Marketing Your Call Center Inside Out

Much of the rest of the organization still doesn’t truly understand call centers or contact centers. Customer Service Week is a great opportunity to expand the understanding of your call center in your company.

Many call centers are not appreciated for the strategic contribution they make to the company. Although the call center has increasing visibility because of e-business, the overall contribution of call centers is still not widely understood within many companies. This is proven when you hear phrases such as, “aren’t they the group that just answer the phones”. True, it is the group that “just answer the phones” but call centers, as we all know, ensure that thousands of customers receive the right service in the right way at the right time!

We think it’s time to market your call center from the inside out. It’s time to focus on marketing your call center to the rest of the organization. Market the call center’s contribution, it’s dynamic environment and the people that make the call center successful.

What is the value of having an internal marketing plan for your call center? We see several reasons to market your call center from the inside out:

1. Demonstrate the strategic value of the call center to the company executive. Market the competitive advantage and bottom-line value of your call center.

2. Showcase the direct contribution CSRs make to the company’s profitability, reinforcing the value of the call center.

3. Develop new customers for your call center. Departments considering new lines of business or providing additional customer service options may overlook the role the call center can play.

4. Reduce the “them and us” tensions that can occur between various customer-operating areas.

5. Make it easier to obtain project, technology or operational funding by building credibility with decision makers.

6. Make the boss look good! (We couldn’t leave this one out!)

We have considered several internal marketing approaches that help to improve the image of the call center within an organization:

1. Call center open house – invite the company to come, see and listen to your call center in action. (Hint: don’t plan it for your busiest day!) Don’t worry about the travel costs – just phone the boss’s secretary and get his credit card number!

2. Take the call center on the road – put together a presentation that in 20 minutes, says it all in a way that it hasn’t been said before. Add a little whiz-bang (like a video clip of the center) and market the uniqueness of your customer operation.

3. Produce a regular newsletter (email, paper or fax) that highlights the people, their talent and contribution. Include customer success stories of your call center operation

4. Create an Introduction to Call Center course. Team up with your corporate and call center training departments to develop an introductory call center course. Not only will people learn but it can also be a great way to identify future call center staff! (Hint: in the course highlight the global call center industry and connect your call center to the larger picture.)

5. Create a call center intranet segment for the entire organization to surf!

6. Create a one-to-one marketing program. Brainstorm a list of the most influential decision makers in your organization. Put a plan together to invite each person on the list to a unique call center learning experience.

Posted: January 21st, 2007 under Operations.
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