In the News, Making news
Double Standards
So the DMA is producing a film to educate the industry on the state of telemarketing and the new code of practice on silent calls.
While it's good to ensure best practice becomes the accepted standard, given the lack of faith the sector has in Ofcom and the DMA to enforce these rules, perhaps it should invest in a communications programme to tell us how it plans to enforce them?
Letter from Prolog Connect Contact Centre Director Paul Miller in Marketing Direct, 1st June, 2006
Dream Fulfilment
Customers are driving the demand for faster response rates. "Commitment to the customer needs to be such that the order comes out in hours instead of days. Twenty-four hours is the fashion now, but people will expect that to be quicker [in the future]".
Prolog Sales Director Ian Dignum comments on a back-to-basics approach to fulfilment in Incentive & Motivation, June 2006.
Prolog Supports Tiscali
"Our partnership with [internet provider] Tiscali has been incredibly effective, and has shown exceptional growth since we began three years ago. The fact that Tiscali has achieved their millionth customer is proof that the account shows no sign of slowing down, and we look forward to continuing this pattern of growth".
Prolog Account Director Craig Chandler quoted in June 2006 on ,contactcentreworld.com,
Balancing the DM spend
"Whatever you do you must make that first contact as valuable as possible to justify the budget," says Ian Dignum, sales director with fulfilment services at DM supplier Prolog. "The material has to be eye-catching to stand out from all the competing calls to attention of good causes."
From a feature on maximising a mailing campaign's impact, Charity Times, 18 th April 2006
Bonded Warehousing
Clothing manufacturer Red Inc is using Prolog Logistics to handle the warehousing and distribution of its three key clothing brands. This significant win marks Prolog's recent move into the retail logistics arena and follows a period of sustained growth with significant new business wins, including Lloyd Shoe.
Prolog Logistics has developed a tailored e-procurement system for Red Inc allowing sales representatives in the field to order stock through a web-based ordering system.
Logistrics Manager, November/December 2005
Royal Mail Pricing
A change in Royal Mail charges next year could affect in which paper products are delivered - or even in the amount sent out. "This significant and growing part of our business," says John Shore, Associate Director, Logistics at Prolog. "But the pack size is becoming more important. Next year, Royal Mail price bands will be based on volume, as well as weight; awkward sized packs will attract extra cost. We've already seen customers ditch the folder the pack was in to make it smaller."
Fulfilment and E. Logistics, Winter 2005 (Marketing response fulfilment - preparing the way).
Charity funding via the telephone
Recent statistics compiled by Prolog Connect show that 56 per cent of the population prefer to make a charitable donation via the telephone, and 28 per cent over the Internet. So has the time finally come for a new strategy?
Precision Marketing, 23 September, 2005 (Can charity minnows bridge funding gap?)
Public putting faith in donating by telephone
Research by Prolog Connect found 56 per cent prefer giving over the phone, believing it to be the most reliable method. It also reveals that Internet donations are increasing.
The study also illustrates that only 14 per cent of the public respond to charities through direct mail pieces, and less than 5 per cent would donate to charity representatives on the street.
Meanwhile, 60 per cent of individuals said they would rather donate their money than their time.
Ian Dignum, sales director at prolog, says: "When it comes to something as important as making a donation, it seems contributors prefer to speak to someone to ensure a successful donation is made."
Precision Marketing, 16 September 2005
Neglected image of fulfilment
The perceived lack of importance attributed to fulfilment operations is a long-standing bone of contention with those who practise the craft: "The creative side of a campaign is seen as the important element - how a thing will look, not how it will pack or if it will fit through a letterbox," says Prolog sales director Ian Dignum.
Precision Marketing, 1 September 2005 (Unfulfiled potential)
People 'favour donation by telephone'
More than half the people in the UK prefer to donate to charity by telephone rather than in person or through the post, according to research by telephone marketing company Prolog Connect.
A random sample of 250 consumers were asked the question: "When you give to charity how do you prefer to donate - over the phone, in person, by post or through the internet?"
