CX Quality in 2022: Achieving Excellence in a Demanding Market

Priorities constantly change in the customer experience (CX) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. We, like our clients, must be agile enough to transform to the rapidly evolving customer demands of the modern marketplace, in which superior service quality has become a key differentiator.

When we talk about service quality in the CX and BPO industry, we refer to the all-encompassing process of anticipating and fulfilling customer needs. This definition goes far beyond the simple process of following a quality assurance checklist and helping a customer solve a problem; itʼs now far more nuanced and more important than ever before.

In this piece, I want to highlight the evolution of quality as a client priority and explain how organizations and their outsourced partners can achieve superior customer experiences in todayʼs rapidly evolving environment.

Quality Over Cost

Not surprisingly, customer experience quality is listed as the number-one priority in many enterprise leader surveys because organizations fully know that excellent CX differentiates the brand, gets customers talking, and ultimately helps the bottom line.

In the same surveys, service cost is consistently the second or third priority since leaders are willing to pay whatever it costs to ensure quality. Donʼt get me wrong; shareholders will always show more interest in cost and good financial health.

However, by being customer and quality-centric, economic growth and increased market share are destined to follow.

This shift in priorities from low-cost to high-quality occurred around eight to ten years ago when there was a massive focus on customer satisfaction (CSAT) and net promoter scores (NPS). As time went on, the competitive landscape increased, and profit and loss metrics became more challenging to keep in the green, so the correlation between quality and success became more apparent.

So, what are the positive outcomes of high-quality CX? Most importantly, superior CX and high satisfaction lead to increased customer lifetime value, as people are more likely to stay loyal to the brand, purchase more products, or subscribe to additional services. From a business standpoint, this level of customer retention leads to continued revenue growth and increased market share, which consecutively leads to attracting more customers.

Still, achieving high-quality CX is not a simple cut-and-dry process; organizations face several challenges on their path to this goal.

What Inhibits High-Quality CX?

Although CX cost has taken a backseat to service quality in the enterprise priority list, some financial pressures still hold companies back from making the necessary transformations to enhance their customersʼ experiences. In its 2022 Front Office CX Omnibus Survey, Ryan Strategic Advisory found that while enterprises expect CX budgets to grow this year, theyʼre less optimistic about their financial flexibility in 2023, impacting long-term planning for quality enhancements.

Moreover, as customer demand increases, organizations deal with higher volumes of customer transactions, which slows down the agent training process. For many businesses, itʼs important to serve customers as quickly as possible to deal with this increased volume — customers donʼt want to wait for resolutions, so brands are under pressure to value their time, even if it digs into essential training sessions designed to improve quality.

Quality training becomes even more difficult in hybrid environments that blend brick-and-mortar mixed with work-at-home, particularly without the necessary mechanisms to maintain an efficient and robust training program.

Ultimately, if the financial budgets or training resources arenʼt there, it can be challenging to achieve service excellence since most changes require investments in people and technology. Still, there are ways to improve service quality without compromising cost or resolution speeds.

Superior CX lead to increased customer lifetime value, as people are more likely to stay loyal to the brand, purchase more products, or subscribe to additional services. From a business standpoint, this level of customer retention leads to continued revenue growth and increased market share, which consecutively leads to attracting more customers.

Partnering for CX Excellence

By partnering with an established, experienced offshore CX service provider, organizations can solve these challenges through a combination of culture-building and service delivery enhancements through quality-focused training.

When embarking on these partnerships, itʼs essential to determine shared values early on to ensure that everybody in each company shares the same vision for quality improvements. Without these values, the relationship defaults to a contractual, transactional arrangement that ultimately does not last. The health of the partnership must take precedence over metrics since building a strong, collaborative partnership creates much more value for all parties involved.

Technology is a key enabler of quality, so check your partnerʼs ability to work with artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), Big Data, and speech-to-text analytics. A well-curated combination of these tools can help organizations uncover what aspects of their CX strategy require enhancement and quantify the efficacy of quality improvement programs.

Offshore location is another crucial consideration. Look for areas where qualified talent is abundant with communication skills, customer service experience, and technical expertise to support the growing and ever-changing needs of the business. It also helps if your offshore partner has a management team with long tenures of leadership and deep domain expertise in your industry.

Lastly, think about the partner organizationʼs size. A multinational BPO might have the capacity for large projects but often lacks the flexibility to adapt to fast-paced customer changes. A small boutique firm may be agile but cannot scale. By choosing a midsized player, enterprises can tap into the benefits of high agility, scaling flexibility, customization, and better quality service.

Wrapping Up

Quality is not only about transactional compliance; it’s about gaining a fundamental understanding of what customers require, so itʼs vital to listen, communicate clearly, and find persistent ways to resolve their concerns. Fortunately, there are partners who have been building this understanding for decades and can save organizations time and money while also boosting quality.

In this “new normal” environment where supply chain and service issues are exacerbated, going back to basics and focusing on the customer experience will keep companies relevant. At Inspiro, we pride ourselves on this since many people are still reeling from the pandemic, so empathy and malasakit (how we describe the value of caring and acting on the needs of others in the Philippines) have made all the difference.

