The Contact Center Blog

Bypassing Automated Prompts

Earlier this month, a colleague of mine brought an article to my attention. It's an application for the culturally popular iPhone, that allows callers to bypass automated prompts to directly reach an operator when calling. Read the article below.

Direct Line Saves iPhone Users From Automated Call Hell  |  by Michael Arrington - August 28, 2008

Add this to your list of must have iPhone applications. Direct Line is a service that helps you automatically navigate phone trees to get right to an operator (exactly what companies don’t want you to do).

Install the application, browse of search the included companies, and select the one you want. Direct Line then calls the number and preselects the appropriate choices to get you to an actual person.

The service operates much like Bringo , which we wrote about in 2007, but since it works directly from your iPhone it saves you the extra steps. In my testing it mostly worked, although it failed to get me through to operators at two companies (Air Canada and AT&T). No worries, though. Just send creator Michael Schneider an email at support@thisistech.com and he’ll update the database.

Discontinued Calling to LA Due to Hurricane

The Louisiana Public Service Commission just announced that due to the Hurricane Gustav, LA is in a state of emergency. During this time, no telephonic solicitor can engage in any form of telephonic solicitation. The state of emergency will extend from August 27th, 2008 to September 26th, 2008 unless terminated sooner.

Please note this new Regulatory advisory for any marketing campaigns requiring telemarketing to the state of Louisiana.

For more information contact the ATA Director of Government Affairs - Zachary Rice.

www.ataconnect.org

M-Commerce Support?

M-Commerce, or mobile commerce, is probably a term many of us hear floating around, but may not witness or experience first hand in North America. It's capabilities are tremendous, allowing people to do everything with their cellular phones and PDAs.

This includes shopping, allowing them to buy things online and even use as a bar-code scanner to make physical purchases, almost acting like a credit card! The technology and commerce structure is common in some areas of Asia and Europe, and I think once it hits the mainstream in North America - a new need and demand for support will be needed. This can potentially be another opportunity or even channel for contact centers to pursue some time in the future.

I know it sounds far fetched right now, but you never know ... 

SOCAP Annual Conference

I received this email reagrding the upcoming SOCAP conference in Miami:

Don't Miss the AUGUST 8 Deadline!

Download the Annual Conference Brochure Today

Dear SOCAP Member:

AUGUST 8 is right around the corner, so don't miss your opportunity to register early for the SOCAP Annual Conference, October 5-8, in Miami, FL and sign up to attend our special social media workshop for FREE at the conference. You can also reserve your seat at the SOCAP golf tournament (fee is $145). Space will be limited at the golf tournament and the workshop, so act now!! Registration to the Annual Conference is required to participate in both activities.

In addition to these special events, don't miss the great conference activities planned for the SOCAP 2008 Annual Conference:

• Timely and relevant breakout sessions focused on these major consumer trends-Hispanic Marketing, Consumer Advocacy/Loyalty and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Powerful insights from amazing keynote speakers
• Special sessions on Professional Development to help you gain the work skills and competitive edge you need
• Spotlight Sessions on Generation Y and Hispanic Marketing
• Activities Highlighting SOCAP's 35^th Anniversary
• Presentation of SOCAP Chapter Awards
• Spectacular Social Finale

After August 8, the workshop fee will be $50. So register today for the SOCAP Annual Conference and save!

Online Marketing Strategy

When planning to optimize a website, common practices and processes include SEO, web analytics, user persona testing, etc. Generally, people do whatever they can to make the "user experience" the best it can be (which is only one of the main goals).

Analyzing and testing provides the information needed to make site adjustments. These seem to be some of the typical areas for website strategy. One area that I think should be highlighted in this, referring to strategies and constantly improving user experience - is customer service. Yes - many already do this, but some do it only through providing the most accurate information and links to FAQ's. I'm speaking more about servicing specific inquiries and requests. Things that take too much time and effort to locate. It's the convenience to get direct assistance.

In my opinion, this is where contact centers provide value in working with online retailers or general information websites. The obvious advantage that all contact centers talk about is a given: increased sales conversions, customer satisfaction, etc.

The idea of customer service as part of an online marketing strategy toolbox is what I'm trying to get at. As a contact center, this is an angle we can really take advantage of when illustrating our value and importance. As an online retailer or website creator, this is something to consider and implement.

Lord & Taylor Merger Closes Gap in Canadian Retail Market

Big news for Canada's older retailer The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) emerged this week.

NRDC Equity Partners and True North Retail Investment acquired HBC and consolidated its ownership of Lord & Taylor, Fortunoff, and Creative Design Studios (CDS) under a holding company called the Hudson’s Bay Trading Company (HBTC).

