations. And lastly, book meetings or calls to get better insights in the companies’ solutions and capabilities.
Once you’ve selected an outsourcing company, discuss expectations with your service provider. Talk about timelines, customer service outsourcing costs, potential hidden charges, and contract length. Timelines are crucial especially for companies who don’t have customer service teams ready to go. Meanwhile, costs and hidden fees need to be identified early on – will you be charged if there’s rework? How much do overtime pay cost? And if you choose to sign the contract, how long will it last, and what would happen if you want to end it early?
Knowing these details prior to contract signing helps you understand the agreement you’re entering, and will guide your outsourcing partnership, ensuring the best outcomes.
Your Outsourcing partner will source, hire, train, and vet your offshore customer service team in the Philippines. Then, you will work together in onboarding your offshore customer service team, introducing them to your systems and processes, giving them access to tools, and introducing them to key stakeholders.
Once they’re full onboarded, the last step is to manage your offshore team. This has never been easier with outsourcing partners managing everything for you. So you just receive reports, communicate regularly, and have meetings whenever needed to ensure alignment in terms of goals.
How do you provide the best experience to your customers while being efficient and cost effective? The answer is to outsource customer service to the Philippines, particularly, to a company like KDCI Outsourcing with over a decade of experience providing high-quality customer support to customers in various industries like retail, healthcare, and property management.
Learn more about outsourced customer service with KDCI. Contact us today!
Bookkeeping is the management and organization of financial transactions, keeping them in systematic record for a company or individual. The reason why someone would outsource bookkeeping is to help keep track of a company’s financial success, which is essential to the future growth of a business.
Having experienced bookkeepers on your team is important to the success of your organization. Experienced professionals can generate accurate financial reports and manage transactions seamlessly.
Although some businesses are able to staff their own bookkeepers in-house, many companies are looking for an alternative option. The answer several businesses have found is to outsource their bookkeeping team abroad, specifically to the Philippines.
Outsourcing or offshoring is a great option for your company because it has many benefits overall. Being able to operate offshore your bookkeeping team helps relieve any extra burdens that might be in-house, giving your company more flexibility. Outsourcing also provides you with a wide range of skilled professionals in accounting, who are ready to support your business with any bookkeeping needs.
Although there are many countries famous for their outsourcing services, we found that the Philippines is becoming a top outsourcing destination for many reasons.
One of the most attractive benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping to the Philippines is how cost-efficient it is for your business. Because of the lower labor cost in the Philippines, it is much more cost-effective for your business to outsource your bookkeeping team.
For example, the average bookkeeper in the United States makes about $45,500 USD, annually while the average bookkeeper in the Philippines makes about $6,000 USD.
With such a significant difference, despite extra costs that come with benefits, resources, and other factors, outsourcing to the Philippines is still up to 60% lower than hiring an onshore staff in the US. This benefit attracts many companies throughout the globe to outsource their bookkeeping needs to the Philippines.
Outsourcing companies provide a wide range of experienced professionals in the field of bookkeeping. With the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry growing, about 1.3 million Filipinos are being employed, with many individuals going into the field of finance and accounting. Many professional outsourced bookkeepers in the Philippines are experienced in accurately recording your company's financial transactions. These individuals can manage them in an organized manner, reducing the risk of penalties and errors that may arise.
Many Filipino bookkeepers are also updated on the most recent tools and resources for bookkeeping such as Quickbooks and Microsoft dynamics 365 Finance & operations. Using the most efficient technology allows for the most accurate records and management of company finances.
Another advantage of outsourcing bookkeeping services is the ability to adjust your team easily. Depending on your needs, you can scale the size of your bookkeeping team. With this flexibility, you can quickly adjust to changing needs and effectively manage your company’s finances.
Managing an in-house bookkeeping team can be time-consuming, leaving less time for other important tasks that your company has. One of the many benefits of outsource bookkeeping allows you to focus on core business activities such as sales and marketing, that drive revenue growth.
Businesses that outsource their bookkeeping team also save time and costs when it comes to training new employees. By outsourcing bookkeeping services, it eliminates the need for extensive training and allows for a smoother transition. Many Filipino bookkeepers are experienced and well-versed in this field, giving you the most accurate records and transactions.
