August 1996

Thanks For Your Overwhelming Response To My June "Publisher's Outlook."

BY NADJI TEHRANI

First Things First
Before I comment on the unique marriage of the Internet and call center, I must share with you my thoughts on your reactions to my June "Publisher's Outlook," in which I discussed a marketing test I developed to screen job applicants. We have never received such an overwhelming response to any of my "Publisher's Outlooks." Following the mailing of the June issue, both our customer service department and I have received hundreds of telephone calls, faxes and e-mail messages commenting on and inquiring about the now infamous marketing test. It seems everyone wants to learn more about the test itself and, more important, everyone wants the answers!

I certainly had no plans to pursue the topic further - at least in the immediate future. However, with calls, faxes and e-mail messages still pouring in, I feel it is important to respond to you, our valued readers. Since space constraints prevent me from thoroughly covering the topic within the pages of the magazine, I've developed a one-hour seminar which will be presented at our forthcoming trade show, Telemarketing & Call Center Solutions™ Exhibition and Conference (TCCS™) FALL '96, which takes place October 8 - 11 in Atlanta, Georgia. The seminar, "First Ever Technique For Hiring Successful Marketing Managers/Directors" will be held from 10:15 to 11 a.m. on Friday, October 11.

In this seminar I will unveil the test questions, discuss the answers and explain why the correct responses to the test are vital to the successful hiring of a marketing manager who can implement and execute your marketing strategies based on the sound understanding of the latest marketing principles. As author of this test, I am honored to hold this seminar and I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Now, Back To The Internet And Call Center
Undoubtedly, the advent of the Internet has created the greatest wave of excitement in business since the ndustrial Revolution. However, many who have explored the Internet via home pages on the World Wide Web have been tremendously disappointed. NBC's business news network CNBC recently featured the results of a survey conducted at a business convention to determine whether the attending companies are making any money from Internet-related commerce. The majority of the companies responded that they are NOT. When asked why, many suggested there seems to be more hype than real opportunity. They also intimated that perhaps the public isn't ready to conduct business over the Internet or, perhaps, neither buyers nor sellers are comfortable transacting business in this relatively new manner.

I believe the concept of the Internet as a profit center isn't clearly understood. As a business tool, the Internet can be positioned as an electronic buyer's guide through which potential buyers may browse and make purchase selections. As in any shopping situation, where the product selection is simple and easily identifiable, customers need little or no assistance. With the Internet, a transaction of this sort is simple, provided the buyer is comfortable releasing a credit card number to the "computer." (Of course, the questions of security and privacy on the Internet are important issues now.) As a product line becomes more sophisticated, however, customers need more assistance before buying. At this point, a call center becomes necessary. Call center representatives can assist Internet shoppers in the following ways:

Provide a live agent to answer questions and better describe products,

1. Send additional literature and information to customers,
2. Take orders and credit card account numbers (as a trusted entity) and fulfill the order.
3. To cross-sell and upsell.

Connecting an Internet-shopper with a call center agent can eliminate the problem of security and concern for privacy. Until this concept is understood by all businesses, I believe no major business transactions can be conducted over the Internet. In short, the marriage of the Internet and the call center opens the door to business profitability.

Obviously, the real world is not quite this simple. There are other technical and practical details that must be addressed before the Internet and call center system works effectively and operates as a profit generator. One of the keys to making the Internet and call center work together successfully is to ensure the combination of effective advertising on the company's home page and live agents in the call center who have full product knowledge.

Call center agents can also gather demographic information from prospective, Internet-generated inbound customers to cross-sell, upsell, parallel sell and eventually make outbound calls to sell other products of possible interest. Internet connected call centers provide an excellent opportunity to generate sales leads, which can be cultivated and marketed to increase business via outbound telemarketing process.

To help our valued readers, TCCS™ FALL '96 attendees and all businesses to understand the complex marriage of the Internet and call center, we have developed a complete conference and exhibition entitled Internet And Call Center Expo™ (ICC™), which will be co-located with TCCS™ FALL '96 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, October 9 - 10. The conference program is specifically designed to give attendees the necessary background to develop, operate and maintain a profitable Internet and call center business operation. Recognizing the vital importance of introducing the Internet into the call center to make the combined product a profit center, we have invited major players who specialize in the business to present the ICC™ conference sessions. The conference offers the following sessions:

• Internet 101, The Basics - Dr. Robert Beauchemin, Teleforce Bell Canada
• Going Online, Your First Wave - Mr. Jon Anderson, Rockwell International
• Inbound Internet, Global Marketing - Mr. Peter Brockman, Nortel
• From Marketing To Selling: Defining The Profit Opportunity For Call Centers On The Web - Mr. Dennis Grundy, Aspect Telecommunications
• Saving Your Center Cash On The Net - Mr. Jeffrey Fried, Teloquent Communications
• Outbound Internet, Surfing With Ma Bell - Mr. Stefan Mehlhom, POINT Information Systems, Inc.
• Web Commerce, Electronic Banking - Mr. Mark Green, IBM
• Revolutionizing The Help Desk & Customer Service By Taking It Online - Mr. Steve Ott, Voxware, Inc.
• Padlocking Your Computer, Internet Security - Mr. Bob Timbrook, Netscape
• Intranet, Internet, The Call Center And You - Mr. Todd Clegg and Ms. Jocelyn Sanders, GE Information Services

We are pleased to have Karen Richards, global market development manager of Sun Microsystems, Inc., delivering the keynote address at this exciting new event. She will share with you Sun Microsystems' experiences combining several hundred call centers with Internet capabilities. We invite all of you to join us at ICC™ and learn the principles of making the Internet and call center combination a profitable experience.

Live Call Center In The Exhibit Hall
MCI will host a live call center in the TCCS™ FALL '96/ICC™ exhibit hall to help attendees understand the concept of integrating new technologies such as CTI and/or Internet into the call center. In addition, there will be many individual booths in the TCCS™ FALL '96/ICC™ exhibit hall to provide you with all the product and service information you'll need for your call center. You will find considerable information highlighting cutting-edge Internet and call center integration techniques. We urge all of you who are interested in learning about these new, indispensable technologies to attend the exhibit hall. Once again, we thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at ICC™ and TCCS™ FALL '96 in Atlanta.

Sincerely,
Nadji Tehrani
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief