How These Call Center Training Techniques Can Increase Your Call-Center Conversions

As direct marketers, we spend a great deal of time and money developing programs to make the phone ring. But it’s the call-center agents that truly make the cash register sing.

Therefore, I spend a great deal of time training customer service reps (CSRs) to be powerful brand advocates with the ability to make a difference with all customers. Personally, I hate calling a company and hearing some disinterested rep deal with my order in a lackluster way. It tells me the company I’m dealing with doesn’t get that the people manning the phones are the voice of the company.

A simple CSR training program can solve the lackluster attitude and increase conversion.

What Multichannel, Direct and Ecommerce Marketers Can Learn From the Way Old-School Retailers Do Business

This week I want to tell you a story, and pay tribute to a local businessperson who recently passed away.
So Why Am I Telling You This?
Think about your company: Do you know your customers by name, or are you just a nameless, faceless entity that people buy product from? How about your staff. Are they, especially your customer service reps (CSRs), connected to your customers? Via how many touchpoints?

Your Call Center is Bleeding! – Connecting the Dots of Your Customer Touchpoints, Part 2

In part one of this series on customer touchpoints, I defined touchpoints as all the points of contact between your company and its prospects and customers. In part two, I look at one of the two main touchpoints: your call center. Before I start any discussion on call center and web results, I always tell clients, “Look [...]

Use these tips to connect the dots of your customer touchpoints, Part 1

Direct and multichannel marketers encounter moments of truth that make or break their sales and marketing effectiveness multiple times each day. How they interact with customers, prospects — essentially all consumers — is critical to their success. Direct marketers touch consumers in both traditional (call center, website) and nontraditional ways (mobile, social media). Reputation management is everywhere. Marketing in the 21st century, with the internet and social media in play, has become even more of a challenge

Gilbert Directs 6th Annual Preparedness Guide to Surviving a Disaster

This may be the most important blog post you read this week. As I am writing this, there’s actually a tropical disturbance brewing in the Atlantic. We’ve already suffered through earthquakes in major regions and a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Thus I felt it was time for my yearly guide to disaster preparation, right in time for hurricane and tornado season.

Much like a four-letter word, disasters happen in all forms just about anywhere, without warning, at any time. So prepare your company and yourself. Here’s a disaster-readiness checklist I suggest you look over carefully. If you think you’re on top of it, compare your list to this one to ensure you have all the bases covered.

New content coming

Once again folks I apologise.  I’m so busy lately that I haven’t been able to follow up on my blog.  I will have 4 new articles posted this week.  Promise! Jim