Direct Marketing Magazine September 2013

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The answer What isn’t is…it depends direct Mass direct, anymore? targeted and unaddressed – why are we thinking about these as separate entities?

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Message in a Bottle

The CMA’s Direct Marketing Council has a new definition of direct marketing

Case study of a dimensional mail campaign that netted extraordinary results PM 4 0 0 5 0 8 0 3

The Authority on Data-Driven Engagement & Operations photo by Gary Tannyan

Vol. 26 • No. 4 SEPTEMBER 2013

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The answer is…it depends Vol. 26 | No. 4 | September 2013

Mass direct, targeted and unaddressed – why are we thinking about these as separate entities?

EDITOR Amy Bostock - amy@dmn.ca PRESIDENT Steve Lloyd - steve@dmn.ca DESIGN / PRODUCTION DemiGroup - info@demigroup.com Advertising Sales Mark Henry - mark@dmn.ca Brent White - brent@dmn.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vish Ramkissoon John Bardawill Dave Ward Sangeeta Bhatnagar Billy Sharma Karen D'Andrea Bruce Simpson Brian Davidson Katherine Thompson Jeff Doran Michael J. Weiss Jan Kestle Olivia Nixon

LLOYDMEDIA INC. HEAD OFFICE / SUBSCRIPTIONS / PRODUCTION: 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Phone: 905.201.6600 Fax: 905.201.6601 Toll-free: 800.668.1838 home@dmn.ca www.dmn.ca EDITORIAL CONTACT: Direct Marketing is published monthly by Lloydmedia Inc. plus the annual DM Industry Source Book List of Lists .

Direct Marketing may be obtained through paid subscription. Rates: Canada 1 year (12 issues $48)

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DM Landscapes

The sweet smell of success

With back to school season upon us, this month’s DM Landscapes is a fun look at Canadians’ spending habits when it comes to shoes.

Case study of Trico Evolution’s innovative candy packaging

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What isn’t direct anymore?

The CMA’s Direct Marketing Council has a new definition of direct marketing

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Direct Marketing is an independently-produced publication not affiliated in any way with any association or organized group nor with any publication produced either in Canada or the United States.

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. However unused manuscripts will not be returned unless accompanied by sufficient postage. Occasionally Direct Marketing provides its subscriber mailing list to other companies whose product or service may be of value to readers. If you do not want to receive information this way simply send your subscriber mailing label with this notice to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada.

Practicing what they preach Canada Post thinks Inside the Box with their dimensional mail piece

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The art of shipping How customer demand is driving innovative shipping processes

POSTMASTER: Please send all address changes and return all undeliverable copies to: Lloydmedia Inc. 302-137 Main Street North Markham ON L3P 1Y2 Canada

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Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40050803 Printed in Canada: Metroland Media Ltd.

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THIS ISSUE OF DM MAILED BY:

Complete Mailing Service 1-888-683-2501 • 416-755-7761 www.completemailing.com

september 2013

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Message in a Bottle Case study of a dimensional mail campaign that netted extraordinary results

Direct & Personal Robert Pierre Thomas is making his mark on the fundraising landscape DMN.ca ❰

Directives

Editor's Letter

Mass direct and targeted and unaddressed, oh my!

The battle for eyeballs

I

get asked this question all the time.

Which is better, a personalized mailing or an unaddressed mailing? And the answer to that is that there really isn’t a definitive answer. It all depends on what your goals are and what the end result is you’re looking to achieve. The question I ask back is simple. Why are you thinking of these as separate entities?

Why do we keep painting ourselves into a corner in the mailing industry? Why do we pigeon hole what we do? Whether it’s targeted mailings, mass distributing to a list or an unaddressed postcard to a geographic area, the key is, it’s all mail! For many of us, mail is the fuel that drives the collective bus.

The problem that we have in the mailing industry is that we do it to ourselves! We talk about unaddressed, mass and targeted mailings as if they’re something completely different from each other, instead of different tools in our response tool box. We need to re-frame the conversation. Take the context from an either/or proposition to an integrated approach where the various components work together to generate results. Because as we all know…Mail Works! We just have to convince the general business population that that’s the case.

With the “Social Revolution” in full force right now, it’s hard to break through the barriers often put before us. Engagement metrics, reach, likes, re-tweets, people talking about your latest post are the buzzwords of the day. However in todays suspect economy the questions that should be asked, the metrics that should be measured, are what drives a consumer to spend their hard earned cash on your product or service? And Mail is an excellent driver of sales. Sure it’s not “free” like email distributions are (don’t get me started on the misguided notion of email being free), but when it comes down to it, it is still one of the most preferred methods to receive communications by Canadian consumers.

I saw a great cartoon several weeks ago that sums up how our industry has changed of late. The image is of two individuals back in the late eighties. There’s a person holding a fistful of mail pieces and looking overwhelmed. The other person is sitting in front of a PC with a huge smile while their computer says “you have 1 new email”, oh the joys of technology! The second image is from today, there is one individual holding 2 mail pieces and looking excited to open them and the person in front of the computer has 737 new messages waiting to be read. As the saying goes, everything old is new again, and ❱ DMN.ca

I believe that the age of the well-designed mail piece is coming back. Sure there likely won’t be 10 million piece mailings anymore, but I think we’ve all accepted that reality some time ago. However we also can’t ignore the reality that “social” is here to stay.

Integration therefore is the key. Mail cannot stand alone, it is expensive up front and the technical impediments from Canada Post make it a barrier to entry for many. However, social is a poor converter of sales, so somehow there needs to be a happy middle. Integrating the new with the old, then, is the answer. Smart mailers and service providers will stop looking at their marketing campaigns as either digital or physical and take a holistic view of their projects going forward. A three dimensional view of the problem at hand, if you will.

By merging technologies such as email, personalized websites, text messaging and social media with direct mail pieces, response rates, and therefore sales, can skyrocket. Whether it is a mass mailing, targeted mailing or an unaddressed piece, we can integrate new technologies into these tried and true methods to generate results for our clients. If your marketing department or service provider is providing you with silo type service, it’s time to wake them up to the realities of marketing today and get them to start talking about integration.

Why not combine an unaddressed piece to a geographic area to capture new customers in a specific area, while targeting existing customers with a personalized piece while providing the ability to “share” your information via a social media extension and have your message go “viral”? Why limit yourself to either an unaddressed piece, or a targeted mailing or an email campaign when you can have them all wrapped up in a well-oiled integrated campaign that works together to achieve results?

So if I was asked again which was best, mass, targeted or unaddressed, my answer would be…..All of the above!

Brian Davidson is Vice-President of Sales & Marketing

for Wood & Associates Direct Marketing Services Ltd. In business for 35 years, Wood & Associates has built a reputation for on-time delivery of complex projects. In the last year however, Wood & Associates has developed their 3 Dimensional Marketing product (3DM) to service the need for integrating the digital and physical worlds together. For more information on 3DM go to www.wood-and-associates.com or contact Brian at bdavidson@wood-and-associates.com

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Every day my son likes to ride his bike to the community mailbox on our street and cart home all of the unaddressed ad mail that he finds in there.

Even at the age of three he knows what he likes and what he wants to toss into the blue bin. This is the challenge that direct marketers face every time they drop a piece into the mail stream. Will it stand out? Is the offer clear? Will people remember my piece? And most importantly, will it drive response?

In this issue of Direct Marketing we take a look at the world of mass direct. We start by looking at what exactly ‘direct’ means in today’s world. To help get us started the CMA’s Direct Marketing Council offers the following definition: “Direct Marketing generates profitable business results by using targeted communications to engage specific audiences through a combination of relevant messaging and offers that can be tracked, measured, analyzed, stored and leveraged to drive future marketing initiatives.”

Brian Davidson of Wood & Associates takes the discussion to the next level in his column about the pros and cons of unaddressed versus personalized mail pieces and how the two should actually be working together.

My favourite mail pieces are the ones that catch me off guard. Like the recent invitation to Canada Post’s Think Inside the Box event. Take a look on page 12 for more about this fun dimensional piece that helped drive registrations for the event to 260 people!

On our cover this month we’re talking about that all-important next step in the direct marketing lifecycle – purchase. So you sent out a great mail piece, it got great response and people are ordering your product. If they can’t receive it in a timely and convenient manner than all your hard work was for nothing. The folks at Pitney Bowes Distribution Services offer tips to master the art of shipping.

This month also feature our Contact Management supplement and we’re taking an in-depth look at the global contact centre landscape and Canada’s place in it.

So lots to read and absorb this month and lots to look forward to in next month’s issue as well. October is our Data Analytics issue and I invite you to contact me with any article ideas you may have.

Cheers, Amy september 2013

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dm landscapes Share of Canadian households who bought children’s shoes in the past year, compared to the national average of 22.7 percent (index=100) Map Colours: ■

Well-Dressed Feet (high index: >110)

■

Sneakers Kids (above-average index: 100-110)

■

Scuffed Shoes (below-average index: 90-100)

■

Wait Til Next Year (low index <90)

Sources: Environics Analytics 2013, based on PRIZMC2 and PMB.

Back-to-School Shoes

W

ith back-to-school shopping still in high gear, kids’ jeans, graphic tops and oversized backpacks are flying off store shelves. Recent research indicates that this year Canadian parents will spend about $200 per school-age child on such back-to-school items as pencils, pens and notebooks, but a significant portion of their budget will be set aside for children’s shoes. Some 17 percent of Canadian households buy children’s shoes each year, according to Environics Analytics (EA) and Print Measurement Bureau (PMB).

While the highest concentration tends to be childrearing families in exurban communities, not all kids’ shoe shoppers fall into that category. From doting grandparents to urban fashionistas, plenty of relatives and friends seem to get a kick out of dressing up young ones in snazzy sneakers or those cute kitten-heel shoes last seen on Siri Cruise.

