Campaign Spawns Call Center

Allconnect.com expands inbound staff to field lead generation contacts To support a nationwide lead generation program targeting 43 million U.S. households that change addresses each year, Allconnect.com has opened a new customer interaction center.

Working on behalf of more than 100 companies, the Atlanta-based firm targets new movers who need to order services like gas, electricity, telephones, home security and others. It relies on Web site promotions that use a toll-free 800-number response mechanism.

Allconnect signs up new customer accounts by telephone and e-mail (online text-chat will be available soon). Customer service agents provide information and answer questions for consumers about various service options and billing plans available in their new neighborhoods.

Orders for new services and disconnection are processed at a 13,000-square-foot customer interaction center open since mid-summer. To date most orders have been completed by phone.

The new facility, which cost $4 million to build, takes up more than half the space at the company’s new Atlanta headquarters. Next year Allconnect plans to open another center on the West Coast, says Stacey Key, the firm’s vice president of operations.

When the Atlanta center becomes fully operational by year’s end agents will also conduct online text chats, says Lee Pritchard, founder/ CEO of Allconnect.

Consumers can order services directly from the company’s Web site (www.allconnect.com) or via e-mail, but Allconnect expects that in most instances, consumers will need to speak with an agent to clarify information or ask questions before placing an order.

In a few months, agents also will have access to templates with answers to frequently asked questions to send e-mail information, plus there will be some automated e-mail replies distributed through the Web site. “We’re going to start using an e-mail reply system in the fourth quarter,” says Pritchard.

Through Web site registration and during inbound phone calls Allconnect collects customer data like employment information, Social Security number and so forth that home utilities typically gather to open new customer accounts.

Agents make some follow-up outbound calls in situations where a person needs to check with a spouse or roommate before placing an order.

After accounts are opened, Allconnect follows-up with outbound calls or e-mail – as directed by customers – to summarize and confirm customer orders. The company then contacts customers a second time with an outbound call or e-mail to verify that installation was completed satisfactorily.

Allconnect doesn’t charge consumers but receives payment for customer referrals from companies it represents, such as Bell South, MCI, Sprint and DirecTV.

During recent pilot tests, agents at Allconnect answered about 400 inbound calls and e-mails daily from customers. The pilots achieved an 85% conversion rate for turning inbound leads and inquiries into new customer accounts, says Pritchard.

At press time, Allconnect anticipated the volume of inbound phone and e-mail contacts would begin rising substantially in September as a result of a marketing campaign launched in August. Orders outside of Atlanta are being processed, but the volume is expected to remain low until the marketing campaign is expanded to other regions.

The campaign, which began in Atlanta, is scheduled to run through mid-November. It includes direct response print, radio spots and Web site promotions, all designed to generate Web traffic and inbound phone calls.

Allconnect plans to expand the campaign to the top 100 U.S. markets by next June.

Spiegel routes calls based on rep training levels Spiegel Catalog Inc., based in Downers Grove, IL, has installed new Rockwell automated call distributors (ACDs) at two customer interaction centers to enable it to route calls to designated customer service agents based on their skill levels.

“We’re in the process of implementing skills-based routing,” says Judi Luken, Spiegel’s vice president of customer retention.

Until recently, Spiegel only routed calls through queues by using different 800-numbers, regardless of how well reps were trained to handle different situations. With the upgraded technology, Spiegel can predetermine the likely reason why a customer is phoning and can send the call to an agent with a specific background.

For example, some agents may be more adept at handling complaints from irate customers, some may have expertise in certain types of clothing, and some may be better salespeople than others.

To send calls to specific agents, the ACDs are plugged into a database that maintains “skills profiles” of agents. “As they learn new skills, this can be added to their profiles,” Luken says.

The new ACDs were installed at a center in Wichita, KS, that has more than 600 stations, and a second center in Rapid City, SD, with more than 350 stations.