Fifty-five per cent of those asked preferred to donate over the phone, with 28 per cent opting for the internet.
The survey also probed the public's motivation for donating, with 63 per cent of respondents saying that word-of-mouth and personal experiences were the most likely ways of spurring them to make pledges.
Other key motivators included information seen in the news and specific appeals. About 14 per cent of those questioned said they would donate to an individual charity's direct mail request, but fewer than 5 per cent said they would donate through a street collector.
Third Sector, 14 September 2005
Calling for change
Paul Miller, Contact Centre Director at Prolog, says the practice of segmenting customers within call centres is long established: "The first time I saw it was during the early Nineties at Bell Canada. It had a simple application running in the background that put an icon on agents screens."
Miller notes that there are some technical obstacles to moving a segmentation from the marketing department system to the operating system used in the call centre. But a more critical barrier is how fit for purpose the classifications are. "Organisations try to overcomplicate things. They have a massive customer management programme in which they are trying to think of every scenario and segment. You end up with a massive matrix of possible product offerings. They are not using the pragmatic middle ground." Where the organisation is controlling the content of customer contacts, such as with outbound marketing communications, they can act to address such complexity. In the pressurised contact centre environment, however, indicators of next-best actions need to be clear and simple.
The benefits of getting this right can be twofold. Callers feel better treated, which increases their satisfaction, and therefore loyalty. Employees also feel a greater sense of satisfaction, because they are better able to meet a caller's needs.
"One of the issues raised by our agents is their frustration at not being able to solve problems the first time, so they know another call will result. On a cold inbound call, the sooner you know who the caller is, the better you are able to diagnose an issue," he says.
Data Strategy, September 2005. Extract from an article by David Reed titled Calling for Change
Calling for change
According to Paul Miller, contact centre director at Prolog, [predictive dialling] technology is now doing more harm than good. "The outcome will be a decline in outbound telemarketing. Predictive diallers are inappropriate to use unless you have sufficient agents to make the maths work. But there is a natural barrier to this because of the costs involved."
Predictive dialler technology is constantly evolving. "The market is headed toward network-based applications operating off web interfaces, the implications of which will mean less control. Dialling will be managed by whoever is hosting the network. This on-demand model could exacerbate the problem, as it's mainly owing to lack of control, says Prolog's Paul Miller.,
Marketing Direct, September 2005. (Control that dial)
Outsourcing - in or out?
The warehousing and order fulfilment operations of Tearfund, a £40 million UK-based relief and development charity. last year outsourced [to Prolog] the order management and distribution activities of its £1.6 million Tearcraft sales operation, for the third time. The charity makes a significant proportion of its sales in the run-up to Christmas, explained Neil Stevens, Tearcraft's head, and it had experienced serious problems when the previous outsourcing company failed to pick, pack and deliver its Christmas orders on time.
Having already had two outsourcing arrangements that failed to fully meet its needs, [Tearcraft] might reasonably be expected to take its warehousing and distribution operation back in house. The reason that it didn't, says general manager Neil Stevens, was because it was able to view its outsourcing requirements in terms of the SLAs that must be met - discovering in the process that many potential firms to whom it could contract the operation were simply not capable of dealing with the extremely skewed nature of Tearfund's trading pattern.
"Once we'd realised that", says Stevens, "it was far more obvious what we were looking for in a partner." That partner - Suffolk-based specialist order fulfilment outsourcing provider Prolog - is amply positioned to cater for the pecularities of Tearcraft's operations, in which bulk container loads of (sometimes poorly packed) goods arrive from third world countries in the summer, to be shipped out in small parcels in the autumn and early winter.
The Manufacturer, August 2005.)
Customer relations
"A huge amount of training is required to give an agent the necessary soft skills, systems training and call control. Just as important is selecting the right agents. This increases repeat orders and enhances the brand's image."
Contact centre director Paul Miller quoted in Marketing Direct, July/August, 2005
Taking stock
Something as subtle as the finish of the paper used in a direct communication can have a surprising effect on the reception it receives. Coated paper is more expensive than non-coated varieties, so the extra cost need to be justified.