Data from EA and PMB illustrate the wide range—in both geography and socioeconomics—of children’s shoes shoppers. Geographically, the highest concentration of these buyers are found in suburban and small town areas throughout Canada, especially in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as exurban areas of southern Ontario and northern British Columbia. Many of these communities contain young, middle- and ❱ DMN.ca

W he re C a na dia ns B uy C hildre n's S hoe s P ro v inc e /T e rrito ry N e wfo und la nd a nd L a b ra d o r A lb e rta N o v a S c o tia O nta rio N e w B runs wic k P rinc e E d wa rd Is la nd Y uk o n B ritis h C o lumb ia N o rthwe s t T e rrito rie s Q ue b e c M a nito b a N una v ut S a s k a tc he wa n

Ind e x 108 106 101 101 100 99 99 98 98 97 97 97 96

Index of 100 = national average C hild re n' s S ho e B uy e rs L ik e Z o o s /a q ua riums S no wb o a rd ing S occe r A tte nd a nima te d mo v ie s P a p e rb a c k b o o k s R e a lity T V "T S N H oc ke y"

C hild re n' s S ho e B uy e rs D is lik e C la s s ic a l mus ic c o nc e rts B ird wa tc hing H unting A tte nd fig ure s k a ting e v e nts C ra fts A nima l P la ne t C T V E a rly E v e ning N e ws

T o d a y ' s P a re nt

C a na d ia n H o me W o rk s ho p

H o me imp ro v e me nt s ite s

C ha t ro o ms

S ources: E nvironics Analytics, PMB 2013

upper-middle-class families who can afford to buy their kids the latest Aldo sneakers and Diesel skinny jeans. But the popularity

of children’s shoes is mostly driven by the preponderance of households in bedroom suburbs, where families have congregated near schools, parks and playgrounds as part of the Gen-Y boom of the 1980s.

In EA’s PRIZMC2 segmentation system, which classifies Canadians into 66 lifestyle types, disproportionate numbers of buyers of children’s shoes are found in such segments as Pets & PCs (large, upscale suburban families), Suburban Rows (younger, thriving immigrant families), Back Country Folks (older, lowermiddle-class couples and families in remote areas) and Blue-Collar Comfort (middle-aged, upper-middle-class blue-collar families). These active families are big on outdoorsy activities like swimming, soccer, football, ice skating and tennis—in other words, everything you’d expect kids to do after school and on weekends. They like to enjoy plenty of familyfriendly entertainment venues, such as zoos, aquariums, movies and amusement parks.

But children’s shoes buyers do deviate from mainstream Canadians in their decidedly kid-centric media tastes and mindset. They’re more likely than average to prefer media—both traditional and digital—targeted to younger viewers. They like to watch sports—particularly NFL Football, “TSN Hockey,” NBA Basketball and Indy Auto Racing—and animated shows like “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons” and Teletoon cartoons.

While chauffeuring their kids around in their SUVs and minivans, they listen to radio stations that play high-energy music like top 40 hits, album rock and hip-hop. Although these on-the-go families are less likely to sit down to read newspapers and most magazines compared to average Canadians, they prefer publications that cover parenting, money and entertainment. And they have relatively low rates for using social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn; they go online mostly to send email and instant messages and visit utilitarian websites that feature home furnishings, real estate, fashion, investments, entertainment reviews and news.

Even the social values of kids’ shoe shoppers reflect a hectic lifestyle with competing demands. Many wish they could slow down the pace of their lives, but they’re not particularly spiritual and don’t spend a lot of time musing on the meaning of life. They describe themselves as thrifty parents who believe in saving for the future. And while some like going to second-hand stores, they also enjoy scouting out the latest styles at shopping malls and express a confidence in advertising.

Surrounded by children and juggling busy schedules at work and home, they’re happy just to keep their kids well-clothed and welloccupied—all the while dreaming of ways to get away from it all, even if their only escape is a crowded shopping mall.

Jan Kestle & Michael J. Weiss september 2013

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feature Figures released earlier this year and reported in Canadian’s Internet Business show that of those consumers who use social media:

81%

What isn’t Direct 62% anymore? 59% read posts from people they personally know

posted a status update

By Vish Ramkissoon

A

ny discussion on the state of direct marketing needs to open with a definition of this important marketing channel. Here’s one developed by the Canadian Marketing Association’s Direct Marketing Council that will be explored through discussions at CMA’s annual DM conference being held in Toronto in September: “Direct Marketing generates profitable business results by using targeted communications to engage specific audiences through a combination of relevant messaging and offers that can be tracked, measured, analyzed, stored and leveraged to drive future marketing initiatives.

This includes the consideration and incorporation of a number of strategies and tactics including but not limited to Analytics, Branding, Creative, Offer Development and Privacy Management over multiple channels including: Email, Response Media (DRTV, DR Print, DR Radio), Mobile, Search Engine Marketing, Contact Centres, Direct Mail, etc., or any combination of media to reach measurable objectives.”

Based on this definition it is truly a challenge to find a medium or methodology that isn’t direct anymore. There are a few major factors currently influencing marketing today: 1. The economic downturn. I know this seems like ancient history, but the effect of the downturn altered the way most organizations think about their marketing spend today. It was the genesis of adopting an analytical approach to marketing to maximize the return on marketing investment. It’s no coincidence the themes for the CMA ❱ DMN.ca

conferences in the years to follow have had a strong focus on analytics and ROI or ROMI. It also brought to the fore two key elements that are often forgotten as we experiment with new novel marketing trends: Accountability and Measurability.

2. Technology. If you’re into technology it’s a really cool time to be alive. Our generation will be remembered for discovering a new particle the Higgs boson and mapping the entire human genome. Back to marketing, we can now perform regression analysis in minutes and are now generating more than 2.5 quintillion (1018) bytes of data every day. Is it any wonder that the next big thing was “Big Data”? But having the data is just part of the puzzle -- being able to use that data to service your customers by predicting when and what your customers need in real time is what most organizations strive to do. Fortunately, there are many technology platforms that are able to integrate disparate data silos to offer this functionality. There was a time where this type of technology would only be available to fortune 100 organizations and took years and millions of dollars to implement. At Top Decile we align ourselves with vendors that can do an implementation in weeks or a couple of months depending on the complexity.

3. Mobile. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, there are over 26 million mobile subscribers in Canada. That’s equivalent to76% of our population. Tomi Ahonen of Nokia says, “The average person looks at their phone 150 times a day, or once every six-and-a-half minutes of every waking hour.” Fifty-eight per cent of smartphone users said they visited a social

read posts from organizations/ brands/events

58% followed a posted link to a website

36% posted a link to a website

33%

received a coupon/ offer/deal

31%

used a social networking check-in service 31%

29%

clicked on an advertisement

network almost everyday, so what exactly are they doing?

Figures released earlier this year and reported in Canadian’s Internet Business show that of those consumers who use social media: ❯❯ 81% read posts from people they personally know ❯❯ 62% posted a status update ❯❯ 59% read posts from organizations/brands/ events ❯❯ 58% followed a posted link to a website ❯❯ 36% posted a link to a website ❯❯ 33% received a coupon/offer/deal ❯❯ 31% used a social networking check-in service 31% ❯❯ 29% clicked on an advertisement Not only are we receiving and using advertising as well as marketing promotions, we can now pay, research, write a review and purchase items on our phones. In fact, mobile integration has become an important channel to most organizations as they try to positively impact the customer experience.

4. Internet. In North America the Internet is ubiquitous. In fact, in Canada there is a group trying to make access to the Internet a human right. That said, having access to the Internet allows us to do all the research we need to make an informed purchasing decision. It also allows us to tell everyone how we feel about a product, company or service in real time. In many ways it has given control to the consumer. This effect has almost changed the way we view Customer Relationship Management; one might argue it’s now really a Customer Managed Relationship where the customer has control. Reviews and recommendations are very important as consumers trust recommendations from their peers over all other forms of advertising.

In conclusion, CMA’s Direct Marketing Council often tries to publish helpful educational material pertaining to best practices and solutions to some challenges being faced by most marketing organizations.

And in recent years there has been more focus on the fundamentals of DM. The reason, we assume, has to do with the adoption of these new and cool innovative methods of reaching our customers and prospects without considering basic DM principles such as test and control or how to write a proper brief.

It’s an exciting time to be a direct marketer as the advancements being made in technology and accessibility to information grow exponentially each year.

Consumers rightfully have the power and organizations are being forced to be more relevant, transparent and effective with their marketing dollars.

Vish Ramkissoon is Chair of the CMA Direct Marketing

Council and Partner at Top Decile Inc. He can be reached at vish.ramkissoon@topdecileinc.com or @ mktg_strategy september 2013

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dimensional mail

Case Study:

Highland Marketing Message in a Bottle delivers extraordinary results

By Dave Ward

I

magine that you’ve been in direct marketing for twenty years and you think you’ve already seen everything there is to see. Then, a client shows you something and your jaw hits the floor. They ask if you can help them. Still reeling, you reply, “Oh yes. When can we start?”

The marriage of physical presence and unbridled creativity usually delivers extraordinary direct marketing results. Yet physical presence and impact can cost money, and sometimes a lot of money. As I looked at the package I had been given, I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback by the obvious expense.

We had never mailed anything quite like this before. Still, I was assured that this had worked when tested in smaller quantities, delivering a solid return on investment.

A return to the desert island The concept went back to Robison Crusoe’s message in a bottle, and full credit must be given to our client, Atria Networks (who have since been acquired by Rogers Business Solutions), and their agency, Copp Communications, for masterminding this project.

The concept was that the bottle, cork and all, was coming from the woeful “Island of Downtime”, and a beleaguered network administrator, “Greg”, whose IT system had failed. The letter itself was formulated as a warning to other network and IT specialists, urging them to safeguard themselves against inferior network technologies with intermittent service interruptions or, worse yet, catastrophic failures and prolonged downtime. Excellent creative! The letter included a link to a 60 sec animation of

❱ DMN.ca

the perils of Greg on the Island of Downtime and encouraged prospects to contact the company and be entered into a draw to win a travel voucher.

Resolving breakage and shipping concerns The client had tested the direct mail strategy using local couriers to hand deliver unpackaged bottles directly to prospects with great success and wanted to expand and increase the volume of bottles being delivered. This presented us with two challenges, packaging and shipping.

We were delighted when we came across a solution that not only looked good, but which also provided the utmost protection for the bottle. A wine bottle shipping box with interior bottle support coupled with rolling the bottle in bubble wrap, provided secure and safe packaging.

Quality control’s attempts at breaking the bottle by throwing it as hard as possible against a concrete floor proved futile. The client shipped over 14,000 bottles and there were simply no broken bottles!

With the packaging resolved, we then turned our attention to delivery options. When considering both cost and delivery times, Canada Post made the most sense, and we were pleased to share our high volume parcel rates with the client.

