Top 100 Call CenTerspress KiT

Global RecognitionEarn Respect From Industry PeersBoost Employee ConfidenceIncrease Customer Satisfaction

BenchmarkPortal “Top 100” Contest Press KitTable of Contents

Marketing the “Top 100” Award……..………................................................... 1

Sample Press Release...…………………………..................................................... 3

CEO’s Quotes Regarding the Contest…………………….……….……………..………..... 4

How We Determine The Winners.…………………………...................................... 5

About BenchmarkPortal…………………………………………...................................... 6

Tips for Writing Effective Press Releases….………………………............................ 7

Celebrating “Top 100”……………………………………………………………...................... 8

FAQ About The “Top 100”……………………………………………………………................ 9

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Marketing Your Company’s Placement in the “Top 100” Call Center Contest

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Press Release• Write an effective press release and send through multiple marketing channels for maximum expo-

sure. To ensure best results we recommend using: press release websites and your company’s website news/press release section.

IVR Recording • Announce your accomplishment to your callers by mentioning it in your IVR recording. Let them know

you are a “Top 100” Call Center.

TV Commercials / Print Advertising / Radio Campaigns• Announce your achievements in excellent Customer Service with Local and National TV Advertise-

ments for your company.• Showcase the certification seal in magazine ads, newspapers, brochures, etc.

Company Website• Display the “Top 100” Seal on your company’s home page and link to a specific landing page on your

website explaining contest and linking back to BenchmarkPortal.• Add to your company’s awards and achievements section of your website.• Add links between your company website and BenchmarkPortal website.• Target SEO and SEM opportunities with keywords, links, anchor text, and other various methods.

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Company Collateral• Add the “Top 100” seal/logo to email signature, business cards, promotional cards, promotional items,

invoices and notifications, etc.• Add the “Top 100” seal/logo to product instruction manuals or collateral that tells customers to call

for assistance.• Use the logo/seal at company-sponsored events, on banners and in slide shows.

Social Media Channels• Share with your social media team to use on networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & Google+.

Corporate Communications• Announce in your internal employee newsletter.• Announce in your marketing materials for customers, suppliers and employee recruitment.• Announce in your investor relations materials, including especially your annual report. You want your

investors and equity analysts to know that your customer contact function is a corporate asset that adds to shareholder value!

BenchmarkPortal Marketing cyberduckBenchmarkPortal will announce the top 3 winners in each category through a press release and send out over the wire.

• BenchmarkPortal will announce the top 3 winners in each category through our social media net-works: Linkedin Company Page, Linkedin BenchmarkPortal Call Center Connections Group, TMC Call Center Certification Channel, Facebook, Twitter, BMP Blog, Google+

• If your company makes an announcement on social media and BenchmarkPortal is tagged, we will re-share it out to our audience.

AMA  Unified  Service  Center    Company  Event  Slideshow  

Wolters  Kluwer    Company  Brochure  

EyeMed  Promo?onal  Employee  Tumblers  

Email  Signature  Product  Instruc?on  Manuals  

Marketing Your Companies Placement in the “Top 100” Call Center Contest

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Sample Press Release

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Please use the press release below as a general guide to announce your placement in the contest.

(Name of Company/# of times)Earns “Top 100” Call Center Award From BenchmarkPortal

[Company name] placed (Insert ranking:First, Second or Third place or “Top 100”) in the “Top 100” Call Cen-ter award for 2016 from BenchmarkPortal. The “Top 100” competition compares the performance of con-tact centers throughout North America by evaluating their key metrics against industry peers. Entries are all cross-checked, validated and approved by certified call center experts, and the resulting submissions are scored on the basis of both quality and cost efficiency.

(Insert Quote from Company Management if possible.)

Since the “Top 100” process is based entirely on statistical comparison to the world’s largest and most respect-ed database of call center metrics, this competition can objectively identify centers who are achieving superior results both in financial and qualitative terms.

The “Top 100” contest grouped submissions into four categories for this awards program. Each center was compared from a wide variety of industries and assigned numerical ratings. As a result, [company name] was determined to be a “Top 100” Call Center in North America.

(Insert Quote from Bruce Belfiore of BenchmarkPortal, page 4.)

