Managers are Marketers Too
1 Mar, 2004
By: Dan CoenEditor’s Note: If a trip to the book store or a search on Amazon leaves your head spinning with all the professional books available, perhaps you need some help knowing where to direct your attention. That’s why CP has decided to bring you Book Reviews, to help save time and energy so you can get on to more important matters.
Welcome reviewer and seasoned call center expert Dan Coen, as our newest addition to the editorial team, who will share his insights on business books that add value to you.
Successful call center managers recognize the importance of training, coaching and measuring a staff to reach a common goal, yet sometimes forget how important opening channels of communication can be to the process. The development of first-rate avenues of communication in a call center operation is one of the most significant steps toward establishing best practices management. Many call center supervisors have mastered the implementation of open communication—and most others hope to—but it takes planning and, most importantly, understanding your audience.
Meaningful Marketing by Doug Hall (Brain Brew Books, 2003) presents a comprehensive package of tools for call center managers, but what’s fascinating is that Meaningful Marketing was not written for call centers. In fact, the words “call center” never even appear in the book. Yet, every chapter ties in directly to the elements that go into building a successful call center operation. While reading the book, I was struck as to how much call center management is in actuality, “marketing management”.
Much as other organizations conduct traditional campaigns to advertise products, services and messages to their target audience, a call center manager has an internal audience that needs to be reached regarding products, services and messages being offered within its own call center environment. In other businesses, an advertising agency develops a vision and marketing strategy for a particular product or service they represent, essentially creating a story for an audience. Why should call center management be any different? Why can’t call center management develop a vision and marketing campaign about their call center, developing their own story to the agents, team leaders and staff in the call center?
Meaningful Marketing demonstrates succinctly how to advertise better and smarter to an audience, something that every call center manager would do well to learn. Each of the 102 chapters explores a data-proven marketing truth, focusing on a simple, cogent point with regards to communicating to an audience. That point is then supported by three to five practical ideas that bring the marketing truths to reality. For example, data-proven truth No. 61 focuses on the importance of reducing customer stress, something that call center management can certainly apply when mentoring and coaching call center agents. Practical applications of this truth include, “Help customers think in a more organized fashion,” and “Help customers reduce impulsive decisions”.
Data-proven truth No. 100 focuses on making irrelevant differences work—talk about a subject that is paramount for call center managers to explore! One of the practical ideas suggested to address this issue is, “Think about effort versus return”. Now that is a message all call center management can live by. When viewed in terms of call center needs, this book speaks directly to call center management.
If call center performance truly involves building communication channels, then call center management must think more like marketing experts. Understand the audience, craft the message, and communicate creatively. Meaningful Marketing provides clear data-proven truths that management can apply effectively to the call center.