Tying up some loose ends As odd as it may seem, rolling a letter tightly enough so that it will come out of the mouth of a bottle as easily as it drops in is not a simple as you might think.

Additionally, to complete the creative effect, we were to tie a piece of jute cord around the letter once rolled. Of course, trying to hold the rolled letter and tie the

cord is not that easy either. We solved this challenge by rolling the letters tightly around a small dowel on a custom-built, sloped frame. Once rolled, we were able to use, of all things, the tiny elastics that orthodontists use on braces, to keep the letter tightly rolled while the jute cords was tied around it.

Program evolution At the outset, this was a twophase project. First, the message in a bottle package was mailed to the prospect, followed by a personal call within a week of receiving the bottles. Bottles were shipped 500 at a time to ensure a timely follow-up.

We quickly discovered that there were two short-term challenges that needed to be resolved. First, the package was very plain and the only company branding was on the back label of the bottle on the lower corner.

Very subtle; maybe too subtle.

Secondly, not everyone knew Atria Networks at the outset.

Given the foregoing, some packages were retuned without having had a fair opportunity to work their magic. To combat this, it was decided that a pre-approach postcard would be mailed out in advance of the message in a bottle package. The postcards introduced both Atria Networks and the campaign, which certainly minimized the returns.

This also allowed the client to validate the deliverability of the address before investing in shipping a bottle.

Even with the postcards going out though, when the sales people called, they often found that prospects still were not connecting the dots as readily as they might have liked. To further distinguish the company and the campaign, a personalized follow-up letter was mailed shortly after the message in a bottle package was shipped— and after the sales person had completed the follow up call. Of course, the letter referenced the campaign and the bottle that they would have received, thereby helping to tie it all together for the prospects, making things much easier for the sales people.

So, what was initially a twophase campaign was expanded to include four main phases, as follows:

1. Pre-approach postcard to validate address data and introduce the company and campaign 2. Message in a bottle package 3. Personal call from sales person 4. Personalized follow-up letter How much did it cost?

Before asking you to hold your breath, I would like to note that we always maintain that direct marketing is only expensive when it doesn’t work. In this case, it worked extremely well. The all-in cost for the first three phases, incusing all materials, assembly mail preparation and parcel postage averaged about $16 per bottle.

Delivering messages and results The goal of Atria was to see a 2:1 ROI, for every $2 spent, to generate $1 in new MRR (monthly reoccurring revenue). They exceeded their expectations as the campaign actually returned $1 in new MRR for every $1.47 spent.

Further, due to the contractual nature of the business having an average 3 year term, additional revenues have continued to be generated via ongoing service billings. So, the investment was certainly worth the return that the campaign generated.

Conclusion Message in a bottle campaigns are not for the faint of heart, nor would anyone be likely to launch one to promote weekend sales for fast food chains. However, if you really want to make an impression and are selling high-end items or services with ongoing revenues, a message in a bottle campaign would certainly be worth considering.

Lastly, like all great projects, these campaigns require a consolidated team effort. At these kinds of prices, you cannot afford to be making mistakes.

Additionally, you will want to keep your eyes open to see where the program might be tweaked to optimize your results.

Dave Ward is President of Highland Marketing and is a strong proponent of integrated direct marketing and campaigns that are tastefully different, stand out and get noticed. For more information visit www.hiland.com or follow Dave on Twitter (@Highland_DM). september 2013

// 11

dimensional mail

Case Study:

TRICO Evolution

TRICO evolution’s comprehensive range of integrated services is a key competitive advantage for its customers. To get the Sweetheart® job done on time and on budget, NECCO had only to make one phone call, to one contract packaging company; TRICO evolution took care of all NECCO’s packaging, logistics, and distribution needs.

“Without the hardworking team at TRICO evolution, it would have been a challenge for us to deliver on a major retailer’s request to sell our product in Valentine-themed packaging in large volumes,” said Eric Long with NECCO. “Working with TRICO evolution meant we could keep our resources focused on what we do best, making some of the world’s finest candies.”

TRICO evolution is a fully-integrated marketing communications company with operations in Laval, Vancouver and Ottawa. In addition to its packaging capabilities, the company also offers strategic planning, marketing intelligence and data analytics services; direct marketing and direct mail; as well as high-end offset, digital printing and print on demand services.

What could be sweeter?

A Sweetheart® success!

By Olivia Nixon

The challenge When the world’s largest retailer calls to request your product – no matter how tight the timelines or how big the logistical challenge of pulling it all together – you can’t say no. When asked on short notice by a major retailer to supply the iconic Sweetheart® candies in large quantities, in specialized packaging, and all in time for Valentine’s Day sales, The New England Candy Company (NECCO) said “sure we can”.

Since 1947, NECCO has been producing some of North America’s most classic candy confections. Its sweet line-up includes Haviland thin mint patty’s, Clark and Sky chocolate bars, Mary Janes and of course those infamous Sweetheart® candies.

NECCO called on one of its preferred fulfillment suppliers, TRICO evolution, to make it happen. The large quantities required, specific packaging requirements and short delivery runway contributed to the job’s complexity. Of course, the final packaged product also had to meet NECCO’s and the retailer’s exacting standards for quality and cost containment.

“Our customers look to us to get their product retail ready, efficiently and cost effectively. We’ve made investments in packaging resources, equipment and technology so that our customers do not have to,” says Tony Rimac, President of TRICO evolution. “And, our vast network of suppliers gives us access to a wide array of packaging materials and products to meet even the most detailed requirements.”

The insight The growth of big box retailing has fundamentally changed the supply chain landscape. For many small and medium sized businesses making it onto the shelf of a big box retailer is the “holy grail” of retail sales. Product manufacturers who cannot meet the often very specific requirements of big box retailers are left out of the inventory line-up. NECCO looked to TRICO evolution to help get its product to market.

TRICO evolution has successfully evolved its packaging and fulfillment services to meet the growing needs of the big box market. A fully integrated, multi-channel communications company, TRICO evolution’s suite of marketing services includes a sophisticated packaging division. The company provides co-packing and retail-ready packaging products and services specific for big box environments.

The execution TRICO evolution sourced and procured the plastic, clam-shell, heart-shaped container as well as the shrink band. The candies were shipped in bulk from the NECCO factory to the TRICO evolution packaging facilities and packaged into the fun, plastic hearts. The packages were coded for tracking and traceability using high-speed ink-jet technology. The Sweetheart® hearts were then neatly packaged into a branded shipping and display box for final distribution to the retailer. TRICO evolution then ensured the product was distributed to the retailer when and where it was needed.

NECCO successfully fulfilled on a challenging request for a unique, quality product, in large quantities, produced in a short time frame and at the right price point. The uniquely packaged Sweetheart® hearts were delivered well in time for the Valentine’s Day sugar rush. september 2013

Olivia Nixon is a Marketing Manager at TRICO evolution and occasionally indulges in Sweetheart® candies even when it’s not Valentine’s Day.

Mail

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in the mail

// 12

Practicing what they Key players on the campaign Squareknot Creative Martin Strazovec Senior Creative Director (Associate VP) Asad Azizi Creative Group Head Adam Martin Senior Art Director Kathleen Honey Senior Copywriter Squareknot Account Team Sarah Simpson Chief Client Officer Natalie Duszczyszyn Account Director Rob Kavanagh Senior Account Executive Squareknot Production Ted Bassett Print Manager Canada Post Corporation Stacey Cummings Sr. Direct Marketing Advisor, Direct Mail Strategy, Canada Post Mary Cochrane Sr. Direct Marketing Advisor, Direct Mail Strategy, Canada Post Jennifer Campbell, General Manager, Direct Marketing Strategy, Canada Post LithoColour Ray Ranaud President Rick Jones Business Manager Steve Pierce Production Manager

preach Canada Post partners with Squareknot, LithoColour to produce eye-catching dimensional mailer

W

hen it came time to design the invitation to this year’s Think Inside the Box event, the folks at Canada Post Corporation knew that they wanted to send out something that broke through the clutter.

So they turned to the creative minds at Squareknot for the solution.

“I had received Think Inside the Box pieces in the past and they had a dimensional element because they had the web key,” says Sarah Simpson, Squareknot’s Chief Client Officer. “We wanted to look at how we could take the piece a little bit farther and create some buzz.

So ideally it would be something that reached beyond our core mailing list and that would have share value to it.”

“The web key element has proven to be a great tool for generating response for this event in the past because it’s just so easy to pop that into your computer and register,” says Adam Martin, Senior Art Director at Squareknot. “So we knew that when we were developing this piece that we had to find a way to include the web key and make it interesting.

“They presented three concepts to us and they were all great,” says Mary Cochrane, Sr. Direct Marketing Advisor, Direct Marketing Strategy, Canada Post. “Originally we started with a theme and Squareknot came up with the idea of “mad marketing” and this idea of using direct mail to demonstrate explosive results, combining different elements – it all just kind of lived in this scientific space.

It was a great space for it to live because it was exciting and really conveyed what we were trying to do.”

The pop-up invitation contained the web key as well as a microscope lens that made the event details pop.

continued on page 16

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september 2013

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// 14

shipping and fulfillment

The art of

shipping

Customer demand drives innovative shipping processes

By Karen D’Andrea

G

one are the early days of e-commerce when customers showed a degree of patience with shipping delays or complicated online check-outs. Now more than ever they demand, and deserve, an easy-to-use, timely and cost-effective online shopping experience. The last piece of this process – shipping and delivery of the purchased product – is essential to ensuring a happy, repeat customer. Yet expectations are high – often customers want great, fast and reliable shipping – but they also want it free of charge. Now is the time to assess this critical last step to ensure high customer expectations are met without negatively affecting a company’s bottom line.

Cost management is key When customers make purchases online, a key factor in the decisionmaking process is the cost of shipping.

It’s not unusual for companies to offer shipping rebates and other types of incentives to ensure an online shopper confirms their order at check-out.

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trends and past promotions to help with planning inventory and warehouse capacity needs. Careful scheduling can reduce the amount of last-minute, and ultimately more expensive, shipping services.

In addition, reviewing your past shipment activity and carrier detail can also help planning with your carriers, and help with negotiations Automate your process: Companies should use a shipping management solution that is capable of supporting multiple e-commerce sites to accurately and quickly offer customers the most affordable shipping option. Multi-carrier shipping management solutions can also help reduce costly errors that can result from manual processes, such as incorrect addresses, and help identify options for reducing carrier surcharges.

