Appendix G: Telemarketing

Transcription

1 Appendix G: has not disappeared because people prefer people when dealing with a business. is more personalized vis-à-vis other marketing outlets. The power of the phone. Robert McLuhan. Marketing. London: Dec 13, pg. 41, 2 pgs Marketers must use this personal touch to their advantage, by catering to the needs of the customer. Not just cold calling hundreds of thousands of numbers thus losing its personal edge over other marketing techniques. Customer service is a key ingredient in a companies relationship with customers. It can also be used as a tool to upgrade customers and to build a bridge of trust. The power of the phone. Robert McLuhan. Marketing. London: Dec 13, pg. 41, 2 pgs 1

2 Another key element is combining other marketing forces with telemarketing. A mass or targeted mailing prior to calling will almost certainly lead to a higher success rate. The power of the phone.robert McLuhan. Marketing. London: Dec 13, pg. 41, 2 pgs Outbound vs. Inbound Outbound telemarketing can be used to pitch a new product/upgrade survey customers contact new customers Inbound is when a customer contacts the organization and make up an integral part of tl telemarketing. kti These calls have higher success rates and are crucial in keeping relationships with customers Quality versus cost. Louella Miles. Marketing. London: Dec 13, pg. 44, 1 pgs Reasons to use An active marketing strategy Can reach a specific audience Allows for customer feedback Allow for differentiation of pitch 2

3 Used for: Limited Telecommunications services Cable and DBS Magazines and newspapers Film and TV programs Music Consumer Electronics When to use When additional specific data from customers are necessary for a sale When a list of target customers is available When approaching current clients about service changes or upgrades Disadvantages of Inaccurate and incomplete lists Time constraints Messaging Space Legislation Sissors, Jack, et al. Advertising Media Planning. New York: McGraw Hill, 2002, p

4 Contracted Campaigns Contracted (vs. Inhouse) Allows short-term commitment Avoids HR expenses Minimal time resource usage for company Drawbacks to Contracted Less control over message and its delivery as unauthorized Image problems from unprofessional as contacts Higher cost for extended campaigns Sequential Dialing Calls all numbers in a prefix , Many numbers will be inactive, Fax numbers, and other non-candidates for service It does reach every potential customer, however Not legal in some states Telephony Equipment Smart Dialing machines are expensive - Can cost $50k+ Some require advanced database management 4

5 or Service Long Distance Once done primarily by contracted firms Problems with unauthorized service transfer Slamming led to companies taking over their own departments Slamming hurt companies reputations How Long Distance works Sales calls are kept short no more than five minutes No calls should take less than one minute Single telemarketer can reach prospects per hour A fairly low success rate is acceptable 3-8% is generally profitable Success rates increase with quality of leads for LD e.g., companies calling current clients with high phone bills, the success rate should exceed 10% Contracted DialAmerica is a prime example Offices around the country Hub of operations in Omaha Provides variety of services, from telemarketing to market surveys to magazine sales a.gif 5

6 Why Omaha? Telephone bandwidth is cheap in Omaha Omaha is the center of communications for the US military The government built massive trunk lines around the area Why Omaha? (cont) Cost of living and labor cheap English spoken has neutral accent Central time zone allows for calling to all areas of the country Telemarketers Generally young Often taken as a second job Many people dislike the work and quit within two weeks Those who stay will usually miss more work than average employees Quality management is necessary Managing Telemarketers Training is key TMs need to know how to handle specific situations ti on the phone Supervision is necessary to ensure a consistent message Scripts and policies are important 6

7 Regulation Regulation is increasing State and national Do not call list Industry 5,000 bureaus in the US, employing over 340, workers Plus, ad-hoc efforts Outsourcing is a growing trend : Five Industry Centres, Issues in Labor Statistics. December Complaints scams led the list of top 10 consumer complaints categories in 2006 Tops List of Consumer Complaints, US States News, 2 January 2007 Do-Not-Call Act Signed 2003, authorizes FTC to collect fees for the implementation & enforcement of the a national do-not-call registry. By the end of FY 2005, the registry included a total of 107,440,316 telephone numbers Annual Report on the National Do Not Call Registry. Federal Communications Commission. 26 January

8 Service Levels Outsourcing contracts are constructed using SLA (Service level agreements) with a predefined level of service guaranteed Gain Access to Expert Skills A company using an outsourcing provider for telemarketing, provides them with staff who are experts in specific areas Service Buying Large telemarketing firms require a minimum work order that can range from 1,000 to 10,000 person hours per project. Most firms charge on an hourly basis and bill by the actual time spent on calls Service Buying The rate is more commonly in the range of $25 to $60 per hour, but can decreased d to $10 per hour for discount-priced offshore companies 8

9 Service Buying Commissions range from 1% - 10% of revenues generated. Companies that do not offer commissions to TSRs pay a higher base hourly charge. Service Buying firms also charge for the set-up necessary for a client s campaign. This covers software configuration, basic script preparation, and initial training. Service Buying Other costs like additional training, programming g and reporting fees are covered by per minute or per hour charges. Contract Outlines standards and procedure the call center must follow Performance measurement (metrics) Sanctions if requirements are not met by the call center 9

10 and Offshore BPO Offshore BPO allows companies to outsource telemarketing functions to developing countries to take advantage of lower labor costs. Cost savings for these are from 30-70% Major Offshore Destinations 1) China 2) India 3) The Philippines 4) Mexico 5) Jamaica Top 10 Call Centres (2006) 1. Teletech 6. vcustomer 2. Convergys 7. etelecare 3. ClientLogic 8. OKS Group 4. 24/7 Customer 9. TelAssist 5. PeopleSupport 10. Stream Int l Teletech Teletech has 40,000 employees in its US offices and more than 85 call centers in over 15 countries. Its sales in 2006 were $1.21B, an 11.5% growth from Teletech main headquarters in Englewood, CO 10