The History Of Federal Communications Commission

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Market trends:

The call center industry has a very high growth potential and has been a rapidly growing industry for almost twenty years now. Call centers are great for providing revenue and profit to clients. The Federal Communications Commission has pushed the industry to generate more telemarketing and call center jobs. Due to the push in job creation for call centers there has been a forecast in employment growth. Industry employment is forecast to increase at an annualized rate of just 0.8% to more than 489,000 during the five years to 2018. (https://docs.google.com/a/vt.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13e1343a07a9fe1e&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Dde3228aaa6%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13e1343a07a9fe1e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRZlOeUd0ydSlthu51yofl_oOwa1w) Technology throughout the industry is growing and becoming more complex. "Over the past five years, industry operators have increasingly relied on broadband technology, which allows their employees to easily work from home. Industry operators will increasingly rely on cloud-based systems that enable them to host data on servers and only charge clients for what services or applications their customers use, providing cost savings that can be passed on to clients. " (https://docs.google.com/a/vt.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13e1343a07a9fe1e&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Dde3228aaa6%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13e1343a07a9fe1e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRZlOeUd0ydSlthu51yofl_oOwa1w)These cloud-based systems will allow the government to access all data the call center receives at all times right away. Due to rising customer demand call centers are starting to use more than one channel of communication such as phones, Internet, email, and more instead of just using the standard telephone. Customers would rather have more ways to contact call centers for service rather than just relying on a phone number.

Target market:

The target market for the call center consists of government agencies around the country. In the beginning a focus on local Virginia governments would be an ideal starting point. Local governments would be interested in using this service because it can help them effectively keep up with city and take care of issues at hand. In most cities it is hard for residents to contact the government easily and for the government to keep up with customer service on top of their regular duties and responsibilities. The call center enables residents to have immediate assistance in what they are seeking whether it’s a complaint, a service order, information, suggestions, etc. There will be software that allows the call center to enter all data into the system for each client to access.

There are many places in Virginia to be targeted as potential clients. Independent cities such as Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, Newport News, Hampton, Alexandria, Portsmouth, and Roanoke are all great places to start looking for contracts. These all have a population greater than 90,000.

Our target market wants to have the call center gather information, suggestions, complaints, etc. and then have that information be readily available to them to utilize. The call center provides a way for residents to easily get in touch and have more effective communication with the government. "Employees answer telephone calls and relay messages to clients. Phone-based service and assistance to customers of clients. Industry operators do not own the product or provide the service that they represent" (https://docs.google.com/a/vt.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13e1343a07a9fe1e&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Dde3228aaa6%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13e1343a07a9fe1e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRZlOeUd0ydSlthu51yofl_oOwa1w). They want to be more responsive to the citizens in the region and make sure that everything is being addressed in a timely fashion.

Competition:

Call centers compete on quality of service and their prices. It is essential to have a high quality staff that will address the needs of the client effectively. Having voice recognition and web-enabled technology can lower labor costs which is appealing to clients. Accessibility is crucial because customers want to receive immediate service. When call centers have extended hours they are more attractive. If someone calls about water being cut off or something similar in the middle of the night they want to be helped immediately and not wait until the morning for opening time.

There are some potential clients that already have their own call center or staff that are specifically designated to take care of issues. Technology is one of the biggest competitors, as it keeps getting better. "Online surveys, program wizards, online chat support could force call center to evolve into an internet-based format" (https://docs.google.com/a/vt.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13e1343a07a9fe1e&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Dde3228aaa6%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13e1343a07a9fe1e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRZlOeUd0ydSlthu51yofl_oOwa1w). Eventually all the services that the call center provide will be available on the Internet.

Marketing Strategy:

The call center wants to use the focus strategy when reaching the market. "Focus strategy for companies that develop a service competitive advantage relies less on market segmentation and more on assigning resources to increase excellence in customer service." (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/competitive-advantage-used-focus-strategy-51750.html) The call center is providing a service that will allow the government to more effectively serve their community. It is important to focus on that when marketing to them so they see that the call center will provide service that is better than any alternatives. Focusing on customer service is a great focus area since they will be answering to a wide variety of situations that could include very unhappy residents.

Promotion:

Trade shows for the industry are beneficial to getting the word out and promoting the call center. The services that can be provided can be put on display here. It will help to show all of the attractive qualities that the call center has to offer and to show how they would benefit local governments.

Warm calls can be made to potential clients to follow up on previous conversations. They have already been informed about what the call center has to offer but when the warm call is made it is their chance to actually engage in purchasing the service.

Personal selling (gaining contacts, not necessarily contracts) is another good promotion strategy in gaining customers. It is a more personal way to promote the call center to local governments by showing them exactly how it will benefit them and getting to know them and their needs on a more personal basis. Finding out about their expectations helps in aligning what the call center has to offer and making any individual adjustments if needed. After giving a presentation on the service the call center has to offer it is crucial to actually try and to get a contract with the government. More importantly, if a contract is not gained, contacts have been gained. There is now enough information about the contact and their needs along with what needs to be done to be more appealing next time around. A follow-up with the potential client is recommended to retouch on concerns they had and if a sale had been made to make sure they are satisfied.

Face to face marketing is a very cost effective approach and can be done at a large scale in a short amount of time. There is a short amount of time to grab their attention and get the message across. The call center is very beneficial in improving the government’s efficiency and responsiveness in their area so explaining how beneficial that would be in a timely manner would be an effective way to market face to face.

Referrals from other clients are the most rewarding and effective ways of promotion. This is something that will come naturally when clients are very satisfied with the service. After noticing improvements in their own government they will want to spread the word and see others benefit also. There is no better way to sell it than to have someone who has similar needs and wants tell them that it has worked for them.

Distribution

What channels will be used to get our products/services to customers?

Closing deals directly, direct/internet

Location:

The location of the call center should be in a region where it is affordable to maintain. The call center wants to hire a high quality staff that will provide the best service they can. Another thing to think about when determining location is the potential for disaster. Call centers should be in a place where even if there were a natural disaster or something of the sort, they would be available in a time of crisis. The most populated areas are the most attractive when placing a call center. "The Telemarketing and Call Centers industry is concentrated in the Southeast, West and Mid-Atlantic regions because these areas are the three most populated in the United States, providing a large and stable workforce. These regions also provide affordable real estate that can be used to establish centers." (https://docs.google.com/a/vt.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=13e1343a07a9fe1e&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui%3D2%26ik%3Dde3228aaa6%26view%3Datt%26th%3D13e1343a07a9fe1e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26zw&sig=AHIEtbRZlOeUd0ydSlthu51yofl_oOwa1w) It is important to look at price and the large population allows for a high quality workforce.