Be Flexible: Customers want choice in how they receive their product. Do they want overnight delivery, or is standard shipping acceptable? Do they want the product shipped to their residence, or do they want to pick it up at a store? To be cost effective in balancing the

customer’s need for choice and your need for efficiency and profitability, a multi-carrier shipping management solution that provides carrier and service options can help. In addition, choosing a solution that can grow or change with your organization as new carriers and services become available is key.

‘Wow’ your customers Your customer’s shopping experience is increasingly based not only on the value and quality of your product, but on the order and delivery process as well. Offering a number of online shopping and fulfillment options provides the customer with the flexibility to meet their specific needs.

Make sure that the checkout process is simple and quick for customers, as companies are being constantly compared to competitors and other online shopping experiences. It’s also important to ensure only as many steps as necessary are in the checkout process, and to give customers the option to edit payment and shipping details at all times.

Free shipping can be a big part of an overall marketing message, but it may not always be an option for your company – you may need to set a minimum order value or launch specific promotions for a free shipping, or just set a flat shipping fee for all purchases.

Whatever route you choose, be sure to clearly communicate early in the purchase process. When this type of information isn’t clearly communicated, customers often abandon their purchase due to unclear or omitted shipping costs, which leads

to customer frustration and lost sales.

And don’t let the communication stop there - once the customer places the order, make sure you continue to communicate - confirmation of that the order was received, confirmation that the order has shipped, and package tracking information so the customer can easily track the package and understand the projected delivery date. Again, automation is important to do this in a cost effective way, and integrating your order management solution to a shipping management solution can help provide the information needed for your customers.

Ultimately, the shipping experience is only successful if you have a happy customer upon delivery of their purchase. Free shipping can help get you the order, but repeat orders only come from satisfied customers, and receiving the package is the last statement you’ll make to your customer about your company.

Curious if your customers are satisfied with your shipping solutions?

Companies should give customers the chance to provide feedback or ask questions during the process and after the transaction is complete. This will give companies the benefit of knowing if the process is successful, and ensure that customers know the company cares about the user experience.

Karen D’Andrea is Director, Marketing for

Pitney Bowes’s Distribution Solutions (PBDS).

Distribution Solutions include Pitney Bowes’ complete global logistics management solutions. She can be reached at karen. dandrea@pb.com

september 2013

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Editors in Letterthe

// 16

mail

continued from page 12

“What I really liked was that I’d never seen this type of material used before as a magnifying glass so it was really different yet still aligned with what we were trying to do from a theme perspective. I’ve been doing direct mail for a long time and this was the first time I’d seen anything like it. That’s what we were trying to achieve. The event is meant to inspire marketers about unique ways to use direct mail in the marketing mix so we always want to

make sure that we have an invitation that hits you with that right away and showcases what direct mail can do.

Squareknot hit that right out of the gate.”

The Challenges One of the first challenges was just trying to physically determine how to most efficiently use paper in a way to make it fold and present the 3D effect of the pop up of the microscope.

“We spent a lot of time with pieces of paper folding and refolding and really

prototyping to figure out how we would get it to work,” says Adam. “Once the idea was sold we had to figure out the finer details like how far the lens had to be off the paper etc. We knew all the pieces would come together, we just needed to figure out how they would all come together and behave together.”

Enter the team at LITHOCOLOR. A Canada Post Corporation Expert Partner, LITHOCOLOR has a longstanding relationship with CPC and has become known for their ability to get the job done fast and keep the program on deadline.

“This is the 6th Think Inside the Box program we’re helped engineer,” says Rick Jones, Business Manager at LITHOCOLOR. “In this case we brought the web key portion to this which year-over-year has returned 20%+ response rate. Our job is to take a basic design and make sure it can be engineered properly and on budget.

We did some minor design changes, working closely with Adam, and it went smoothly.”

The week of August 5, 2013, CPC mailed 1,000 Think Inside the Box invitations across the GTA. The piece, which mailed wrapped in clear plastic, targeted marketers (clients and agencies) who manage or influence a

direct mail budget, sales contacts – marketers CPC currently does business with (they invite their customers) and marketers who haven’t done business with CPC. “We really wanted this piece to stand out so we didn’t want to cover it up or hide it away in an envelope,” says Adam.

“So we went with the shrink wrap so you can still see the whiteboard effect of the outside of the piece, still see the sketches and right away it looks different than what you’re used to getting in the mail. We hoped it would generate enough interest that you’d want to rip into it and dive right in.”

The results The goal of the invitation was to drive registration for the Think Inside the Box event. When the piece dropped, Mary says they certainly saw response.

“We’re very proud of the unique invitations we’ve done in the past to drive registration and we’ve historically had great response rates. We haven’t yet done the analytics against this piece compared to previous invitations but I’m certain we’ve hit a new standard.

With every year the bar seems to be raised even further.”

In terms of number of people that are registered we’ve just hit 260!”

Coming in the oCtober issue of direCt marketing

executive roundtable A match made in data heaven – learn how data scientists and value architects are working together to realize value through business analytics.

Gartner found that by 2015 more than 4.4 million jobs will be required to support big data initiatives. This Executive Roundtable, sponsored by Boire Filler Group, will examine the roles of the data scientist and value architect in arriving at optimal analytical solutions. Industry experts will discuss the “marriage” of these two areas and explore some of the details of how these two areas arrive at analytical solutions. Finally, they’ll address the myths and misconceptions about these two roles when it comes to managing your company’s data.

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Richard Boire Boire Filler Group Tom Peters Deloitte Analytics Tim Trussell SAS Canada Emma Warrilow Data Insight Group Stephen Shaw Kenna Colin Tener CVM Marketing Larry Filler Boire Filler Group september 2013

Direct & Personal

// 17

Robert Pierre Thomas

By Billy Sharma

I

t is said that: “A well rounded person is not someone who enjoys doing one thing well but a person who relishes doing all things well.”

Let me introduce you to one such person.

His name is Robert Pierre Thomas and he is the Director, Philanthropy & Communications at Toronto People With AIDS Foundation.

First, he loves good literature.

He told me, “As a kid I had a voracious appetite for reading, won all sorts of reading contests at school—the type where you have to read 10 books in a week and answer questions pertaining to them. I learned to read at the age of 4½, so I had a bit of a jump-start.

“These days, the speed of my reading is much slower—for one thing, there is less time to be doing it and for another, I like savouring the language, taking the slow approach to good literature.

“My Dad, Stefan Tomas, was the inspiration to learn as much as I could as fast as I could. I remember when at the age of 9 or 10 he challenged me to read the entire 13 volumes of the encyclopedia we had at home. On a dare I did it, even though some of the entries were very difficult to understand for a kid. He was very good at reverse psychology. I remember his clear instructions NOT to read the books from the top shelf, as they were for grown-ups only, and then cleverly stacking that shelf with Balzac, Rilke, Zola, Proust and Joyce.

Needless to say, it worked.”

As a fundraiser he mentioned that, “The most important aspect now and in the future will always be the same—the ability to personally connect with the recipient. I think too often DM relies on gimmicks and premiums and fancy print, rather than sticking with a good story and adding a personal touch. I always sign BY HAND all DM letters. I know some may think it’s madness but guess what, it works!

“I fondly remember the first ‘big’ grant I secured: $35,000 from a sports equipment manufacturer. But that was quickly overshadowed by a $250,000 government grant. The largest gift I have ever received (as part of a solicitation team) was $8,000,000 for Ryerson University.

“I have to admit, however, that even more memorable are interactions with the donors, regardless of the size of the gift.

“I started personally calling all the donors and having conversations with them – to thank them for the gift, to ask, how they were doing, but NEVER to ask for money. This paid dividends when the financial markets collapsed. During my 5-year tenure at Moorelands Community Services, Moorelands did not have any decrease in funding, while charities all around us were experiencing 30-40% drops.

“However, the area of the business I generally enjoy most is the interface between philanthropy and communications; developing the message of an organization that not only popularizes its goals, but also compels people to support it. I truly believe that the majority of people want to effect positive change and experience the satisfaction of doing so. It takes a skillful communicator to figure out how to connect the donor’s wishes with the organization’s goals.

“Another area I am passionate about is program development. I love september 2013

radio station, a job that quickly evolved into a full-time job on the national radio and soon, national television, in a very popular supperhour TV show watched by 18,000,000…. It was a dizzying ascent for a 20-year old.

“When I first appeared as one of the anchors of the TV show Tele–Express on Polish TV, I had no idea that the show would become immensely popular. I was 19 at the time and quite unprepared for it. It must have been after about six weeks of working there, when I flagged a taxicab in downtown Warsaw. The driver kept on looking in his rearview mirror and finally asked, ‘Are you that guy on TV?’ I confirmed that I was and we continued on. When it came to paying my fare, he said: ‘No, this one is on me – you are doing a great job there!’ Believe it or not, I encountered him on another five occasions

to be involved in creating and fleshing out new service delivery models and innovating well-established programs to better suit the changing needs of the service users—in a nutshell, anything to do with strategic development.”

How he got into fundraising is equally interesting.

“It is all probably because of my background,” he admitted. “I was born in Poland and had an interesting childhood growing up in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Hungary. I concurrently studied international law and archaeology and enjoyed my studies immensely, but the pull of a broadcasting career was too strong to resist.

“My first job was actually in broadcasting.

In university, during the second year of my law studies, I started as a reporter for a local

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Direct & Personal and each time he refused to take my money!

“After I moved to Canada, I continued in broadcasting for 9 years, but this time in a listener-supported, non-profit radio station CJRT-FM, now JAZZ FM 91.1.

“I guess I could call it a crisis of the soul when I realized that broadcasting was much less interesting and much less ethical that I previously thought.

I was dismayed with the level of journalism in Canada and could no longer see myself doing it for the rest of my life. That was in 1998 and it gave me the final push to completely move into fundraising. I never looked back, and these days some of the journalists (thank you, The Toronto Star and the Guardian) have restored my faith in that profession.”

The challenges he has faced “As an immigrant in Canada, I experienced a lot of ‘you don’t have Canadian experience’ BS and at the time it was very irritating. But eventually I managed to overcome it.

“The second was subtler—I have been out as a gay man for 25 years and in that time I am sure there were career opportunities that I was not considered for because of my sexuality. I don’t regret any of that, as I place much higher value on personal integrity than career advancement.