About the author

Alfredo “Aly” Antonio is the Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Customer Success at Inspiro. He is responsible for driving Inspiro’s global business development and sales efforts by overseeing our US, Australia, and Asia-Pacific teams.

With a 20-year tenure with the company, Aly was part of Inspiro’s pioneer batch of employees and has since held key leadership positions for several media, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, utility, banking and financial services, insurance, and technology programs. In addition, Aly’s extensive background in business development, operations, and quality has led to him becoming a leading CX advisor, certified COPC coordinator, and a Lean Six Sigma practitioner.

Contact Us

Drop us a line, and let's see what we can do for you!

Contact Form

Japan

HEAD OFFICE

Kanto Head Office

Odakyu Southern Tower 16F 2-2-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-8583

*with our parent company, Relia

BRANCH OFFICE

Hokkaido Branch

Sapporo Sosei Square 1-6 Kita-Ichijo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0001

*with our parent company, Relia

 

Tohoku Branch

Sendai Honcho Bldg 2-3-10 Honcho, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi2-3-10 Honcho, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi 980-0014

*with our parent company, Relia

 

Chubu Branch

Nagoya Lucent Tower 6-1 Ushijima-cho, Nishi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 451-6007

*with our parent company, Relia

Kansai Branch

Harvis ENT Office Tower 2-2-22 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-shi, Osaka 530-0001

*with our parent company, Relia

Chugoku & Shikoku Branch

Hiroshima Diamond Bldg 7-19 Hondori, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima 730-0035

*with our parent company, Relia

Kyushu Branch

Tenjin Twin Bldg 1-6-8 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 810-0001

*with our parent company, Relia

Okinawa Branch

Naha Shintoshin Media Bldg East 1-3-31 Omoromachi, Naha-shi, Okinawa 900-0006

*with our parent company, Relia

OPERATION CENTER

Sapporo Center

ORE Sapporo Bldg 1-1-7 Kitanijo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0002

*with our parent company, Relia

 

Sapporo-Kita Center

Sapporo Kita Bldg 2-8-1 Kita-Shichijo Nishi, Kita-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0807

 

 

Sapporo Mega Center

Maruit Sapporo Bldg 1-1 Kita Nijo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0002

 

Sapporo IT Front Center

Sapporo IT Front Bldg 15-28-196 Kita-kujo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0009

China

DALIAN

Room 502, Building 23, Dalian Software Park, No. 40 Software Park East Road, Dalian High-tech Park, Liaoning Province

*with our parent company, Relia

Thailand

BANGKOK

3rd Floor, Siripinyo Bldg, 475 Sri-Ayudthaya Rd, Thanon Phayathai, Rajthevee, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand

*with our parent company, Relia

Vietnam

HANOI

Floor 10, Detech II building, 107 Nguyen Phong Sac Street, Dich Vong Hau Ward, Cau Giay District, Ha Noi, Viet Nam

*with our parent company, Relia

HO CHI MINH

222-226 Hoang Hoa Tham, Ward 12, Tan Binh District, HCMC, Vietnam

*with our parent company, Relia

Philippines

PASIG CITY

Robinsons Cyberscape Alpha

5F Robinsons Cyberscape Alpha
Sapphire and Garnet Roads
Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600
Metro Manila

Robinsons Cyberscape Beta

23F Robinsons Cyberscape Beta, Topaz and Ruby Roads, Ortigas Center, Pasig, Metro Manila

MAKATI CITY

Global Headquarters

6F LV Locsin Building
6752 Ayala corner Makati Avenues
Makati City 1200
Metro Manila

 

Insular Life Building

Ayala cor. Paseo de Roxas Avenues
Makati City 1209
Metro Manila

 

QUEZON CITY

Mega One Building
España Boulevard corner Mayon Street
Quezon City 4329
Metro Manila

 

Jackman Plaza Muñoz
4th Floor, 1038 Epifanio de los Santos Ave, Bago Bantay, Quezon City 1105, Metro Manila

MANDALUYONG CITY

Mandaluyong

418 Domingo Guevara corner Arayat Streets,
Mandaluyong City 1550
Metro Manila

ILOILO CITY

Molo

2F Iloilo Supermart Building,
San Jose corner Avanceña Streets,
Molo, Iloilo City 5000

DUMAGUETE CITY

LP Information Technology Park
Jose Romero Sr. Street, Bagacay
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental 6200

Australia

SYDNEY

Suite 3, Level 27

Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Romania

BUCHAREST

Headquarters

3 Avrig Street, First Floor, District 2, 021571 Bucharest, Romania

*with our partner, Global Remote Services

PIATRA NEAMT

Office

11 Republicii Boulevard,
610005 Piatra Neamt, Neamt County

*with our partner, Global Remote Services

SUCEAVA

Office

Str. Narciselor, nr. 33, Suceava, Jud. Suceava

*with our partner, Global Remote Services

Nicaragua

MANAGUA

Invercasa

Centro Financiero Invercasa Torre 2,
4to Piso, Managua

Cobirsa

2nd floor, Edificio Cobirsa I, KM 6 1/2 Carretera A Masaya, Plaza Santo Domingo, Managua

 

United States

COEUR D’ALENE

Coeur d’Alene

Silver Lake Mall,
200 W Hanley Avenue,
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815

Send Us a Message

Learn how we helped 100 top brands gain success