Dial 800 puts an extraordinary emphasis on customer relationships.  In a recent conversation with the company’s Director of Concierge, Sandy Roessler, and her team, we asked some questions to get a sense of what makes Dial 800’s customer service group different.

Q:  Most organizations have client services groups.  How is Dial 800's Concierge team different?

A:  We assign one concierge specialist to be the exclusive point of contact for each account.  This structure allows our Concierge specialist to take ownership of their accounts for the entire lifecycle.  They really get to understand the client’s business deeply and to nurture an enduring relationship built upon mutual trust and collaboration. Our goal is to be the human extension of our software as a service, apart from business development, allowing us to focus on optimizing each client’s marketing.

Q:  Give us some examples of ways that Concierge’s proactive efforts have resulted in wins for clients.

A:  When clients first come to us to use our call routing software, IntelliRoute, we diagnose their specific needs and then strategize the best way to set up their call routing structure to get the most benefit.  However, business is dynamic, so we are constantly striving to ensure we are taking any changes in the client’s business priorities into consideration and amending the call routing programs accordingly.  We also monitor our call tracking software, CallView 360°, and proactively make recommendations for service additions or changes, even if, in some instances, it means less short-term revenue for the company, but is in the best interests of the client.

Let me cite some more specific examples of how Concierge’ proactive actions have helped clients.  We have a debt relief client and 25 percent of their calls were under 30 seconds.  We changed their Intelligent Voice Response (IVR) scripting and revised it to more of an educational message versus a hard sale on the transfer.  The result is that we decreased their short calls by 50 percent!

Another client had a long message with a menu of too many options.  Consequently, their total incompletes was very high.  We changed the menu so that it was based on geography.  The number of options a caller had to go through was significantly reduced and, as a result, the client’s incomplete rate dropped significantly. These are just two examples of how Concierge is continually looking for inefficiencies in routing design and call center setup so that caller wait time can be shortened and the consumer’s experience is improved. 

Q: What sorts of characteristics make a good Concierge?

A: A great Concierge has excellent listening skills, a refined sense of urgency, and possesses a warm professional demeanor, as well as a strong affinity for and enjoyment of analysis, and a buttoned-down ability to follow through.

Q: How do you think this effort dovetails with the Dial 800 culture?

A: The bedrock of Dial 800’s success has been lasting, mutually beneficial relationships versus transactions.  Like many service-based companies, we’ve evolved from an execution-based culture to one rigorously committed to proactive, strategic thinking.  This metamorphosis is a direct response to listening to our clients, divining their needs, and aligning our efforts with our client’s needs.  Our job in Concierge is to anticipate our client’s needs and delight them with exemplary customer service that exceeds their expectations.

The Direct Response Academy, one of the industry's leading authority's on direct response marketing, recently pointed out that more companies fail after successful project launches because no one is micro-managing.  Their #1 "Brutal Fact" involved Call Centers, where, they point out, campaign revenues and expense are greatly affected by three major variables:

1. Call Center Conversion
2. Average Revenue Per Order
3. Abandon Rates

These variables often fluctuate, which is why many marketers use multiple call centers to ensure they are keeping their centers on their toes.  In the simplest terms, such competition creates a Darwinian affect that is good for the marketers' business.  However, in order to use multiple centers and take advantage of those that are performing best against the metrics listed above, you need the ability to accurately and effectively route your calls to multiple locations and you need to be able to do it in real time.  Software such as Dial 800's CallView 360° allows you to do that and more.  In this case, that includes call recording and the ability to listen to any call from the convenience of your computer.  Hence, you can monitor how one call center is handling your inbound phone calls versus another.  You can even get demographic information by household to help validate your target consumer and segment it.  And should an emergency arise where one of your call centers shuts down completely, as had been widely rumored recently, you have the ability to instantly route calls to other service providers capable of taking your precious inbound leads.

The Direct Response Academy's next DRTV Management Boot Camp with Advanced Media & Logistics will take place in New York City on March 31-April 2.  We agree with the Academy that it is often the "nitty-gritty" of a campaign that separates success from also-rans.  It is to that end that Dial 800 has developed and continues to refine its marketing optimization tool set.

Dial 800, the leaders in marketing optimization will be attending the International Housewares Show in Chicago, March 14-15, to demonstrate the latest release of its call tracking, call recording and call routing software, CallView 360° and IntelliRoute.  Recent data suggests that direct marketers can increase inbound responseby taking advantage of Dial 800's bank of numerically memorable numbers, RapidRecall by as much as 20, 30, even 50 percent or more.  In addition, Dial 800's save the sale automated direct mail engineBoomerang will be showcased.  COO James Diorio along with CMO Rick Petry will be present and also attending the Direct Response Marketing Alliance and Electronic Retailing Association networking events while in the Windy City on Monday evening, March 15th.