US-Based Call Center Advantages

You may not have given much thought to where your call center is located, but we think you should. It’s become a serious deciding factor for many successful organizations because it impacts your brand more than you think. The top advantages of partnering with a US-based call center include security and privacy benefits, customer benefits, and brand equity and cost benefits.

Security and Privacy Advantages

It’s always important to be familiar with the level of security applied to the communications data moving through your call center. Fortunately, the US has strict compliance laws for call centers under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards Act. These regulations include: 

• consistent education and annual training
• ensuring customer consent for every transaction 
• tracking call center agents with access to sensitive information
• ensuring proper procedures for recording calls and accepting credit card information are met

Of course, international call centers must still follow regulations around credit card transactions. That has never changed. However, a US-based call center is more likely to be 100% PCI compliant. And because US call centers are stricter with regulations surrounding phone transactions, your customers will feel more at ease offering their personal information to a representative closer to home.

Now, if your business is also required to follow other communications regulations, like HIPAA or other federal security concerns, a US-based call center is also more adept to comply. With an onshore call center, HIPAA compliance for sensitive elements like social security numbers, IP addresses, geographical identifiers, and account numbers are always top of mind. 

Customer Advantages

The main customer-focused factor to consider when researching your business’s next call center is how strong your call center’s communication will be. Customer satisfaction should always be one of the highest priorities, and most US call centers understand that! The average consumer expects brands to be responsive and helpful, and they aren’t typically sympathetic to gaps in service, especially when those gaps originate at an offshore call center.

Understanding culture and linguistics is essential to consider when deciding between a US-based call center or an international one. English is one of the most complex languages to master for non-native speakers. Improper grammar, the wrong dialect, and pronunciation irregularities can be off-putting to customers and create distrust in your brand. US agents understand US culture and linguistics. If customers don’t feel understood or have a hard time understanding agents, it will increase frustration, or worse, lose business. 

All in all, the call center you hire should be able to uphold your company’s reputation and consistency because it all leads back to brand equity.

Brand Equity and Cost Benefits

In the past, the cost-saving benefits of an offshore call center were incentive enough for many companies to make a mad dash to international soil. But those companies have quickly realized that all their savings meant lower quality performance and communication. Over time, customers lost patience and switched to more robust customer service organizations. Many of the competitors that remained close to home maintained their success. US-based call centers have stricter hiring policies and background checks, which helps them secure higher-quality candidates and protect the brand’s name.

With this positive brand equity, customers are willing to pay higher prices for quality products. When it comes down to it, customers want to be heard and understood. They’ve voiced their opinions on international vs. US-based call centers, and companies that have taken their preferences into account have higher brand loyalty. 

Conclusion

All in all, when deliberating between a US-based call center and an overseas one, consider where your brand’s priorities lie. Offshore call centers can be cheaper upfront but may lead to consumer distrust and loss of sales down the road. A close-to-home facility will enforce higher hiring, security, and privacy standards, and help maintain positive brand equity.

Are you ready to dive into a partnership with a US-based call center like Gold Mountain? Call us today – we’re always available!