Executive Insights: 2009
As thought leaders in the home-based customer service industry, Alpine Access executives write a monthly column on industry trends and ideas for TMCnet as well as contributing to other publications.
December 9, 2009
Training Virtual Agents - It's a Different Dynamic. Or Is It?
Today, the convergence of adult learning theories and distance learning technologies are enabling companies to create training programs that empower and engage people like never before. As more companies adopt the use of virtual training, however, it's important to realize that it's not enough to just make classroom materials available to online learners. Virtual training requires a new way of thinking about - and delivering - training.
Read full article.
December, 2009
Economic Uncertainty Heightens Need for Home-Based Model: Turning to Virtual Call Centers for Help
The past few years have not been good for the financial services industry and financial institutions continue to navigate through some pretty rough waters. U.S. consumers are burdened with over $14 trillion in mortgage debt, in addition to $2.5 trillion in non-mortgage (i.e., auto loans, credit cards, etc.) debt. Read full article.
November, 2009
States Look to At-Home Call Centers for Job Creation
Wyoming state leaders recently demonstrated their commitment to putting the welfare of residents first and foremost by partnering with a home-based call center to bring work-from-home jobs to the state.
Read full article.
November 1, 2009
Top Ten Lessons from "Crossing the Chasm"
It can be a long journey, but these might help keep you on track. Read full article.
October, 2009
State of the Virtual Call Center Industry
Sometimes executives fall into the trap of looking at their business environment through a narrow lens, only seeing what they want to see. When this happens, it is important to take a step back and evaluate the landscape from a more objective perspective. Read full article.
September, 2009
Adding "Service" to Service Plans: Home-based Contact Centers Help Communications Companies Connect with Customers
The ability to communicate when and where we want is seen as a basic human right by many of us. Not only is on-demand communication part of our societal foundation, it’s quickly becoming an obsession. Even during these tough economic times, consumers continue to spend an astonishing amount of money on the ability to connect with each other.
Read full article.
August 31, 2009
Five Tips To Weather The Economic Storm - Great Customer Service Can Keep You Afloat
Customer service has the power to escalate or ease a crisis situation — depending on how it’s performed. Using today’s technology tools, unhappy customers can instantly broadcast their complaints to millions of people.Try to cover up or evade the truth, and you could create a tsunami of negative response. On the other hand, most consumers will be reasonable and understanding when provided with quick access to truthful information.
Read full article.
August, 2009
Understanding the Widespread Adoption of Home-Based Customer Care
Jim had a call center but could never find enough people to staff it. So, he followed the traditional solution and put up another call center in a different location. That too eventually tapped out the market so that no more qualified employees could be found. Over and over again, this happened. Frustrated and financially strapped, he took a step back and asked the question “Why does it have to be done this way? ” Read full article.
July, 2009
Protect Your Business Against a Pandemic with the At-Home Service Model
With cases numbering more than 59,000 across 110 countries, the World Health Organization officially declared the swine flu an international pandemic - the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. According to the Brookings Institute, a mild pandemic scenario would cost the global economy about $360 billion, while an ultra scenario could cost up to $4 trillion within the first year of the outbreak. Read full article.
June, 2009
Outsource or Do-It-Yourself?
Here’s a new answer to the question posed in the headline of this article: The decision doesn’t have to be one or the other. Read full article.
May, 2009
A Growth Spurt: Demand Increasing for Home-Based Contact Center Model
Did you know the Aspen tree is the largest, fully connected organism in the world? Enormous groves of identical trees are connected by a single root system. The Aspen grows by shooting sprouts from the existing roots so that all new trees are connected to the parent tree. The largest known Aspen is in Utah and covers 106 acres.
Read full article.
April, 2009
It's Not Just Peanuts: How Rapid Customer Response Can Protect Your Brand
Peanuts. Who would have thought that the negligence of one peanut manufacturer would result in the deadliest food contamination outbreak in the past 20 years? The Food and Drug Administration considered peanut butter a low-risk food. Yet, to date, 683 people in 43 states have become ill from salmonella after eating contaminated peanut products and nine have died. Read full article.
March, 2009
From Per-Minute to Per-Customer
Like all industries today, the call center market is facing difficult economic challenges. While companies in this market are intimately familiar with pressures to drive cost to the bottom, lately it seems that clients are doing more due diligence, asking harder questions and demanding quantitative proof of performance before selecting an outsourcing partner. This is as it should be. Read full article.
February, 2009
Achieving Business Continuity during Natural Disasters
Hurricane Ike was the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. When it hit Galveston, Texas on September 13th, the winds were nearly 125 miles per hour. Before it was over, the storm caused extensive flooding, demolished buildings and left millions of people and offices without power for weeks. Read full article.