As Rachel Elliot, account manager at Prolog, explains: It dedpends on the product or service you are selling, and the market you are trying to communicate with. Its use has to be appropriate for the campaign.
"Coated paper is more widely used and more appropriate for direct mail that sets out to make a sale, as opposed to informing or increasing awareness."
Precision Marketing, 22 July, 2005
Setting Standards
Fulfilment company Prolog's service targets are all about making sure products are sent with minimal returns damage. This means a variety of packing solutions are needed, including sourcing the most cost-effective delivery.
"You'd be surprised how many items arrive at people's doors damaged, and we will intervene to advise on how best to package them properly," says Ian Dignum, Sales Director at Prolog, which handled POS material for Euro 2004. "We actually prefer hand-picking our items because labelling or quality faults can be seen."
Prolog can phone customers up if their order is damaged before it's sent, and let them know when the next delivery of that item is expected. Few cancel their orders.
Marketing Direct, January 2005
Hot to Handle
Prolog, which offers handling and fulfilment among its services, has just launched a dedicated logistics division to handle activities such as POS fulfilment and kit collations. Prolog's Sales Director, Ian Dignum, says: "POS materials greatly reflect on the brand so it's essential to set realistic objectives for a campaign to ensure timely delivery."
Incentive Today, January 2005
Poor delivery services will harm mail order
Home delivery is so bad that companies offering it are endangering their future success, according to research by marketing support services provider, Prolog.
More than three-quarters of the 1,000 people surveyed said they had encountered home delivery problems. Eighty-five per cent said that bad delivery would prevent them shopping with that retailer again, with 80 per cent of people saying they would tell others about their bad experiences.
Ian Dignum, Sales Director at Prolog, said the research is a plea for companies to improve before complete distrust arises.
"Consumers expect their goods to arrive to suit their schedules," he said. "The customer service experience must extend into the fulfilment chain."
High among consumers' gripes is the fact that a fifth of consumers said that their complaints about late delivery had not been acted on. In addition, 60 per cent of people were only guaranteed the date their order would arrive rather than a more specific time-slot.
The report suggests the average consumer wastes two working days a year simply waiting in for products ordered to turn up.
Marketing Direct, December 2004
Channels of Choice
Ian Dignum, Sales Director at integrated marketing company Prolog, advises: "It's a good idea to provide some form of consignment track-and-trace, perhaps as a click-through to a courier's website. This may also help to reduce those 'where's my order' customer-service calls."
From a feature on selling through multiple channels in Direct Response, November/December 2004
In safe hands
Prolog, an integrated marketing support services company, has more than 20 years' experience in the [handling, mailing and fulfilment] sector and clients including RAC, Coors, and Tearcraft and various government departments including HSE and DfES.
Ian Dignum, Sales Director, warns: "Whilst creativity is important in a direct mail campaign, sexy design solutions conceived without due attention to the practicalities of fulfilment can be counter productive. The key mistake that marketers make is that they are so concerned with the 'glossy end' of the promotion, they overlook the handling, mailing and fulfilment side of things. It sometimes seems like clients consider it as an after-thought.
"We can guide clients in their creative decisions to ensure that they maximise the cost-effectiveness of their campaigns. Because we 'live over the shop' we can have a valuable input in the practicalities of design and materials and how these translate into efficient mailing and fulfilment.
"By involving the agency in all stages of designing a campaign, marketers will find that the agency can offer a consultancy which will help with budgetary decisions along with package design and content. As a QMP accredited supplier, Prolog can also offer advice on how to achieve maximum postal discounts.
"Be realistic and flexible in your aspirations. A fulfilment service normally pools resources to meet the needs of several clients. Pick your HMF supplier carefully. Ensure that they have the systems, flexibility and capacity to manage volumes in excess of forecast.
"Regularly review and discuss progress with your handling house. If you are unsure how to do something, seek their advice. A good fulfilment service should be able to advise you on best practice and the innovation needed to make things work."
