An Example of what TO DO in a down economy…

This morning we were greeted by the staff of the Hilton Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs. The staff included one of their Executive Chefs - cooking the HDI/ICMI office breakfast. It was their way of saying thank you for being a great customer. You see, we do a lot of business with the Hotel because HDI/ICMI is in the business of getting people together. We hold a lot of meetings and events.

Here is the point; CEO’s, CFO’s, and other executives are mandating cuts, cuts, and more cuts because they are anticipating or realizing difficult financial conditions. They are telling their management, the people that deal with customers, that we must be more frugal, and no expense is off the table. Now I have no issue with reviewing expenses and doing business efficiently, but there is a line between efficiency and effectiveness.

The further you are from the customer, the easier it is to recommend cuts. But I will argue that what the Hilton did here at our offices is what we need to do at our organizations; wow the customer by investing and standing out from all of the competitors that are cutting. In your support organization you play a critical role in keeping the entire organization efficient. As a Contact Center, you are the face of the customer and have the ability to stand out, and up for your customers in these difficult economic times. We should be encouraged both motivationally and financially to find ways to WOW our customers to improve their experiences with our organizations. Because business will continue, even though it may be less business than last year, don’t we want to be the company they choose to do that business with?

Taking care of your customer like the Antlers Hilton did here today at our office, builds loyalty and tells me, they know how to treat their customers. Where will I want my customers to stay; at a hotel that is cutting staff and services, or a hotel that understands there is never a good time to skimp on customer service?

We have difficult choices to make in the near future but investing in your customer is never a bad business decision.

Are you investing or cutting your services to your customers? I would love to hear from you. Let me know what creative things you have done to reduce costs but improve customer services. Being so close to the customer we know how important it is - now more than ever - to invest in our business, not retract it…

Rich Hand
Executive Director of Membership
HDI/ICMI

The new ICMI Blog has launched!

If there is one aspect of our business that remains constant; it is change. Change is both a challenge and opportunity for both our professional and personal lives. 2009 will be one of the most challenging we have faced in generations. It is more important than ever to stay connected to understand the challenges, but more importantly, how to navigate successfully in this turbulent economic environment. We will do our best here at ICMI to bring you up to date information on current conditions, and the best information we have to help you succeed in these challenging times.

Brad Cleveland, one of the leaders in our industry shares with you some of the ways to be more competitive in this global and difficult economy. Brad will be a frequent author here, and I hope you read and respond to his posting below.

As you may know, I have been bringing together IT Support Professionals for over five years now at HDI, and I am proud of the results that we have achieved by building an interactive community of Support Professionals. My position is simple; serve the membership by providing the services they need to be better at what they do both personally and professionally.
ICMI has a long history of providing services to the Call Center Professional, and I hope to build on that success by incorporating more opportunities to network, share, and contribute to the value that we provide as a community. I am a firm believer in a simple concept; ask the membership what they need, and deliver it!

In the near future I hope to provide you with additional opportunities to share your knowledge and wisdom with others, by introducing some local Call Center events, construct a Strategic Advisory Board made up of you, the members, and to add to the value you already receive from the ICMI membership experience.

I hope to meet each and every one of you to hear how I can better serve you through the ICMI membership experience. I will continue to share with you any changes that we plan to make to the membership experience, and I look forward to hearing directly from you regarding the services you need to be successful.

I look forward to the changes, and great opportunity we have to continue to move the Call Center industry forward.

Blog on!

Warm Regards,
Rich Hand
Executive Director of Membership