The offshore telemarketing debate

One of the major decisions to make when considering outsourcing your telemarketing operations is whether to go with an offshore provider or use a company whose call centers are in the U.S.. In the last few years, "offshoring" has really started take off - and the controversy has taken off with it. While the idea of businesses using foreign plants and workers in manufacturing has largely been accepted, choosing offshore providers for telemarketing efforts has caused much heated debate. The best advice we can give you is to make sure you base your decision on good business reasons, not emotion.

The main tradeoffs are these:

• Choosing an offshore provider is almost always cheaper. Rates can be as little as 25% of what a U.S.-based firm would charge for the same service. The savings are substantial enough that it is impossible to ignore this option.
• Your choice of providers can impact your corporate image. There will always be a segment of the population - including some within your own company - that prefer to keep these types of jobs in the U.S. Larger companies usually face more media scrutiny on these types of issues; for smaller companies, customer perception is the greater risk.

Communication issues can also arise when offshoring your operations. This can be a result of difficult-to-understand accents or cultural differences that make casual conversation difficult. Other challenges of offshore outsourcing include the difficulty of arranging site visits for evaluation and training.

You can reduce some of the risk and still lock in significant cost savings by choosing providers whose call centers are in the Caribbean, Canada, or other locations where accents are not as strong and English commonly spoken. In places where English is not the first language, products with simple sales cycles and highly structured sales scripts can be easier for telemarketing agents to follow.

As with most hot-button business issues, there is no one good answer to this question. Whichever route you choose, make sure your management team is on board and understands how the choice was made. Compare services from multiple telemarketing companies to find out what your offshore options are.