About BenchmarkPortalBenchmarkPortal’s activities began in 1995, and it is now a global leader in the contact center industry, provid-ing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and research. The BenchmarkPortal team of professionals has gained international recognition for its innovative approach to best practices for contact centers. Bench-markPortal hosts the world’s largest database of contact center metrics, which is constantly being refreshed with new data. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to provide contact center managers with the tools and informa-tion that will help them optimize their efficiency and effectiveness in their customer communications. For more information, please call 1-800-214-8929 or visit www.BenchmarkPortal.com

Bruce Belfiore, CEO, BenchmarkPortalQuotes Regarding the “Top 100” Contest

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Those companies that have ranked in the “Top 100” Call Center Contest may use these quotes in press releases.

“[Company Name] ranking of (Top 1, 2, 3 or 100) shows that it has achieved outstanding results when compared with centers from a wide variety of industries, which is a great accomplishment for this center.”

“This award shows that [Company Name] call center operation ranks among the top performers in its size category in North America. We congratulate them and wish them continued success with their improvement initiatives in the future.”

“The [Company Name] contact center is among the best in its industry. This award was granted on the basis of objective, metrics-driven performance. [company name] stood tall against its competitors ac-cording to the world’s largest database of call center metrics. This is not easy to do, and we congratu-late them on their accomplishment.”

“Ranking in the Top 100 Call Center Contest attests to the fact that [Company Name]’s management and employees have successfully balanced efficiency and effectiveness in their operations.”

“[Company Name]’s placement among the Top 100 Call Centers is a direct result of its leadership’s commitment to balancing cost-effective service solutions with best-in-class service performance.”

How We Determine The Winners

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To ensure data quality and cohesiveness, all submissions were reviewed for validation:

• Duplicate submissions were removed. A survey was considered a duplicate if there was more than one survey submission from the same call center. A survey was not considered a duplicate if it was from the same company, but from different call center locations or business units.

• If a duplicate was found, the report with the most recent, valid data was used.• Only centers located in the U.S. or Canada were included.• Surveys with insufficient or suspect data were removed.• All data was reviewed using our quality control tools over the course of the contest.• If our database’s automatic validation tool was triggered, that particular submission received ad-

ditional scrutiny.• If an answer was flagged as invalid or out-of-range by our database “quality screen” functions, it

was referred back to the participant as needed for validation or elimination.

All survey submissions were put into one of the four tiers using the simple full-time equivalents calcu-lation method. This equation is: (Full time agents + ( Part-time agents / 2)).

Tier 1: Smaller centers: 5-50 Full-time equivalentsTier 2: Medium-sized centers: From 51 to 249 Full-time equivalentsTier 3: Large Centers: Over 250 Full-time equivalentsTier 4: Inbound Sales Centers

Specific RankingsBenchmarkPortal does not publish specific rankings for all participants because we don’t want them to be improperly used for competitive purposes by others. This is something that we have addressed each year. We are also mindful of legal issues related to use of company names. BenchmarkPortal is only publishing the specific ranks for the top 3 in each category. Therefore, centers that are in the 4 - 100 positions are informed that they are in the “Top 100.”

Awards Were Given As Follows:1st Place Awards: $800 will be awarded to fund a celebratory event at each of the first place winners of the 5 categories indicated below. First place winners will be given one complimentary ticket to at-tend our Call Center Campus Symposium held in New Orleans, April 20-22, 2016.

2nd Place Awards: Second place winners of the 5 categories indicated below will be given one compli-mentary ticket to attend our Call Center Campus Symposium held in New Orleans, April 20-22, 2016.

3rd Place Awards: Third place winners of the 5 categories indicated below will be given one compli-mentary ticket to attend our Call Center Campus Symposium held in New Orleans, April 20-22, 2016.

About BenchmarkPortal

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Founded in 1995, BenchmarkPortal is a global leader in the contact center industry, providing bench-marking, certification, training, consulting and industry reports. The BenchmarkPortal team of profes-sionals has gained international recognition for its expertise. BenchmarkPortal utilizes an innovative ap-proach to best practices for the contact center industry and hosts the world’s largest database of contact center metrics. BenchmarkPortal’s mission is to help contact centers reach peak performance in opera-tional effectiveness and efficiency so that the centers will realize increased levels of agent and customer loyalty while containing costs and building enterprise value. For more information on BenchmarkPortal please call 1-800-214-8929 or visit www.BenchmarkPortal.com

BenchmarkPortal offers a full range of products and services to support its mission, including:

1. Contact Center Certification of contact centers, based on operational performance2. Contact Center Benchmarking: peer group benchmark comparison reports, 18-KPI and 41-KPI

KPI benchmarking reports and outbound benchmarking3. Call Center Training: Workshops offering certification for contact center directors, managers,

supervisors and agents. These include both in-person and online offerings, as well as courses delivered on-site at your center.