Nowadays, it is not an issue and I feel perfectly comfortable in my present

// 18 work environment, The Toronto People With AIDS Foundation.

“Interestingly, in almost 20 years in fundraising, it is the first organization rooted in the GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community that I have worked for. All my previous jobs were ‘straight’—but not narrow!

“For the past 10 years I have been married to Dr. Allan Peterkin, a Toronto-based, Winnipeg born-andraised doctor and writer. We met 15 years ago and in the summer of 2003 became part of the first waves of gay couples in Ontario to legally marry.

My daughter is now 28, so I suppose well beyond my influence as a father.

We have 3 dogs (chocolate Labrador retrievers) and these ‘children’ are much easier to control (plus, they don’t mouth off!)”

His other loves “Music has always been a huge part of my life, something I was greatly influenced in by my Dad, a big music lover. I learned to admire opera from him, a passion that endures.

Unfortunately I don’t have a great talent for playing music. My many years of piano education did not amount to much, but I can safely say that I have a well developed an ‘ear’ for music.

“This has helped in my capacities as a music critic for Wholenote Magazine and a judge for the Juno Awards for

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the past two years.

“I am an extrovert and apparently a gregarious one at that, so I thrive in the company of others – friends, family or even perfect strangers.

Dinner parties or simply beers on a patio suit me fine, but every now and then, I need a quiet ‘me’ time at the cottage, surrounded by nature and the smell of the BBQ.” His obsessions are few “I am fanatical about visiting museums and galleries when travelling.

During my honeymoon in Croatia I nearly caused marital discord with my attempt to visit ALL of the UNESCO heritage sites in that country.

“I love travelling and also love trying new and different food. At one time, while travelling in Pula, Croatia, we went for dinner to what was described as the best restaurant in all of the Balkans. The meal was amazing and each of the courses was accompanied by its own flight of wine. As I was the designated driver, I had abstained for the most part. However, at one point, the desserts appeared accompanied by a half-bottle of fig brandy, on the house, of course. As I dipped my lips in it, I knew I would have to drink more than one glass of it. Later on that night, I got lost in Pula, a medieval town with cobblestones on narrow streets. We found ourselves on a deadend street, up a hill, with parked cars tightly packed on both sides. The only option was to drive down in reverse for about 3 blocks, on wet cobbles….

I would not have succeeded in that stunt if not for the fig brandy.”

His philosophy is simple.

“It is truly interesting that things that happen to us have a way of focusing our attention and sensitizing us to the plight of others. Over a year ago, as a result of a motorcycle accident I completely severed my quadriceps tendon.

I needed two surgeries and spent the better portion of a year either immobilized, on crutches or with canes.

During that time, I started noticing people with disabilities all around me and began to realize how difficult it is to navigate without full control of your limbs. I also became aware of the outright hostility some Torontonians exhibit toward people without complete mobility. As I recover now, that realization will remain with me and certainly will make me more mindful of the disabled people around me.”

He credits his success to two people and many knowledgeable voices.

“The two people who have had

the biggest influence in my life are first my father. He was an incredibly erudite man, who also embodied the term ‘renaissance man’. He was very talented mechanically (could rebuild a car engine or a grandfather’s clock from scratch), kept bees, grew roses, hunted, designed and built the houses we lived in and the family cottage, was an avid conversationalist, bon vivant and a great cook—truly someone to be admired, if somewhat overpowering for a young man. These days, I think I would make him proud.

“Next, the person with the greatest impact on my career is my fundraising mentor, Gay Harper, CFRE. She was my boss for 3 years at Youth Assisting Youth and I credit her with everything I know about donor stewardship.

That woman taught me more than seven ways of saying thank you and engaging people and making them passionate about a cause. She still is my ethical sounding board and trusted advisor. I was very lucky to encounter her early in my career and it made me a convert to mentoring as the best way of making this world a better place.

“Then there have been books.

I could not identify any one such influencer. We are shaped by the sum of our experiences and are at the end of the day the creation of all the people we have encountered along the way. There is of course a philosophical ‘lens’ through which we look at life. For me, that’s Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Bertrand Russell and Christopher Hitchens. As for influential books, I would have to list Alice in Wonderland, the original Tales of 1001 Nights, In Search of Lost Time by Proust, Alexandria Quartet

by Lawrence Durrell and The Double Hook by Sheila Watson, to my mind the best novel in all of contemporary Canadian literature.”

So, what is important to him?

He said simply: “I think E. M. Foster said it best: Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon.

Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, And human love will be seen at its height.

Live in fragments no longer.

Only connect... ~E.M. Forster, Howards End” Billy Sharma is president and creative director

of Designers Inc. He can be reached via email at designersinc@sympatico.ca or by telephone at: 416-203-9787 september 2013

News

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE ISSUE 2

Oh Canada Canada's place in the new era of Contact Centres

❯❯Contact centres under attack ❯❯Building people-focused contact centres

Issue 2

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Issue 2

Feature

Under attack!

The contact centre’s role in security management Social engineering: Social engineering, in the context of information security, is understood to mean the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. This is a type of confidence trick for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or gaining computer system access. It differs from traditional cons in that often the attack is a mere step in a more complex fraud scheme ~ Wikipedia

By Katherine Thompson

W

e live in a world where information, communication and access is truly at our fingertips. Between the continued emergence of mobile applications and online resources, we are the generation of empowered consumers able to conduct our daily lives with more convenience and access than ever. But with that access comes inherent risks. The information we share, whether it’s through the companies we do business with or through online social media sites, is quickly becoming a lucrative and sought after commodity. The experienced and professional hacker has many methods to access and extract this information. While online (cyber) and physical security tactics are most prevalent, the emerging strategy of social engineering is starting to capture the attention and concern of many in the business of protecting your information.

“How hackers hack—protecting yourself and your customers” was the topic of a recent Greater Toronto Contact Centre Association (GTACC) morning meeting hosted by the Peel Regional Police. The well-attended event attracted an interesting crosssection of industry and responsibilities, all sharing a mutual interest and concern in the growing demand for cybersecurity mechanisms. Derrick Webber, Penetration Testing and Forensics Team Lead at CGI presented a very entertaining and insightful look into the innovative and aggressive means professional hackers are using to gain access to your company’s systems and data. Following the event, I had the opportunity to sit down with Derrick Webber to discuss the impact, responsibilities and opportunities the contact centre will play.

The emerging threat of social engineering “There’s a saying in our industry—amateurs attack systems and professionals attack people” says Webber. “We are seeing more attacks being carried out through human channels”. Webber goes on to point out that one of the key areas being exploited is verification services. He references the recent hacking of the Associated Press Twitter account which falsely announced explosions at the White House that resulted in temporarily wiping out

Highlights from 2013 Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 18 Key Findings » 42% increase in targeted attacks in 2012. » 31% of all targeted attacks aimed at Issue 2

businesses with less than 250 employees. » One waterhole attack infected 500 organizations in a single day. » 14 zero-day vulnerabilities.

$136 billion in value from the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. While this exploit resulted in Twitter implementing upgraded online security, frontline verification methods still pose a significant threat to security.

The contact centre has a role to play in security management While there are a growing number of acknowledged security breaches through social engineering, there are much more that go unreported. “Where we see an emerging role for the front line representative is being able to identify and track attempted breaches through channels like the phone and online means such as chat and social media sites” says Webber.

“This would involve training representatives to be able to identify these attempts. By tracking and reporting this data companies will be better able to identify trends, adjust internal management protocols and protect important data.” With the inevitable changes in global legislations surrounding breach management and reporting, Webber believes the investment in training your frontline staff will safeguard against legal action, severe penalties and loss of customer loyalty.

Communication is key but still lacking Many companies have established protocols in place for the management of breach attempts, yet many overlook the role of the contact centre in managing the flow of communication both within an organization and to the customer.

Legislative changes to PIPEDA open the door for the contact centre to play a much larger role in breach management, especially as it relates to time sensitive communication to those impacted by the breach. “From a compliance perspective, the need to communicate will be required. In terms of managing and monitoring social engineering attacks, the frontline representative can become your company’s most important safeguard” says Webber.

Katherine Thompson is a passionate and committed voice of the global BPO industry focusing on current and emerging trends that impact how customers engage, respond and commit to your company’s brand. » 32% of all mobile threats steal information. » A single threat infected 600,000 Macs in 2012. » Spam volume continued to decrease, with 69% of all email being spam. » The number of phishing

sites spoofing social networking sites increased 125%. » 5,291 new vulnerabilities discovered in 2012, 415 of them on mobile operating systems.

Source: Symantec Security Response

“The presentation for GTACC at Peel Regional Police Station was amazing. The focus of the session was on security and more importantly information security. I thought the speaker did an excellent job at showcasing the relevance of information security and made his examples applicable to all industries. The venue was excellent, audience participation was high, and the topic was extremely relevant for the current social/ political climate. Kudos to a great job GTACC!” ~ Nygel Weishar, Sr. Manager Scotiabank “There was so much to learn from the Peel Police tour put on by the Greater Toronto Area Contact Centre Association. The lessons on cyber crimes and the criminals behind them were alarming and insightful. I have always ensured my client data is encrypted and secure and I walked away with a better understanding of how to continue to protect my own personal information (e.g. two factor authentication).

In the “old” days we knew not to click on unknown attachments in emails, modern cyber-criminals have replaced the attachment attack with a seemingly harmless link from a friend or colleague who’s computer has already been hacked.

You click on the link from that friend or colleague and now cyber-criminals have full access to your computer (and all the databases and files connected to it). This, according to the experts in the demonstration, is the biggest risk to the security of business data. Cyber-criminals will use call centres as an avenue into customer accounts and agents are a first line of defence. Agents are often the first to receive a call from a customers when their account has been compromised. In both cases the call centre plays a very big role in defending the advances of cyber-criminals. The organizations that take this threat seriously and prepare front line agents for these situations will be in a better position to defend against these real threats to their customers and their data.” ~Graham Kingma, President Imagen Business Solutions

contactmanagement.ca | 3

Feature

Canada’s place in the new era of Contact Centres A summary of 12 interviews with influential thought-leaders from around the world.

4 | contactmanagement.ca

By Bruce Simpson The early days of the Global Contact Centre Marketplace were a bit like watching 4-year olds play soccer … a herd would rush from one side of the globe to another chasing lower wage rates in untapped labour markets.

Today, much of the thrashing has stopped, as just like Zellers we’ve learned that “the lowest price is not always the law”. This especially applies when deciding who takes care of a company’s most valued asset Issue 2

Cover … their customers. The revolution from productivity-only call centres to influential Interaction Centres has changed the value proposition for our industry and could redefined Canada’s role in the Global contact centre marketplace.

Drivers of Change

Customer Experience matters: there was a time when customers were taken for granted, where every cost reduction action plan started by reducing headcount in the contact centre and making it harder for customers to get service.

Now with very little differentiation between products, and the advent of a megaphone called social media, the customer experience matters and poor service is publicly punished. Your Brand = Your contact centre Anywhere + Always On: supporting your 7x24 website, being truly active in social media (beyond a pilot-phase) and mobile-everything (banking, marketing, payments) is once again increasing the need for contact centres. Just like the internet fueled a growth in customer contact, interaction centres are now the hub of an increasing number customer touchpoints.

High-Value Work: as most of the simple work has gone to automation, self-service or gone away (EX: consumer Telemarketing), what is left is lots of complexity that customers can’t figure out by themselves OR work that has previously been done face-to-face. What is needed most is a remote counselor / co-pilot who is able to build a human relationship, understand context and solve problems (including selling!).

Key Point: Welcome to the “Age of Effectiveness” in contact centres where instead of being just Efficient (Faster!

AHT!) we need the work to be done Effectively (FCR, Resolution, CSat and Sales). Canada could be a leader in the type of work that is complex, constantly changing and is really important to companies.

What we learned while chasing lowest cost models: We learned that outsourcing anywhere works best for high-volume, simple, repeatable and unchanging contact types. Dynamic + Complex work doesn’t do well in the command + control environment of most 3rd party contact centres.

Offshore labour rates increased faster than forecasted and the cost of supporting and managing a provider Issue 2

of service in a land Far Far Away had companies incurring significant costs that were not originally accounted for. We also learned that attrition rates have become a qualifier for many types of complex work; if it takes on average 3-6 months for a rep to get good at complex work, yet the average lifeexpectancy of an agent is say 6 months (60% of attrition is in the 1st 90 days) … this means people leave before they even get good at the job.

Customers seem to care less about where they are serviced and more that they are being heard, being understood, and can understand the person they were communicating with. Often what challenging is not just accents or nuances in language, but context; hard to understand and service a credit card when you’ve never seen or used one before.

Key Point: The utopian view of huge savings, with easy implementation of a static turn-key solution turned out to be a mirage. There are clear reasons why Outsourcing or Insourcing onto Canadian soil makes sense for the types of work that matter most to companies today.

Oh Canada!

Our Product: our well-educated, easy-going workforce with diverse language capabilities is at the core of our industry’s value-proposition. We should not take this for granted as we are, and have always been, in a war to get, keep and develop the right talent.

Stability: we have clients whose customers are serviced in developing countries where political instability can shut-down whole centres and causes chaos. We also take for granted Canada’s telephony, IP cloud-based infrastructure and power grid are some of the most advanced in the world.

Canada = Reliability.

The New Math: when the Canadian dollar was at 75¢ US we competed based on price. Now if your CFO or consultant is comparing fully-loaded wage rates world-wide they might miss the point. This analysis ASSumes equal effectiveness rates (Resolution rate, FCR, CSat, Sales) and any real-world analysis should factor in both these differences AND a long ramp-up period for these to be obtained.

If it takes a Canadian centre 1.2 contacts to resolve a customer’s issue (with lower transfer + error rates) and it takes the Far-Far-Away Contact Centre 1.6 contacts; the cost difference is huge.

As Geoff Oakie SVP of HGS Canada points out; ”companies are often pointing at the wrong metric, usually at the transactional-level, not the business-benefit level. Getting the compass right means Canada can compete world-wide on Value and Performance.

Discipline of Great Execution: many of the symptoms that appear in contact centres are “upstream” issues; how we plan work, how we implement anything new, how we manage and share knowledge and how we lead + coach people. Canada needs to be the leader in our ability to execute well in a multi-channel highspeed world.

As Don Moffatt CEO of Millennium1Solutions proclaims; ”after 20+ years there is still a void in the marketplace for delivering consistent quality. That only happens if you are bird-dogging what the management team should be focused on everyday.” If Canada can lead in our ability to execute the hard work every day instead of leaving it for agents to figure-out … that is a strategic advantage!

Most Canadians view of a CALL centre was formed when someone called them during the dinnerhour to sell them long-distance or duct-cleaning. This dated and distorted view of a CALL centre, by both executives and prospective employees, is our biggest constraint to innovation and growth.

For companies … we need to educate firms on the contact centre’s potential business value, and the risks of not investing in this channel. For banks that means positioning the contact centre as a strategic partner to service and sell to the 30+% of customers that no longer go into a branch.

For almost every B-to-B sales organization it means changing their beliefs of what a world class inside sales team can do. For our overwhelmed healthcare system this means piloting proven methodologies that other countries are using to proactive monitor and manage patient care before it gets expensive (maybe we can do this for other countries?). We need to change the antiquated view of what a contact centre is and what it can do.

For prospective employees … we need to give-up our blind over-management of productivity for a more balanced, value-oriented and effective approach. This includes a focus on doing the job well, not just fast and paying employee more for the value they generate. With new tools contact centre reps can often do more than a field tech / field rep, and do it any-time and without wasted travel-time … why wouldn’t we not pay them more? We work with 2 centres where the reps have 2-3 certifications and will make $80k - $120k this year. We need to challenge our leaders to prioritize the needs of employees so they can have a life; by creating flexible work arrangements like work at home. Our industry needs to re-think old management practices AND get a reputational make-over.

The Last Word: Never before has the potential value of a world class contact centre been so significant. In this new era, innovative approaches bundled with new technologies combined with talented and motivated people could allow Canada’s contact centre industry to compete based on business value, and not on price.

SwitchGear has been Canada’s premiere contact centre consultancy for over 10 years. Mr. Simpson co-founded North Direct Response (became ClientLogic, now Sitel International) and has worked with clients that outsource to Egypt, Philippines, India, Canada and across the world. To know more about Canada’s role in the “Age of Effectiveness” you can reach Bruce at Bruce@switchgear.ca or sign-up for the monthly SwitchGear Insights at www.switchgear.ca contactmanagement.ca | 5

Employee Engagement

Building a people focused contact centre –Part 1 of 3 Employee engagement - the secret to building a highly connected culture, one employee at a time

By Jeff Doran & Sangeeta Bhatnagar

This is the first of a 3 part series where we will look at building an engaged workforce culture from both a centre-wide and individual level. Part one focuses on strategies for attracting top talent.

In most organizations, culture is formed from the top down. The CEO/President strongly influences the type of culture and branding that exists in their company. They set the tone. Their words and actions re-enforce the values, behaviours and characteristics they want to see in the organization.

This has a trickledown effect with the rest of the company. Managers tend to emulate the words and actions they see from their bosses and so on down the line.

A great example of culture and branding comes from the Lululemon website where they recently advertised for a new CEO. Here is a summary of the job description: • You communicate powerfully, often through Sanskrit.

• You are disciplined, focused and can hold a headstand for at least 10 minutes.

• You’re a long-term thinker. You already have a plan to bring yoga and luon to Mars by 2018.

• You break all the rules like getting your OM-on (loudly) whenever the urge arises.

• You elevate and cultivate the level of talent within the senior leadership team by holding The Bachelor lululemon. Only one successful SVP will get the final rose.

• Not only do you lead the organization to create components for people to live long, healthy and fun lives, you know the secret to how they got the caramel in the Caramilk bar.

• You wear The Mansy to lead our company-wide morning chant and kombucha ritual The job description was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But from reading these bullets, you get a pretty good idea as to the type of culture you might expect if you were to work for this company.

Any organization that wants to build a better culture to attract top talent needs to develop a positive internal brand. This is more than just holding Monday morning “Raw-Raw” sessions and wearing company logo pins. Building a strong internal brand involves understanding employees’ deeper emotional and physical attachments to work, company, community and global impact.

Organizations need to understand how employees personally feel about their workplace with regards to: company image/reputation; products & services, community involvement; innovation; financial stability and future direction to name a few.

Once an organization has a clear view of employee motivators, they need to align them to corporate strategic objectives. Now they can start to re-enforce an internal brand message that resonates with employees and encourages them to push past limitations. Employees need to be involved in crafting and communicating the message. The message needs to be real, honest, relatable and immediate. Having employees involved from the start will go a long way in helping them take ownership, develop pride and become more engaged overall.

A great example of the power of internal branding comes from a New York based company called arc90. They are a software development and design firm specializing in complex web applications.

Their culture is based on creativity and innovation. A big part of their day to day consists of developers collaborating and sharing ideas. The challenge was that they needed to do it in a more consistent or expedient manner. To that end, they developed their own software to more effectively manage the flow of ideas, comments and conversations. This innovation management tool became so effective, that they started to introduce it to their clients and they loved it. The demand was so strong, arc90 set up a dedicated company to develop market and service their software on a global basis. The product is called Kindling and currently sells across North America and overseas. They are now one of the leaders in this very competitive market. If arc90 did not have such a strong internal support for their brand, they would not be where they are today and they would not be attracting the top talent that will keep them in the forefront of innovation.

When it comes to building a vibrant, people focused culture like ark90, you need to find out why people were attracted to your organization in the first place. I recently conducted a diagnostic review with a client going through their employer of choice assessment and discovered that most people were attracted to the organization due to positive experiences they had as a customer or through 6 | contactmanagement.ca

favourable conversations they had with friends and family. So before they were even hired, they were already highly attracted to the organization and advocates for the brand.

There are many methods of promoting a favourable culture to the general public but the bottom line is that you need engaged employees to make it stick. In order to create an engaged culture where people want to be involved and “go the extra mile”, you need a high degree of trust and respect at all levels. This must be part of the leadership mantra. If employees feel that they will be supported, encouraged and recognized, they will be more motivated to contribute and become more connected. If they feel their opinions and actions don’t count, they will tune out.

In the contact center environment, it is sometimes difficult to get people involved in special projects without adversely affecting productivity. But creative managers are introducing some interesting and unique opportunities for employees to be more involved. Two key areas companies are focusing on these days to drive employee engagement and attract top talent are community support and social innovation.