Combined, these companies comprise more than US$8 billion in retail sales, 75,000 employees, and 55 million square feet of stores in the United States and Canada. In future months, 10-15 Bay's will be converted to L&T stores to help fill a gap between lower end and very high end (Holt Renfrew) department store options in Canada.

Yahoo.com reports, "The acquisition of Hudson's Bay comes just three months after the death of Jerry Zucker, the South Carolina businessman who acquired the company in early 2006 for 1.1 billion dollars and took it private."

I believe this merger is inevitable as Canada's economy continues to flourish and consumer spending is on the rise. It creates a lot of potential in the Canadian retail marketplace.

Retailer Closes Doors - Steve & Barry's

RIS annouces tight credit marketings and a tough economy are the cause of closing down Steve and Barry's - 22 year fashion retailer. Yet they are not alone with other retailers closing thier doors such as Kmart and Walgreens. The trend continues for the retail sector. It is no wonder budgets are shifting to online channels to help reduce costs and compete in this tough US economy.

Read the story below; Christina Zarrello reports:

Cheap prices, trendy fashions and celebrity endorsements are a winning formula for apparel retail success. However, it wasn't enough for 22-year-old Steve and Barry's, which announced last week it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Four other retail chains announced closings, cutbacks and a bankruptcy.

Steve & Barry's built runaway success on selling $10 fashions and kept costs low by using minimal advertising, manufacturing its own clothes, and selling in large volume. In a December 2007 RIS cover story, Steve and Barry's executives described their growth curve as looking like, "a hockey stick." On the surface, the low-price fashion formula should have thrived in the current economic environment as shoppers trade down to less expensive products in tough economic times.

What went wrong? Read Full Story on RIS website...

Virtual Customer Service

I recently  visited an online virtual tradeshow hosted by eTailXpo. This was the first time I attended such an event, and although there were some glitches I needed to get over, I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me of the concept Second Life uses, which is an online virtual world you can explore and network in.

The virtual tradeshow resembled an actual venue, with customized vendor booths. Each vendor had representatives available via chat or email, and when stepping into a virtual booth you can communicate to any one of them. I visited the Google booth to test it out, and communicated with a rep using live chat.

Overall, I thought it was responsive and a great idea. I'm not sure how popular and successful a format like this can become, but just thinking about it brings up ideas of virtual contact centers and the possibility of adding something to the customer experience. Just a thought ...

- JU

Web 2.0 - Does It Affect Contact Centers?

The concept of Web 2.0 has been floating around for a few years now, but recently I've been hearing and seeing it more often. It seems to be a focus of many websites, where there are more interactive and intuitive applications for users.

In today's Web 2.0 world, information is more dynamic, easily being created and shared. This Blog is an example, allowing me to express my opinions. If you're a feed subscriber, you've been notified the moment this post was published. The point is that websites are more interactive and have information that more effectively caters to visitors, allowing them to better personalized experiences.

I just came back from a tradeshow, IRCE, where they had some speakers and sessions surrounding Web 2.0. A large majority of the attendees were online retailers.

How do you think Web 2.0 affects or relates to contact centers?

To start off, in my short opinion I feel the increase in interactivity for website visitors increases the expectations for finding information and answers almost instantaneously. As a result, services such as Live Chat and effective Email Response fits into this structure. Customer support via telephone is also still important, but service levels in this case need to be as dynamic as the websites. What do the rest of you think?

- JU

IRCE 2008 Recap

My sales and marketing team just got back from Chicago last week after exhibiting at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition. It was another great show put on by InternetRetailer.com bringing together industry professionals and vendors to share ideas and business opportunities.

24-7 INtouch has been a exhibitor at this show when it first started in 2005, when it was held in a small room with only 40 exhibitors. Now this show has grown tremendously with over 400 booths and over 2000 attendees. To be honest, I was a little concerned that the show was growing too much and the intimacy we loved was being lost. Every other show I have been to this year has been a little disappointing due to the low traffic and having more exhibitors selling to us rather than speaking to real business prospects.

But, to my surprise, the attendance was fantastic and many eager attendees roamed the hall and ready to talk to the vendors. We did of course invest in a few promotions to encourage traffic to our booth which helped, but it was still great to have people interested and eager to talk. You can see how although the US economy is hurting right now, the online business world is more than alive and thriving. More reason for business to reduce costs and do more online. We definitely saw an increase in the number of retailers wanting to start using our Live Chat support.

Congratulations to Vertical Web Media for putting on a great event. Steve Rogers the Show Director did a fantastic job and really did everything he could to keep traffic driven into the exhibit hall. From an Exhibitor's point of view, it is nice to have the show management really understand our point of view and encourage attendees to walk the hall. They had many break sessions, free drinks and food for all, and of course the unique car giveaway which made people show up on the final day.

The show will be held in Boston next year which should be an interesting change in venue. I look forward to it!

- MK