Can voice compete against low-wage call center economies like South Africa, India and Eastern Europe ?
A. Currently, a US-based business with a call center in an offshore location, like India , saves approximately 25 percent to 35 percent per transaction, in comparison to a transaction handled in a US-based call center. A call serviced through speech automation costs approximately 15 percent to 25 percent of the cost of a call handled by an agent in India . Therefore, a transaction handled by a speech-enabled solution presents a highly cost-effective approach for transactions in the call center. However, voice services do not have to compete with call centers in low-wage economies! The good news is that businesses currently looking to offshore can use both in conjunction. Essentially, all routine services such as call steering and basic information provision can be handled by voice services, thus lowering variable costs in the form of labor and facilities for businesses. For higher value-calls including cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, live agents can be used in offshore locations.