Extract from Sales Promotion, October 2004
Three in four shoppers face delivery woes
Prolog Sales Director Ian Dignum said the growing popularity of internet shopping meant competition in home delivery is fierce.
"Consumers expect their good to arrive to suit their schedules, because purchasing from the web is expected to make shopping more simple. If this does not happen, customers will go elsewhere."
Retail Week, November 19, 2004
Weighty issue
"The long-term effects of the trend to reduce paper weights. needs to be considered. It may prove cheaper in terms of mailing costs, but it will mean increased costs for print houses because printing on paper that is too light increases the wear on lasers and print rollers. This means they have to be replaced more frequently."
A Prolog Mailing Services Account Manager quoted in Precision Marketing, November 5, 2004
Signed, sealed and delivered
Fulfilment firm Prolog has its own transport fleet but also uses a number of carriers to ensure that it can provide the most appropriate service for each order it handles. "Some of our clients require home delivery and some carriers are better at that than others," says Sales Director Ian Dignum. "Others are good for pallet or multi-carton deliveries, or B2B, but it's important to have that mix."
From a feature in Marketing Direct, November 2004
Pennies from heaven?
"For financial services providers customer retention is hard to achieve in today's competitive market place," says Denise Downing, Sales Manager, Prolog. "With so many no- or low-interest deals for fixed periods on financial services such as credit cards and loans, consumers are tending to switch services more frequently to get the best deal.
"How do financial service brands gain the loyalty of their customers?
"One way of encouraging loyalty is by offering gift incentives to add value to the service.We have noticed a significant increase in the use of gift incentives as a form of self-promotion, particularly by credit card and loan companies. This not only encourages frugal consumers to use the card rather than just using it for a good deal on a balance transfer. For existing members, gift incentives offer a reason to remain loyal to that card.
"For financial services clients, the mailing and fulfilment of promotional gifts is now part and parcel of a direct mail campaign."
From a feature in Sales Promotion, November 2004
"Paper merchants seem to lack pro-activity when trying to project their products to the designers and creatives. The paper merchants still send their sample directly to the printers, and seem to forget that the decision makers are the creatives. I receive most of my samples from the printers. It feels as though the creatives are getting second hand samples.
"At the moment I find myself getting more ideas from the inserts in trade publications like Creative Review than from the actual paper merchants."
Senior Designer Rod Green quoted in feature article on material for digital printing
Precision Marketing, 14th May 2004.
"Fulfilment of documents by email, is becoming a reality but not as quickly as I expected. Consumers are still reluctant to use email to order documents like brochures. People often prefer to pick up the phone and speak to someone, and feel more confident their request will be processed…. There is still a long way to go before consumers fully embrace this method of delivery."
John Shore, Prolog Associate Director (Logistics), quoted in feature article by David Reed titled Digital age restrictions
Precision Marketing, 30th April 2004.
Rush offshore was a mistake
Sir: I was interested to read the story 'UK firms damaged by outsourcing' (Utility Week, 26 March) and wasn't at all surprised that Wragge & Co's research found that 24 per cent of contracts outsourced overseas ended early.
There was a highly visible rush offshore in 2003, led by big brands such as BT, Prudential and HSBC. But after a year of hype, the risks involved in going offshore are emerging, and highlighting the benefits of outsourcing to UK service providers.
Brand owners who demand a premium service for their customers should think twice before taking such a risk. Concerns over customer service, data protection and the lack of regulatory pressure should also be factored in.
In particular, the failure of most of the 118 numbers operating offshore shows that even the simplest of service functions aren't handled that well.
The UK winners in the offshore struggle will be those who enhance their traditional strengths, while tackling head-on the issues where offshore providers are seen to have the edge.
Letter from Sales Manager Paul Turner, Utility Week, 16th April
Fulfilment and Service go hand in hand
Your article on channel-hopping (March 12) raises interesting points, but retailers should not forget that fulfilment is not separate from customer service.
