Virtual Call Center and the Virtual Office

With technology from Database Systems Corp., the concept of a virtual call center is now a practical reality. Consider having your call center workforce accepting and making calls from remote offices or even from home. Also consider having monitoring and control technology in place to make this scenario possible. Perhaps even your supervisors are working from home as well. Also consider having a phone system that answers your customer inquiries on its own, but with agents available if ever needed. This phone system can even contact your customers or prospects with announcements and alerts.

Allowing your employees to work from home gives you a competitive edge over traditional call centers. Now you can hire highly qualified individuals who could not otherwise commute to your center. Handicapped individuals, single parents and the elderly can now become an integral part of your remote workforce.

The following is an article relating to work at home technology products and services.

By Debbie Weil

Is killer content killing you? Too much of it? Not enough? Do you notice the months getting shorter and your deadlines rolling around with increasing frequency?

If publishing a regular email newsletter is becoming a chore - if not a huge headache - listen up for seven nitty gritty tips from the trenches.

1. Re-examine why are you publishing

If you've published for a while (say, at least four issues), you've established a track record with your readers. But what are you getting in return?

Most e-newsletters are a cross between a branding tool and a lead-generating tactic. Evaluate which yours is. And which marketing tactic is more important to you right now. If you're not generating a significant number of leads with each issue, you might consider cutting back to bi-monthly (every two months) or even quarterly. You'll get more ROI out of your e-newsletter if you continue to publish it, rather than run out of steam after four or five issues.

2. Assign a point person

Designate an inside point person to keep track of all the details. Whether or not you are using a Web-based service to deliver your e-newsletter, you need at least one staff member whose job responsibility includes "getting the newsletter out."

This can be a junior staffer who is meticulous as well as a good writer and editor. Ideally, he or she will have a basic knowledge of HTML. Be nice to this person.

3. Take stock of your editorial resources

4. Planning your next issue

The best time to plan the content of your next issue is immediately after sending out the current one. You're "in the groove," so to speak, and able to think most clearly about your publication.

Within hours of hitting Send you'll know what attracted the most interest from your readers - and whether your subject line inspired a click to open the issue.

This is where your content formula comes into play. Ideally, you have a formula for a mix of articles, topics, departments, letter from the CEO, quizzes, etc. Be prepared to change it.

If click-through reporting tells you that the number two article is the most popular, analyze why. Make that the lead next time. If you ask for reader feedback on a certain topic and get a flood of responses, you have the basis for an article in the next issue.

5. Calendarize the process

• collecting article ideas
• getting reprint permission, if necessary
• turning ideas into rough drafts
• dropping the copy into your HTML template with placeholder titles
• editing and cutting within the HTML (the copy is almost always too long)
• writing final article titles and a draft subject line
• sending test issues to your internal "newsletter approval" group
• checking every link
• printing out to do a final proof for typos
• sharpening the subject line one last time before you publish (yes, do this last; it's key!)

6. Keep an idea file for each issue

7. Apply the newsworthy test the day before publishing

Finally, apply the newsworthy test. Has something come up that will be of keen interest to your readers? A new regulation, a connection to world events? If so, add a blurb in your CEO or publisher's note to reflect this. Making your newsletter "newsworthy" adds huge credibility.

And if the point is to establish your company or organization as knowledgeable and an industry leader, you're a step closer to a solid ROI for all your efforts.