• Community Support – If managers want to create a close-knit, supportive, productive team, they need to be more proactive in creating opportunities for employees to connect outside of work.

One manager at a large Canadian contact centre, invited her team out on a Saturday to volunteer with her favourite charity – Habitat for Humanity. Almost everyone on her team came out, put on a hard hat, picked up a hammer and spent the day building a house. They all had a lot of fun but more importantly, they developed a real sense of connectivity to their team, the company and the community. Helping a family achieve their dream of owning a home, instilled a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment in everyone.

• Social Innovation Management – organizations need innovation development/management systems that will stimulate employees to think of new ways of doing things. Employees must also be encouraged to submit their ideas anywhere, anytime. These systems need to capture and process ideas quickly so people can see the results of their efforts Issue 2

Employee Engagement immediately. Having an innovation system in place not only improves employee morale but also allows you to measure and manage the employee involvement process.

Suggested reading on this topic: Ideas Are Free by Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder.

Building and sustaining a people focused culture, for the purposes of attracting top talent is a no-brainer.

But it’s easier said than done. Strong, consistent leadership is critical to building and maintaining an engaged culture and therefore, having the right people in the right positions doing the right things are the key elements to success.

Look out into your contact center.

How are your internal branding initiatives affecting your centre’s ability to attract top talent? The secret is to develop an engaged workforce that wants to be involved. If you can do this, you are well on your way to developing an enthusiastic, supportive and connected contact centre culture.

It all comes down to you Attracting and retaining top talent to your team depends a lot on your company’s Recruitment and On-boarding processes.

Recruitment does not end at the time of hire and on-boarding does not start at the time of hire. Instead the two processes are intertwined and create your brand in the industry. How people are treated from the first step will influence their pride and engagement in the company. People are looking to work for an organization that they can belong to and feel a part of.

There is a need for stability, appreciation, and fun in the workforce.

While increased use of technology to start the process is helpful, we must ensure that we do not lose the Human element which all people crave and ultimately work for. We as human beings have some common desires; the need to belong is right up there with oxygen!

Your brand as a company needs to be represented right from the beginning of the recruitment process, that is, from the initial job posting that your external Recruiter or internal HR department uses.

Have you ever wondered why after several interviews, background checks and new-hire training that “star” candidates quit and go somewhere else? Some may think it had to do with the Recruiter not exercising proper due-diligence, but have you Issue 2

ever wondered what may have gone wrong in the Recruitment/On boarding process?

Here are some points to consider when starting the recruitment and on-boarding process.

Think of the different personality blends Have the personality blends/temperaments of the different candidates as well as that of your company brand been considered as you proceed through the Recruitment/on-boarding process?

Personality Traits

What is Important in the Recruitment/On-boarding Process

D

❯❯ All relevant tasks should be completed quickly and efficiently ❯❯ All interviews and training should start on time and be conducted in a professional manner ❯❯ Expects RESPECT throughout the process

Fast paced, Dominant, Drivers, Quick decision makers, Task oriented and typically Extroverted

I

Fast paced, Inspiring, Innovative, Enthusiastic, Life of the party, High energy promoters and typically Extroverted

❯❯ Welcome with energy, excitement and genuine enthusiasm ❯❯ Welcoming e-mails, personal greeting and buddy system on First day ❯❯ Looks for a feeling of FUN & CELEBRATION

S C

Steady, Stable, Secure, People Oriented and typically Reserved

❯❯ Appreciate kind gestures showing your level or care for them such as warm e-mails and pre-hire phone calls ❯❯ Looks for BELONGING and APPRECIATION

Cautious, Careful, Compliant, Task Oriented and typically Reserved

❯❯ Expect all training materials to be organized and in order ❯❯ Proper completion of tasks is very important ❯❯ All contracts should be error free ❯❯ Training and first day logistics should be delivered in a logical manner, ensuring not to start late or waste time ❯❯ Looks for efficient Standard Operating Procedures and a feeling of VALUE

Since many companies rely on external recruiters to assist in the recruitment process, here are some best practices that will encourage Recruiters to represent your brand in the best possible light.

How quick is the turn-around time? Once your company’s internal or external Recruiter interviews the candidates, how quickly do you interview possible candidates? Typically the Recruiter (internal or external) should be able to get back to the candidate within 48 hours with an interview date and time. Remember, once someone starts looking for a job, they look aggressively.

If you use an external Recruiter, then it is imperative that the internal representative have seamless turnaround times i.e. 24 to 48 hours, as candidates can get frustrated with the poor communication and then look elsewhere. This lag in time can be the beginning of either a great corporate brand or a very poor corporate brand. If there is a lengthy delay then the candidate will not feel valued.

Enthusiasm for the organization will diminish as this experience was not welcoming or employee-centric. If you are recruiting agents, it is critical to deliver feedback quickly as the toptiered agents will get hired quickly – maybe even by your competitor if you take too long. Typically, an agent should know either way within 72 hours.

Additional points to consider are: • On the day of the interview at your respective organization, how are the candidates greeted?

• Are they treated with respect? Is each person being treated as if they are your valued customer?

• After the first interview, how are candidates left to feel? How quickly is the feedback given?

• Do you make candidates at the agent level come in for several interviews or do you show enough respect to have them come in once but meet with the respective managers and HR staff on the same day?

• On-boarding should be fully integrated into the Recruitment and Selection process.

• Process can be started online, with downloads and e-mails provided to the candidates ahead of the start date.

• Ensure that candidates are greeted with a warm welcome during the entire interview process.

• Ensure speedy and efficient communication throughout the process • Badges, computer/phone logins etc. should be ready on first day of orientation • Orientation should be Warm, Welcoming and a Fun experience.

All levels of Management should be involved in the Training process to start instilling the true corporate culture where Employees are valued and respected.

The success of the recruitment process comes down to how you treat the candidates throughout the process. An agent or any other candidate will deliver the service with which they are treated.

How one is treated early on is a key piece in defining the corporate culture.

If you do not treat people properly in the Recruitment/On boarding stage – then giving a T-shirt or a Mug with “We Care about You” means nothing. It is just another piece of meaningless swag.

All aboard!

People matter (not just a catchy phrase). Showing that you care should never stop.

Remember, by investing in a proper Recruitment and On-boarding process – You will reduce attrition, reduce on-going recruitment and save training time and dollars! contactmanagement.ca | 7

Customer Relationship Management

How to deliver a better pizza It’s not just about the food; It’s about the entire customer experience

By John Bardawill

I

don’t have to tell you that agents are the life-blood of a contact center.

The value of an organization’s customer experience relationship is directly related to, and highly influenced by, the quality of the customer-agent interaction.

So the end goal, obviously, is to ensure a consistently positive and high value customer-agent interaction. Sounds easy, right? Well, not really.

Take out or delivery?

Take a simple example like ordering a pizza. The customer states that they would like to order a pizza for delivery. The agent asks what size, what toppings, etc., and finally, ‘take out or delivery’? It’s a small thing, but if the agent had noted the customer’s request upfront, it would make for a better interaction, and potentially a less expensive call in terms of talk time.

It is commonly assumed that if an organization has a good recruiting process and first-rate training and incentive programs, their representatives will be able to deliver a positive customer experience. But it’s really not that simple. Even with all of these key pieces in place, you will still have good agents interpreting organizational mandates and training differently, resulting in vastly different customer experiences.

Many organizations focus their attention on call structure, but this alone will not maximize the customer-agent relationship. In addition to call structure, organizations should be focusing on the relationship building skills of the agent, and the quality of the interaction between the customer and the agent.

most organizations are coaching in a static environment and not in an evolving one. Typically, coaching training for supervisors is also necessary.

• Ensure that KPI reporting reflects the new state. This includes ensuring that the measures being tracked are the right measures, that they are highly visible to the agents, and that they are reviewed on a daily basis by all levels of the contact centre, from management to agents.

• Establish optimal performance management. In any substantial change management process, change does not come immediately, and does not happen “evenly”.

A tightly managed process is required to ensure that things progress positively and that gains are clearly visible while set-backs are minimized. Best practice dictates the development of a real time process that allows for corrective action “in the moment”, with daily coaching and performance management reviews to determine how teams of agents are progressing.

Developing better results in a contact center environment is about change management. It requires a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from the current state to a desired one.

To accomplish this successfully, a contact center must first redefine its customer-agent relationship, and then provide the necessary support to ensure a successful transition.

This does not mean that just one thing has to change, but rather a number of things need to change in an aligned and focused manner to ensure success. It’s not easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is!

John Bardawill is Managing Director at TMG International Inc., a consulting firm focused on Business and Marketing Strategy, Channel Management, and Contact Centre Development.

3 Requirements for improving the customer-agent relationship

1. A clear understanding of organizational objectives down to the agent level While many organizations have objectives for their agents, often we find that they do not align fully with the organization’s overall objectives. Every agent should understand the organizational objectives, and be held accountable for them. To accomplish this, their personal objectives must be tied directly to the overall organizational objectives. This provides agents with clear direction and the ability to measure their own success in supporting the organization.

2. A well-resourced contact center that is able to support the required change Contact centers must be appropriately resourced to effectively change. But I am not talking about having the latest in technology, generous staff levels, and a healthy budget. At a minimum, the following must be in place to ensure an organization is capable of making changes: • an appropriate supervisor to agent ratio (1:12-15) to manage change • a real-time reporting system to ensure ongoing effective measurement of key performance indicators • a training budget that allows for sales and service training on an ongoing basis • the ability to evaluate progress and provide ongoing communication on the state of the change 3. A methodology to ensure change at the agent level There must be a methodology in place to manage the agents through the change process. To do this the organization must: • Develop and implement a training program based on a redesigned future state call structure. This will help to ensure that current agent call behaviors change to match the requirements of the new call structure and objectives.

• Redesign the coaching model to reinforce the newly defined call structure.

Greater focus will need to be put on the amount and quality of coaching as 8 | contactmanagement.ca

Issue 2

CAM-X 49th Annual Convention & Trade Show September 24-27

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show

Message from Convention Chair

Keynote Speakers

This convention is not about the location!

Opening Keynote - John Ratliff

I am very pleased to invite you to join us in Bermuda this year. Our 49th Annual CAM-X Convention and Trade Show will be at the Fairmount Southampton.

