Boosting coop digitalization
Aboitiz Foundation Inc. and PLDT Inc.’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc.launched Aboitiz Smart Coops Training (Visayas) via Zoom last August 2.
The ICT-based capacity development program to helps improve coop members’ digital skills and knowledge and is part of the Aboitiz Foundation’s BiyahengDigiskarte Program and PLDT and Smart’s Project eBizNovation both of which promote the use of basic digital tools such as social media for more complex services including e-commerce and online payment systems and in fostering the development of their micro, small and medium enterprises .
A total of 63 participants from nine cooperatives in Cebu attended the online event.
The Aboitiz Smart Coops Training covered smartphone basics and identification of the parts, function, and uses of a smartphone; accessing the Internet and performing its tasks and functions; identifying social media and messaging apps and online transaction apps.
Call Centers Philippines – The Unrivaled Industry Leaders
Customer experience is the top priority of any business that is determined to succeed. Customers are, after all, the people who keep a company in business. The importance of the customers’ experience sparked the growth of a new industry—call centers.
“When a company’s customers expect to be able to get support instantly, any time of the day or day of the week, it no longer makes sense to maintain that function in-house,” says Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global, an award-winning call center in the Philippines. That leaves businesses wrestling with the many outsourcing decisions. Many of them arrive at the same place: When it comes to call center outsourcing, one country stands out—the Philippines.
Not only are call centers in the Philippines the best option for your front and back-office outsourcing requirements, they are also the industry leaders. There are more than 800 outsourcing providers operating in the country today, employing over one million Filipinos and generating more than US$28 billion annually. “Putting those figures into perspective, the outsourcing sector in the Philippines is growing faster than in any other country worldwide,” says Ellspermann.
To become an industry leader, you must do things your competitors aren’t—or can’t. What makes call centers in the Philippines stand out? The list is long. Here is a handful of the key factors.
The bottom line will always be a driving force behind the decision to take on a new business expense. Contact centers in the Philippines come at a lower cost than either providing support in-house or outsourcing it onshore. In fact, outsourcing to BPOs in the Philippines is typically 40-50% less than partnering with onshore providers.
According to Ellspermann, “Customers prefer talking to a live person whenever possible, and they expect 24/7 availability. Although an increasing number of call centers are leveraging AI technology to streamline support, outsourcing providers in the Philippines use AI primarily to optimize operating efficiency and to enhance the customer experience. AI is not a substitute for the human touch.”
As a customer, you want nothing more than to feel heard and supported when you need help. Agents in the Philippines speak accent-neutral English. Thanks to their close cultural ties to the West, they interact with customers the same way a fellow American would, ensuring a positive experience for the caller.
“The pressure on companies to offer their customers great prices and service while also staying profitable (and giving shareholders a strong ROI) is immense. Contact centers in the Philippines are driven by the desire to alleviate some of these pressures. At a lower cost, call centers in the Philippines allow businesses to offer unparalleled, round-the-clock customer support,” concludes Ellspermann.
Taiwan Excellence series
In the Philippines or anywhere else in the world, businesses big or small–tourist destinations, even the small sari-sari store, did not escape the wrath of the deadly virus. Just like the Ekselente family business.
The Ekselente family is your typical Filipino brood that struggled mightily during the pandemic. They own a resort, both their family home and prime source of income. With visitors kept away by the lockdowns and community quarantines, the family business is losing and is considering selling the business.
Their story was convincingly brought to life through a six-part series that featured real-life scenarios, told through the eyes of the family’s helper or “Kasambahay,” Ofelia. From the father and former overseas Filipino worker JojoEkselente to daughter Soledad “Sol”, son David, daughter Cheska, to the matriarch, Lola Beatrice (Sol’s mother), the story showcased several facets of family life.
The six-episode Casa Ekselente story was part of an impressive digital marketing promotion initiative for 2022 presented by Taiwan Excellence, utilizing the power of cohesive content to broaden engagement and reach. The story of the Ekselente family is part of a strategy that used organic and creative content to generate organic reach and strengthen product and consumer connection for six Taiwan Excellence Award-winning brands such as Juliart, Asus, Acer and FECA during the regular scenes.
