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As companies globally respond to rising costs of production, South Africa is now emerging as a recommended destination for outsourcing. This is due to the following factors:
- Reliable, cheap workforce
- English Language, primarily spoken by the population.
- Compatible Time-zone with Europe
- Great government support
- Good exchange rate
- An advanced telecommunications’ industry
- Government-backed incentives such as free or cheap land
Initially, outsourcing merely served as a cost reduction strategy, but with the emergence of the internet, there is a new dynamic to business altogether. The market now demands new approaches that are garnered at giving the customer maximum satisfaction at the same time looking at cost-effective ways to do so.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) or Offshoring is a significant business trend internationally. It involves third party inclusion in the day to day activities of the company. Services such as customer care or call centers are some of the major sectors to be offshored.
These are ways in which outsourcing can benefit the South African Market;
- Digital Lead Generation
This essentially entails the process of creating and capturing interest for a product/service as a way of establishing a sales pipeline. Lead generation seeks to utilize the use of digitalization in several ways, I.e., websites and emails.
The South African companies can benefit a lot from the digital lead generation in acquiring the right customers for their products/services. The digital lead generation ensures the product that reaches the consumer is well-researched and suitable for their needs.
- Inbound Sales
Inbound sale focus on buyers and their individual needs, the product is tailor-made to meet certain customer specifications, but the buyer doesn’t have to purchase the product.
To the South African economy, inbound sales prove to be profitable both to the customer and seller because the seller has to put the customers’ interest first, therefore, allowing for top-notch service and experience.
- Outbound Sales
It refers to sales reps making outbound calls to prospects. The reps call cold leads though sometimes they call leads that previously demonstrated an interest in a product, emailed about it or based general inquiry. Sales reps, in this case, are taxed with the responsibility of connecting prospects to account executives.
- Market Research
It is an organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It ensures the provider has enough information to ensure customer satisfaction. The customers’ needs and wants are taken into consideration mostly for marketing purposes.
Market research methods vary according to their application. For instance, there are two major branches of market research – primary and secondary research. Research methods include; surveys, interviews, administering questionnaires, etc.
Outsourcing companies will want research done on the markets they are venturing into, therefore, creating research jobs for the general population. South Africa has invested heavily on the internet, which is one of the tools used by researchers.
The companies which outsource also bring in revenue for the economy, thus, improving the countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
- Appointment Setting
This refers to the practice of finding clients, generating leads, cold calling to setting up interviews for clients and their dealers, the successful Interview, in turn, assist the company in acquiring clients.
Appointment setters play an essential role in linking clients to products. Thus, they are an integral part of any organization. Companies seeking to outsource will require workforce for these jobs.
Conclusion
Many international companies are outsourcing globally for demographic reasons. South Africa offers more than that. It is a hub both locally and internationally ideal for business destination hence benefiting its market.
Related Tag: Outsourced Marketing