A telephone agent takes an order and speaks nicely to the customer. The order is then passed to the warehouse to be fulfilled. However, if the Internet has shown one thing, it is that fulfilment has become part of the customer service expectation.
That means the customer service and relationship management experience must extend into the fulfilment chain. The goods must arrive when promised. If they don't, customer satisfaction levels decrease.
It is all very well promising delivery in 24 hours and being able to achieve it, but if 50 per cent of the time there's nobody home, not only are fulfilment costs likely to be increased, customer disgruntlement may be expected. Few people like returning home to find a card saying "sorry you weren't in so we have taken your order back to the depot".
If the fulfilment value chain can be integrated with customer service management initiatives and delivery options, what will have been created is a virtuous circle of enhanced consumer satisfaction and fulfilment efficiency providing lower costs.
Fulfilment and Service go hand in hand [PDF]
Letter from John Shore, Prolog Associate Director, Logistics
Precision Marketing, 24 March 2004.
Georgina Sinfield, head of Mailing Services at Prolog, accepts that new players [in postal delivery] might save her clients money, but she questions whether they will be able to deliver…
"If we have to split a campaign it will probably mean any cost saving that could have been passed on will be absorbed. Mailings are complex enough as it is.
"We will stick with Royal Mail until we are convinced of the service offered by its competitors. Our clients need to know their mailings are actually being delivered."
From a feature titled Dominant mail?' Precision Marketing, 13 February 2004.
Prolog has introduced a facility to its printing department to hasten turnaround times
Its new Print on Demand facility consists of a number of digital printers and integrates other services, including binding and trimming. It is capable of storing documents electronically and printing both low and high volume runs as and when they are requested. Mailings can also be edited and updated as the printing process takes place, giving total flexibility to clients.
From a feature on 'Print and production', Marketing Direct, February 2004.
Paul Turner, Business Development Manager at Prolog Connect, says: "The telephone is still by far the most effective method for obtaining effective response to a targeted marketing campaign. However, the key to effective telemarketing is through the three 'T's - targeting, timing and training."
From 'Back to basics, Marketing Direct, February 2004.
The end of the affair
Paul Miller, business development manager at Prolog Connect, says that CLI systems are still not robust. The speed at which they identify a caller and then associate relevant data with the number is often not quick enough.
"In the UK, a high proportion of personal calls are still made from the workplace. More people in the average household are also using the telephone. This means any method of identification using CLI will not identify an individual, merely a household," says Miller.
"Scripting allows poor quality call centres to recruit a lower calibre of individual. But while reducing their costs, they will always have lower conversion rates, lower average order values and higher customer dissatisfaction."
Quotes from a special report on call centre operating systems published in Precision Marketing, 16th January 2004
Breaking the silence
A number of call centre have predictable begun to misuse [automated] equipment, leading to the relatively modern phenomenon of silent calls. These occur when there are no operators available after predictive dialling software has connected to a consumers phoneline.
"The key is not in the technology itself, but how it is deployed," explains Paul Turner, business development manager at Prolog Connect. "As prices fall due to increases competition from offshore call centres, and margins get tighter, the only room for manoeuvre is with the poor old agent. Some companies are clearly setting their agent/call ratios far to high, and thereby the drop call rate is exceeding a level considered acceptable. Unfortunately for these companies, the agent that can be productive for 60 minutes in an hour has not been invented - but watch this space."
Paul Turner quoted in a special report on outbound telemarketing, Precision Marketing, January 16 2004
Prolog implements Zip Counts
Prolog has implemented ZipCounts database analysis software to aid in the planning of strategic marketing campaigns. Joan Abbotts, software development manager, commented: "Some of our clients have got databases of millions of records. It used to take all weekend to remove what we wanted from these and then hours to analyse it. With ZipCounts we can do the whole process in a few hours.."
Extract from news item in Catalogue & e-business, January 2004.
JCB launches kids catalogue
JCB has capitalised on its unique brand identity in the autumn 2003 launch of its first ever kids catalogue. Mailing and fulfilment is being handled by Prolog.."
Extract from news item in Catalogue & e-business, January 2004.
