BPO Superpowers Stand Challenged

The BPO superpowers are up for a tough challenge from the minnows of the industry. Countries like Kenya and the Philippines are coming up strong in the business process outsourcing sector. Till five years back, a representative of Kenya in the world telemarketing forum would be ignored. But that is a thing of the past. These days, the prospects in these countries are making business firms warm up to them like never before. The rise of these call center services threatens the command that the call center superpowers like India enjoy at this stage. There are some reasons why these new destinations are coming up. Let's take a closer look at these reasons.

 

The primary reason is that these fresh destinations offer opportunities for the call center investors. Less of money is needed to set up a BPO unit in a country like Kenya. The establishment prices are low and so is the rent. Investors can actually save some money in these initiatives that they can use in other areas like infrastructure. That brings us to another area where these regions are progressing well beyond expectations. The infrastructure was a pain even a few months back. The telecom services were not up to international standards. Call drops and distorted conversations ensured that customer service was quite impossible to conduct. And because of the price of basic necessities like internet, the cost of call center services would shoot up. That was something that was not possible if they had to get clients onboard. Clients would pick India as their destination if they found that the prices didn't suit their budget.

 

Call centers in these countries are populated by hard working professionals who know that they have to swim against the tide.

They are aware that they are competing against the overriding dominance of their counterparts in India. The business firms in USA and Europe are not aware of the call center services that these countries can provide. That is why the employees and agents have to work doubly hard to make an impression. It's true that the telemarketing projects won't start streaming in immediately. They will have to be patient. At the same time, they will have to be careful about the work that they have on their hands. Once business firms trust them, they will be willing to outsource more of the work. That will make it possible for them to grab more projects in the future. This attitude towards work is something that is really impressive.

 

Finally, the cultural context of these countries matches those of America. American telemarketing customers are more comfortable dealing with the accent and call center services of these countries. The BPO agents working out of these call centers know the American way of life, their lifestyle and their preferences. In a way, this is serves as an advantage. The customers feel culturally isolated when dealing with agents having a strange accent and a distant vibe. Such barriers stall the lead generation process in a big way.