Once customer experience (CX) leaders choose to outsource, the next critical decision is where.
The options are not simply “onshore,” “nearshore” or “offshore.” Each category involves multiple factors that require careful consideration in order to achieve core targets and cost savings. And the reality is that the best way forward is often not just one of those categories, but a blend of them.
LiveOps, based in Scottsdale, Ariz, provides outsourcing services including a network of reps across multiple regions to assist brands in this area. Earlier this year, it launched what it calls a Customer Operations Geo Planner, designed to let CX leaders think through seven different variables that could influence their strategy.
For example, a brand might want their customer service run in a location with a high degree of cultural affinity with where the majority of their customers are located. Other filters include interaction complexity, language needs, industry focus and more.
“Historically organizations have thought about offshoring as primarily in terms of costs: how do we get labor cheaper outside of North America,” Michelle Winnett, LiveOps’ senior vice-president of operations, told 360 Magazine. “It’s actually a much more complex conversation.”
The Customer Operations Geo Planner is not really a LiveOps product but something akin to the online ROI calculators SaaS firms sometimes create to help prospects decide if their solution is worth it. In this case, however, LiveOps is aiming to guide thinking to discern the optimal blend of nearshore, onshore or offshore resources it can offer clients.
“We’re able to offer more support than just one specific region. We have the ability to scale up and down depending on the needs of their business,” she said. “They can use this tool to toggle through and see the possibilities through the right lens.”
Winnett pointed to an unnamed LiveOps customer in the property and casualty (P&C) insurance space, which it helped integrate support with more than 200 customer service reps across the U.S., Mexico, and the Philippines. The 13-year partnership has seen cost savings of between 30 in Mexico and 50 per cent in the Philippines.
Of course, the rise of generative and agentic AI has raised questions about the possibility of automating areas like customer service and support. However LiveOps research from earlier this year showed 73 per cent of enterprise CX leaders prefer a hybrid of human and AI support.
Winnett said the technology’s real impact has been in language translation and accent harmonization, which can make brands more comfortable in moving support to a new geography. AI can also simulate potential support scenarios to create a better match between outsourcers and clients.
A blended approach may not always be the ideal, Winnett admitted. In some cases brands need to consider regulatory compliance requirements, for instance, that stipulate certain customer data stay within their home country. And cost may be always top of mind, but it’s not the only metric.
“The quality of the service being delivered is still critically important to them,” she said.
LiveOps has already been showcasing the Customer Operations Geo Planner in webinars and will be continuing efforts to market it, Winnett said.