How to Outsource Customer Support to Mexico

Nearly 66 percent of companies' queries reported that their primary reason for outsourcing customer service to offshore call centers was cost reduction. Mexico, a country that shares a border with the United States, is positioned to provide customer support call center services at a lower cost than similar services within the U.S.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Lawyer or attorney
• Call center scripts
• Call center data and report analysis

Outsource Customer Support to Mexico

1. Recognize that cultural affinity is a key factor for many who choose to outsource to Mexico. With its geographical proximity to the United States, Mexican companies are better able to understand the needs of U.S. companies and their customers.
2. Understand that geographical proximity also figures largely in determining the cost-effectiveness of any outsource call center. Costs for travel between your company and the outsourcing firm can be significantly lowered by choosing a call center in Mexico.
3. Know that the ability to schedule meetings in real-time between your company and the outsourcing firm may become an important factor in choosing a Mexico-based customer support call center. With both your company and theirs operating within the same time zone, meetings can take place during more convenient, regular business hours.
4. Confirm with the outsourcing call center what level of customer support their staff is able to give. Customer support is generally thought of in levels with level 1 being the most basic information such as business location and hours of operation and levels 3 through 5 indicating customer support which requires a greater product knowledge as well as a higher time commitment on the part of customer service staff. A level 5 call may take anywhere from hours to several days to resolve.
5. Ask about the call center company's monitoring policies. Your company should be able to independently monitor the quality of the care your customers receive. The call center should also be able to provide you with in-depth statistics regarding the types of calls and their frequency.
6. Make sure that the scripts the call center uses to train their support staff reflect well on your company. The call center should be able to provide you with sample scripts for your review.

Tips & Warnings

• There are nearly 40 million Spanish speaking people in the United States. For companies whose demographics reflect this population, Spanish-language services offered by Mexican-based call center sources may be the preferred solution to other countries such as India or Canada.