Outsourcing customer service has become a common practice among major companies, as it allows them to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and access a larger pool of skilled workers.
In this blog post, we'll be taking a look at the top 10 major companies that outsource customer service and how they take advantage of this strategy to improve their bottom line and provide better service to their customers.
From leading financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, to technology giants like Google and Hootsuite, we'll explore the different ways that companies are leveraging outsourcing to improve their customer service operations.
What is customer service outsourcing?
Customer service outsourcing involves a third party customer service company being hired by a corporation to manage customer service inquiries and interactions. This can involve responding to customers’ questions and complaints by phone, email, live chat, or social media.
There are several reasons why companies choose to outsource their customer service operations. One of the main reasons is cost savings. Outsourcing customer service to countries where labor costs are lower, such as India or the Philippines, can be significantly less expensive than maintaining an in-house customer service team.
Another reason companies outsource customer service is to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Outsourcing companies often have specialized expertise and use advanced technology, which can result in faster and more accurate responses to customer inquiries.
Additionally, outsourcing customer service allows companies to focus on their core business activities. By outsourcing customer service, companies can allocate more resources to product development, marketing, and other areas that are critical to their success.
Lastly, many companies outsource customer service to provide 24/7 customer service and support, which is not feasible for most in-house teams. This allows companies to meet the needs of customers around the clock and improve customer satisfaction.
Overall, customer service outsourcing can provide cost savings, efficiency, and improved customer service, which are all important factors for companies looking to grow and maintain a competitive advantage.
List of Well-Known Companies that Outsource Customer Service
Companies that outsource customer service have one goal in mind—that is to increase operational efficiency and specialized skills while keeping a positive cash flow. Outsourcing customer service is no secret among high-growth companies that continue to keep a solid customer base. Here’s a list of companies that outsource customer service and how they stay at the forefront of today’s rapidly changing customers’ needs:
1. Dell
In Dell's case, the company outsourced its customer service and technical support operations to a number of different call centers located around the world, including in India, the Philippines, and Costa Rica. This allowed Dell to take advantage of lower labor costs in these countries, while still providing high-quality customer service to its customers. In addition, Dell also outsourced some of their customer service to chat and email support which is more cost-efficient than phone support.
Dell's customer service outsourcing strategy was part of a larger trend among technology companies to outsource customer service and other non-core business activities to the best customer service outsourcing companies. By outsourcing customer service, Dell was able to focus on its core business of designing and manufacturing computers, while still providing excellent customer service to its customers.
2. Amazon
Amazon has a large number of customer service centers around the world, including in the United States, India, and the Philippines, which handle customer service inquiries via phone, email, and chat. By outsourcing customer service to these centers, Amazon can take advantage of lower labor costs and provide 24/7 customer service to customers around the world.
Amazon also uses a virtual customer service (VCS) program, where customer service representatives work from their homes. This allows Amazon to have a larger pool of potential employees, and also reduces the cost of running a physical call center.
In addition to traditional customer service channels, Amazon also heavily relies on self-service options such as their website and app, where customers can track orders, manage returns, access account information and more, which reduces the need for human customer service.
Overall, Amazon's customer service outsourcing solutions have allowed the company to focus on its core business of e-commerce and logistics, while still providing excellent customer service to its customers.
3. American Express
By outsourcing customer service to call centers located in countries where labor costs are lower, American Express has been able to reduce its customer service expenses. This allows the company to invest more resources in other areas of the business such as product development and marketing.
Another benefit of outsourcing customer service for American Express is access to specialized expertise. American Express outsourced customer service to a third-party provider that has extensive experience in customer service and uses advanced technology. This allows American Express to provide faster and more accurate responses to customer inquiries, which helps to improve customer satisfaction.
Lastly, American Express outsourced customer service to provide 24/7 customer service and support, which is not feasible for most in-house teams. This allows American Express to meet the needs of customers around the clock and improve customer satisfaction.
4. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is among companies that outsource customer service for the assistance of its various financial products and services. To manage this large volume of customer inquiries, the bank has established call centers in the Philippines and India. These call centers are staffed by trained customer service representatives who are able to assist customers with their financial needs. By outsourcing customer service to these countries, JPMorgan Chase & Co. can reduce costs and increase efficiency in its customer service operations.
In addition to outsourcing customer service, JPMorgan Chase & Co. also invests in the upskilling of its Filipino employees. This is done to develop higher-value skills in areas such as portfolio and consumer credit analysis. By investing in employee training and development, the bank is able to build a more capable and efficient workforce that can better serve its customers. This strategy can also help to retain and attract talented employees, which is important for maintaining the bank's competitive edge in the financial services industry.
5. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a global leader in social media management, established in 2008. They provide a social media management platform that allows businesses and organizations to manage, schedule, and analyze their social media presence across multiple networks. They have a wide range of features that help businesses to save time, increase productivity and drive better results from their social media activities. As of 2021, they have over 18 million customers, with 80% of them coming from Fortune 1000 companies.
As Hootsuite grew and the number of customers increased, it joined companies that outsource customer service to scale up their support operations and meet the growing demand of their customers. To achieve this, they decided to outsource customer support. This means that they contracted with a third-party company that specializes in providing customer support services to handle customer inquiries and issues. By outsourcing customer support, Hootsuite was able to increase the capacity of their support operations without having to hire and train additional staff.
6. The Bank of America
The Bank of America is one of the largest companies that outsource customer service in the United States. They are also one of the largest American employers of call center staff. The bank is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and serves a wide range of clients including corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals.
The bank's customer base is vast, they serve around 66 million consumers and small business owners in the U.S. and more than 35 countries across the globe. With such a diverse customer base, the bank must have a customer service structure that can handle multiple languages and cultures. Outsourcing customer service to other countries can provide them access to a larger pool of skilled customer service representatives with specialized language and cultural knowledge.
By outsourcing customer service, Bank of America can increase the capacity of their support operations and improve the quality of their customer service. They can also reduce costs by not having to invest in hiring, training and retaining employees for customer service operations. Additionally, outsourcing customer service can also help them to provide 24/7 customer support, which is important for a global financial institution.
7. Google
Google is a multinational technology giant and the world's top search engine. The company develops a wide range of Internet-based products and services, including cloud computing and online advertising technologies. Despite its extensive resources and expertise, Google recognizes the value of outsourcing customer support for certain aspects of its business.
One example of this is Google's decision to outsource its phone and email support for AdWords, the company's online advertising platform. AdWords is a complex and technical product that requires a high level of expertise to support. By outsourcing customer support for this product, Google was able to access a pool of skilled and experienced customer service representatives who were able to provide expert assistance to AdWords customers.
This move has helped the company to achieve a positive return on investment (ROI) as outsourcing customer service can be more cost-effective than hiring and training in-house staff. Customer service outsourcing companies provide phone and email support, as well as virtual assistants, IT specialists, and developers for Google, this allowed the company to scale up their support operations and improve the quality of their customer service.
8. Capital One Financial Corp.
Capital One Financial Corp. is among the largest financial companies that outsource customer service in the United States. It provides a wide range of specialized services such as credit cards, banking, and auto loans. As a major financial institution, the bank has a significant customer base that requires assistance with various financial products and services.
To manage this large volume of customer inquiries, the bank has set up outsourced customer service with a Filipino Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company. This means that they have contracted with the best customer service outsourcing companies in the Philippines that specializes in providing customer support services. By outsourcing customer service to the Philippines, the bank can take advantage of the country's large pool of well-educated, English-speaking, and cost-effective workforce.
9. Wells Fargo & Co.
The bank has been operating in the Philippines since 2011, with a focus on offshoring certain roles such as information technology and customer support. This move was considered a vote of confidence in the Philippines, as it has provided thousands of job opportunities to Filipinos.
Wells Fargo's Filipino call center agents assist US clients with a wide range of credit card concerns. They handle inquiries related to account management, billing, and other customer service issues. Additionally, Filipino call center agents also play a key role in credit card collection services, working with customers to resolve past due balances and other delinquency-related issues.
The bank's decision to outsource customer service to the Philippines allows them to access a large pool of highly skilled and well-educated customer service representatives. The Philippines is known for its large English-speaking population and its BPO industry, which is one of the reasons companies choose to hire in the Philippines.
10. Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial is a Fortune 500 company that provides a wide range of financial, insurance, and investment management services to individuals and institutions in more than 40 countries. The company is one of the largest and most well-established financial institutions in the world, with a long history of serving customers across the globe.
In 2013, Prudential Financial made the decision to move its call center work and administrative services overseas, as a cost-saving measure. This move allowed the company to take advantage of lower labor costs in other countries and improve their bottom line. The company has chosen to outsource their customer service to a third-party company that specializes in providing customer support services.
Outsourcing customer service also allowed Prudential Financial to access a larger pool of skilled customer service representatives with specialized knowledge and experience in the field of financial services. This helped the company to ensure that their customers receive timely and effective assistance with their inquiries and issues.
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