Chief Marketer Staff

• Call Center Customers Cite Dissatisfaction, Security Concerns: Survey

  New research on call centers indicates a split between customer and vendor attitudes, as well as wide-spread security concerns, according to a survey of corporate and business call and contact center users; contact center staff and managers; and outsourcers who run centers in the U.S. and overseas.

• Call Center Customers Cite Dissatisfaction, Security Concerns: Survey

   

• Neiman Marcus’s Direct Sales Strong in Quarter, Year

  The Neiman Marcus Group, Dallas, generated fourth-quarter net earnings of $21 million, up from $7 million a year ago. The Dallas-based retailer

• DMA’s Ethics Report Includes 30 In-Depth Cases

  The Direct Marketing Association fielded 1,065 complaints and inquiries from consumers about the volume of mail, telephone calls and e-mail they receive during the first half of 2004.

• Charlotte Beers to Give Keynote at DMA Annual

  Charlotte Beers, who during her career served as chair of two of the top ten worldwide advertising agencies, will deliver the keynote address at the DMA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Monday, Oct. 18.

• InfoUSA Relaunches Sales Genie In Online Subscription Platform

  InfoUSA, Omaha, NE, has re-launched its Sales Genie offering as an online subscription-based sales lead tool.

• Advanced Image Direct Adds Production Capacity, Staff

  Advanced Image Direct has annexed a 50,000 square-foot location adjacent to its current Garden Grove, CA facility.

• Short Cuts

  InFact, a consulting firm, anticipates a 18% reduction in sales training and support costs, and a 15% drop in the time it need to close a sale, as a result of implementing CRM OnDemand from Siebel Systems Inc.

• New Products and Services

  PolkOne Xpress: An automotive credit-based list offering for pre-approved lender programs. PolkOne Xpress uses proprietary automotive information and demographic data to deliver individuals that meet both credit and non-credit qualifying criteria.

• Letters to the Editor

  Here, here! Let’s hear it for obeying your own laws! The one downside to this, however, is that airports are actually a monopoly, like utilities and phone services once were. The government can regulate how they see fit.