If you have never outsourced or offshored a team abroad, you may be unsure of how to start building your bookkeeping team. Below, we have broken down this challenging process into 5 steps to help you outsource your bookkeeping team!
Based on your company's needs, you can determine the specific bookkeeping services needed by your corporation. Knowing which specific services, such as payroll processing or general ledger management, can help you build a strong bookkeeping team.
A vital aspect when outsourcing bookkeeping is to find a reliable outsourcing partner such as KDCI Outsourcing, to help build your team. When finding an outsourcing partner, it is important to find a firm that you can trust, rely on, and seamlessly collaborate with.
Communication is key when it comes to an outsourcing partnership and making sure you communicate your needs is important for smooth collaboration.
Your outsourcing partner should be able to support your company and should be like an extension of your team. This support should not stop at just helping manage your operations; a good outsourcing partner should grow with your business, giving valuable feedback to help you improve your operations to achieve your business goals.
For the best outcome, ensure your outsourcing partner has experience using bookkeeping tools and resources. It is important to use reliable and credible accounting software, for accurate records and quality solutions.
Also implement clear communication channels, for team meetings, progress reports, or any concerns you may have during the partnership.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping eliminates the need to conduct training, allowing you to reallocate resources to better address your financial needs.
Create a thorough plan to transfer bookkeeping responsibilities to your partner. The plan should include a list of expectations, deadlines, and progress evaluations. Share any essential information about business processing as well as inform them about your company’s communication style and work systems.
The last step is to evaluate and review progress as often as necessary for growth and improvement. One way to measure growth is to set up key performance indicators (KPI) which are tracked regularly. Over some time, you will be able to evaluate performance, and depending on your current needs, you can optimize operations to improve your business.
Also continue to communicate any concerns or further adjustments to your partner; set up meetings whenever necessary.
We understand that it can be difficult to find a partner for outsourcing bookkeeping, that you can rely on and easily collaborate with, and goes beyond providing services, but is set on helping your company grow.
Here at KDCI Outsourcing, we are committed to helping you build an offshore bookkeeping team that is dedicated to addressing your accounting and finance needs. With a team of experienced and highly skilled individuals who specialize in finance management, credit control, general ledger, and more we'll help you achieve your business goals.
Learn more about outsourced bookkeeping, finance, and accounting. Contact Us today!
What started out as a few agents, has grown into an invaluable partnership with KDCI. With more than 40 team members, we are lucky enough to count as part of our Cedar Family. Thank you so much KDCI for making our Company better!
We have found KDCI to be a consistently reliable partner, always willing to ‘go the extra mile’ to ensure our valued customers receive the best possible service.
KDCI plays a very important role in our catalog and content operations. They are responsive, kind, and always willing to help us as much as possible. We have been working together for more than 4 years, and we hope our partnership will be even more fruitful in the future.
Having collaborated with KDCI.co for our creative needs, I can confidently attest to their unparalleled expertise and dedication. Their team consistently delivered innovative solutions that not only met, but often exceeded our expectations. Their professionalism and attention to detail are commendable.
KDCI were able to grow with us with any future requirements. We have a lot to do when it comes to our business, and everytime we come back, they're right there with us and able to deliver.
KDCI's team has been instrumental in helping us not only modernize our platforms but also increase the experiences for the customer, and to deliver on the tsunami of content that came their way.
We had a lot of difficulty finding qualified talent in the United States. Honestly, I don't think we had thought about outsourcing at all as a potential option, but we were very open to it once we heard about it. We love our KDCI team. They're just like a regular part of our team, it's just that they're thousands of miles away.
It's been five years since we started working with KDCI, and it just keeps getting better and better. We've grown together and achieved a lot of shared success. Overall, they're incredibly professional yet fun to work with. We are incredibly happy to have found them.
We're so glad we partnered with KDCI to develop a unique platform that delivers personalized customer experiences without compromising functionality or security. It was an amazing experience, I won't hesitate to start another project with them again.