There are a few of us still around who attended our last visit to Bermuda in 1986. It is amazing to think of how the business has changed. What hasn’t changed is the value each attendee takes from a conference.

Bermuda is a real treasure parked in the Atlantic almost an equal distance from the United States and Canada.

Over the years Bermuda’s seven larger islands and many smaller islands have hosted the likes of Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, and Harpo Marx. Some like, Canadian industrialist K.C. Irving moved to Bermuda to escape taxes.

The Fairmount Southampton is a spectacular property with every room having a view. Perched on one of the highest points of land in Bermuda, the property includes a fabulous beach and one of the best executive par three courses in the world. The hotel provides a ferry service to downtown Hamilton.

Yes, the location is great but the real reasons we attend CAM-X conventions will be there in spades. We will have an excellent program planned around our theme “Connect with Culture”. I am very pleased that John Ratliff will be our opening keynote speaker. John Ratliff and “Connect with Culture” what a match! I am equally pleased that John Whitehead will be our closing keynote speaker. If you have heard the two Johns speak you know what to expect; if you haven’t you don’t want to miss them. In between the two John’s, we have an excellent program planned for you. Industry leaders will be sharing their ideas on social media, video, employee recruitment and retention. I am particularly looking forward to Mary Stewart’s panel on Hiring and Retaining Good Employees. We are also putting together a special program for the first day, to provide an opportunity to connect with fellow industry players and enjoy the sites, and culture of Bermuda.

Bermuda is easy to get to with direct flights from Toronto, Boston, New York, Atlanta and Chicago to name a few.

There are also cruises ships from the U.S. making regular trips to Bermuda. And of course you can sail to Bermuda, only 635 nautical miles from Newport and 720 nautical miles from Nova Scotia. However, September is not the recommended month for sailing to Bermuda.

Mark the dates on your calendar, September 24 to 27.

See you on the other side of the triangle for a Gosling’s.

Bill Tucker , Convention 2013 Chair

10 | contactmanagement.ca

Great company culture is not about posters on the wall or games in your break room. Great companies have a different philosophy about employees than good and mediocre companies have.

Come spend some time with John to learn about how you can change your philosophy to change your results!

John Ratliff started Appletree Answering Services from scratch in 1995.

The business grew steadily through summer of 2000, and allowed Appletree to upgrade from a small paperless system to an Amtelco Infinity. At the same time they tripled their advertising budget and hired a salesperson. The business began to take off from that point, and has experienced at least 40% per year growth every year since 2000.

John recently sold his company to Stericycle.

John graduated from the University of Delaware in 1992 with a double major in Marketing and Finance. Prior to his call center career he owned and operated two wireless phone retail stores in Pennsylvania.

John has been active in many industry groups including ATSI, CAM-X, SNUG and NAEO. He is a former ATSI and NAEO Board Member.

Closing Keynote - John Whitehead “You would expect that somebody worthy of sharing the secrets of living a good life would be a lot older, have a lot more experience, have climbed a couple mountains, won an Olympic gold medal, or maybe fought off a Polar Bear while skinny dipping in the Arctic! But then again, if none of us are ever going to do any of this stuff, why would we want to listen to somebody tell us about how to do it?

So…you get me. John. I’ve packed a lot into my first fifty years. I better share it now as I fear I may spend my next fifty years forgetting it all.

I’m a student of life getting wiser with every experience…both good and bad. I don’t know it all. But what I do know I’m happy to share. Get ready to think deeply…to be challenged…to laugh because humour is always needed... to confirm some of what you already believe…to let go of some of what you may have believed…and to cry because some of life’s lessons require that.”

John Whitehead and his wife Marie have two boys Jake 17 and Max 15. They live in Sudbury and love the outdoor life it provides. You can find them at their 85 year old log cabin on the lake in the hot days of summer. You will find them on the ski slopes or the hockey arenas in the winter. He coaches hockey and has done so for 14 years now. His priorities in life are health, family, and work.

Issue 2

News

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show

Schedule of Events

Monday, September 23 4:00 – 7:00pm Board meeting

6:30 am

Tuesday to Friday: “Nature Walk with Michael Leibowitz? Explore the beauty of Bermuda on foot. We will walk for about an hour and discover the diversity of flora, and have many great photo opportunities. You can leave the walk at any point as we won’t venture too far from the hotel.”

2:30 – 2:45pm Coffee in Exhibit Hall

2:45 – 4:30pm

Hiring & Retaining Good Employees with Mary Stewart Panel: Michelle Matte, Julie Sparkin, Rob Leguerre, Jen Ferby

4:30 – 6:30

Rum Tasting Silent Auction Open

Thursday, September 26 8:00 – 8:45am

Tuesday, September 24 1:00 – 4:00pm

Taxi Rally / Amazing Race

6:00 – 8:30pm

Opening Reception (poolside)

Wednesday, September 25 8:00 – 8:45am

Networking Breakfast in Exhibit Hall

8:45 – 9:00am President’s Welcome

9:00 – 10:30am

Opening Keynote: “Culture Creates Your Competitive Advantage” with John Ratliff

10:30-10:45am Coffee in Exhibit Hall

10:45 – 12:00

Let’s Socialize! Social Media Panel with Kevin O’Connor Panel: Kate Swift, Nancy O’Connor

12:00 – 1:00pm Lunch in Exhibit Hall

1:00 – 2:00pm AGM

2:00 – 2:30pm 30 Minutes of Fame

Issue 2

Networking Breakfast in Exhibit Hall

8:45 – 9:00am

7:00 – 10:00pm

Gala Dinner and Silent Auction

Friday, September 27 9:00 – 10:00am Vendor Time

10:00 – 12:00noon

Closing Keynote: John Whitehead

12:00 – 2:00pm

CAM-X Awards Luncheon

3:00 – 6:00pm Board Meeting

ATSI President Welcome

Vendors

9:00 – 9:45am

Amtelco Madison, WI Brad Swift bswift@amtelco.com 800-356-9148

Personal Story: Scott Lyons

9:45 - 10:30am

Video: The Wave of the Present with Pat Taggart

10:30 – 10:45am Coffee in Exhibit Hall

10:45 – 11:15

Vendor 30 Minutes of Fame

11:15 – 12:00

“The Power of Trust and Credibility - How to build it and its impact on employees and customers” with Paul Roy

12:00 – 1:00pm Lunch in Exhibit Hall

1:00 – 1:15pm NAEO Update

1:15 - 1:45pm

Personal Story: Don Swift

1:45 - 2:00pm SNUG Update

2:00 - 2:30pm

Personal Story: Casey Smit

2:30 - 3:00pm

Personal Story: Pat Vos

Professional Teledata Manchester, NH Pat Kalik pkalik@proteledata.com 800-344-9944 Startel Corporation Ivine, CA Steve Newell steve.newell@startel.com 949-863-8738 Szeto Technologies Inc. D.D.O. QC Charles Szeto charles@szeto.ca 514-421-3737 TAS-Innovations Sudbury, ON Mike Shantz mshantz@northern911.com 800-461-3317 TeamSNUG Plymouth, MN Dan L’Heureux dan@callconsult.net 763-473-0210

3:00 – 6:00 Free Time

6:00 – 7:00pm Cocktail Reception

contactmanagement.ca | 11

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show

FEATURE SESSIONS

Opening Keynote: “Culture creates your competitive advantage” with John Ratliff Great company culture is not about posters on the wall or games in your break room. Great companies have a different philosophy about employees than good and mediocre companies have.Come spend some time with John to learn about how you can change your philosophy to change your results!

Let’s Socialize!

Social media panel with Kevin O’Connor Panel: Kate Swift, Nancy O’Connor Still wondering how social media can be useful for the call center industry? Join the CAM-X communications committee to discuss all aspects of social media from what it is to focusing, maximizing and analyzing your efforts specific to the call center industry. Don’t be shy; bring your questions for our Q&A and let’s socialize!

Hiring & retaining good employees with Mary Stewart Panel: Michelle Matte, Julie Sparkin, Rob Leguerre, Jen Ferby How do you attract ‘that perfect candidate’ to your firm? * What methods do you use for recruiting and why? *What prescreening process works best in your opinion? * What method of interview do you feel in the most effective? * What are your top 10 questions and do you have specific interview guidelines? * Is retention important? * What are the top 5 retention programs? * What are the pitfalls of keeping employees who are not keeping up their end?

12 | contactmanagement.ca

Video: The Wave of the Present with Pat Taggart If the prospect of using video in your business is scary, you’re not alone. Who’s going to produce it? What good will it do, and what will it cost me? Pat Taggart (Appletree Answers, Stericycle) will speak about the practical application of video in a call center environment.

No longer the wave of the future, video is everywhere and provides a clear competitive advantage. In fact, there are few industries that can benefit as greatly from utilizing video as ours. Pat will arm you with a list of ideas and resources, putting your fears to rest and providing a clear understanding of exactly how video can improve employee engagement, save time and yes, even drive profits. If you have never used video in your organization, this is a session not to be missed. For those of you that have, find out how to take it to the next level. Learn to love video from someone who does!

“The power of trust and credibility - how to build it and its impact on employees and customers” with Paul Roy Paul’s presentation will be focused on the value of credibility and its’ relationship with trust with both your customers and your staff. We all like to deal with and work for people we trust however we can’t take it for granted. We lose employees and potential customers because of a lack of trust. We will explore the ways we can test if we have trust and the things we can do to get trust back if we have lost it.

Closing Keynote: At 50 this is what I’ve got for you so far…life’s lessons!

Stolen, borrowed, recognized, and made up! with John Whitehead

You would expect that somebody worthy of sharing the secrets of living a good life would be a lot older, have a lot more experience, have climbed a couple mountains, won an Olympic gold medal, or maybe fought off a Polar Bear while skinny dipping in the Arctic! But then again, if none of us are ever going to do any of this stuff, why would we want to listen to somebody tell us about how to do it? So…you get me. John. I’ve packed a lot into my first fifty years. I better share it now as I fear I may spend my next fifty years forgetting it all. I’m a student of life getting wiser with every experience…both good and bad. I don’t know it all. But what I do know I’m happy to share. Get ready to think deeply…to be challenged…to laugh because humour is always needed... to confirm some of what you already believe…to let go of some of what you may have believed…and to cry because some of life’s lessons require that.

Issue 2

// 31

Resource Directory Advertising Agencies

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// 32

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// 33

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// 34

Resource Directory Mailing Services

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