For the scenes that involved music, on the other hand, the brands that were seen were Aromase, Annie’s Way, Gigabyte, Johnson Fitness, Tatung and Transcend.
The six episodes garnered over 900,000 views on Facebook and Instagram, proving the successful move by Taiwan Excellence that employed excellent strategies to achieve excellence and achievement in digital marketing.
Building GLifeeStore for free
To make eCommerce accessible to many entrepreneurs, RUSH is offering Flash, its newest eStore solution, without any monthly subscription fee to a limited number of merchants. This will enable them to build their stores onGLife, the GCash app’s marketplace, at zero cost, allowing their brands to be visible to the e-wallet’s over 66 million customers.
With Flash, merchants are charged only 10% for every successful transaction, one of the lowest transaction fees in the market. It is an investment that is risk-free and grows with the business.
Flash equips entrepreneurs with the tools they need to meet their customers wherever they are in their buying journey and helps them get onboarded on GLife easily. GLife allows users to shop for goods, order food, avail of services, pay for their orders via GCash, and choose to collect their orders or have them delivered straight to their doors— all within one app.
By signing up for Flash, merchants will have access to their own Content Management System (CMS) that serves as their business’ central dashboard so they can set up their store, generate voucher codes, build their customer base, and ensure smooth business operations.
RUSH Technologies Inc. (RUSH) is a portfolio company of 917 Ventures, Globe’s corporate venture builder.
Meralco Group gets int’l recognition
The Meralco Group bagged 12 wins for its remarkable customer service initiatives, corporate social responsibility, and thought leadership.
At the recently concluded 2022 Stevie International Business Awards (IBA), Meralco Group brought home two golds, four silvers, and one bronze for various initiatives and programs.
Besting other nominations in the Best Use of Social Media – COVID-19-related Information category, the “Meralco Corporate Partners Viber Community: Engagement when connectivity is a must” was given a gold award. Another gold went to the “One Meralco Foundation’s (OMF) School Electrification Program: Energizing the country’s off-grid public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic”, which was recognized as the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year.
OMF president Jeffrey Tarayao received a silver Stevie under the Thought Leaders for Government or Non-profit Organizations category.
Teleperformance strengthensgender, disability inclusivity
Teleperformance (TP) Philippines, a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, raised awareness among their employees on the struggles that persons with disabilities (PWDs) encounter in the workplace and how to create an inclusive workplace for all.
In an internal forum titled “Interweaving Inclusion in our TP DNA,” which was organized by TP Women, Teleperformance’s gender inclusivity arm that aims to promote gender and disability inclusivity, TP featured key resource persons and Teleperformance Philippines employees as speakers on PWD inclusivity in the workplace, especially women with disabilities.
During the forum, TP Philippines employees with disabilities recounted their experiences, observations, and recommendations in a roundtable discussion on being a person with disabilities in daily life and in the workplace.
Nephromed taps PLDT digital solutions
Nephromed Asia Dialysis Center has tapped PLDT’s B2B arm, PLDT Enterprise to extend cutting-edge digital technologies to power the business and serve the various healthcare needs of patients.
For the healthcare provider, a strong and reliable internet connection is necessary to work efficiently with relevant offices and facilitate the seamless transmission of data which are essential for processes such as billing system. The reliable internet connection provided by PLDT ensures that Nephromed is updated with its billing statements, resulting in efficient operation and patient retention.
PLDT Enterprise, through BEYOND FIBER solution, delivers a fast and reliable internet connection that allows patients to watch shows via video streaming sites while they are having their treatment. Nephromed centers are equipped with television monitors and free WIFI connections for patients who undergo hours of dialysis treatment every week.
The said connectivity also allows patients and their companions to access their social media accounts and surf uninterruptedly to stay connected with their families.
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