4. On-Site and Virtual Assessments for contact centers. Journey to excellence, customer and agent satisfaction measurement surveys, IVR assessment, outsourcer assessment, due diligence

5. Contact Center Industry Reports: 18-KPI, 41-KPI and worldwide industry reports covering over 40 industries

6. iBenchmark: Automated benchmarking puts technology and advanced processes to work for contact center managers without the hassle of finding and inputting the metrics manually. Thanks to secure, easy-to-install technology that is hosted and managed by BenchmarkPortal, iBenchmark provides managers with a powerful, actionable tool, operated with our patented benchmarking methodology.

7. Top 100 Call Center Contest: In order to win, your contact center must be an inbound center located in the United States or Canada. All key performance indicators submitted will be cross-checked by our system and will also be reviewed and approved by our contact center experts. The winner will be the center with the highest statistical values for efficiency and effectiveness, as computed by BenchmarkPortal’s expert formula.

8. CallTalk Online Radio Show: Hosted by Bruce Belfiore monthly, featuring top experts in the cus-tomer service industry talking about the latest industry trends and listener-voted “hot topics.”

To find out more about BenchmarkPortal and/or to view a listing of Certified Centers of Excellence, please visit us at www.BenchmarkPortal.com

That Announce Your Center’s AwardTips For Writing Effective Press Releases

• Determine which publication(s) you would like to publish your press release. Consider which would most effectively reach the majority of your customers.

• Understand each publication’s target readership and tailor your release to them. Ask yourself: Why is our contact center’s certification impor-tant to them? What benefit will they realize because of this achievement? (Understand your target!)

• Get to the point of the press release quickly. Think of the three things your want your audi-ence to remember after they’ve read your re-lease.

• Keep the release short and interesting for in-creased impact.

• Write the press release in an active voice. (Exam-ple: Instead of: “XYZ contact center was award-ed…” Try: “XYZ contact center recently earned the distinction of…”)

• Avoid hyperbole and marketing fluff. Avoid expressions such as: “revolutionary” and “the world’s leading…” Today’s consumer is sophisti-cated and will not likely be impressed by either.

• If you have access to and/or can obtain positive customer comments regarding the effectiveness of your center’s service and/or products, include them in your press release. Consumer endorse-ments can be powerful!

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Celebrating the Top 100 ContestWe recommend that you celebrate this remarkable achievement as broadly as possible.

Following are some suggestions to do just that.

• Purchase a Trophy Here: http://www.benchmarkportal.com/trophy/order-forms/top-100-tophy. Please enter the following password to gain access: BMPtop100

• Decorate The Entire Company – especially the customer service depart-ment – with posters, banners, and balloons.

• Reward Your Agents For Their Part in this Achievement. Ask supervisors to write brief, but personal, notes of thanks to each of their agents for their individual contribution. With each note, leave a small gift such as a gift certificate to your company’s cafeteria, an ice cream treat, etc.

• Host a Dinner Dance for everyone who played a role in this achievement. Use this time to celebrate your organization’s great performance and announce the positive results. Let the agents and frontline leadership know that you appreciate their work. Have senior management explain the essential role customer service plays in the ultimate success of your company.

• Acknowledge Those Departments Outside of Customer Service Who Enable You To Meet Customer Needs. Arrange a meeting to thank these groups for their hard work, and/or write notes of thanks for their sup-port.

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FAQ About the Top 100 Contest

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What happened to Top 10, 25, 50?This year the top three for each category (Large Centers: 250+ agents, Medium Centers: 51 to 249 agents, Small Centers: 5 to 50 agents, Inbound Sales Centers, Most Improved Call Center) are singled out, with the center having the highest points receiving money to fund a celebration in the call center. All others that have met the qualifications for the contest are included as “Top 100” awardees. Due to the competitive nature of many submissions this year, and the bunching of scores for some catego-ries, we have decided to eliminate the sub categories (Top 10, 25 & 50). We have not broken down the Top 4-100 into sub groups due, in part, to the fact that we have seen statistical clumping around breakpoints used in past competitions. Many of the numerical positions were very close, or even overlapping. This eliminates fairness issues caused by identical or extremely close competition at the break points.

Please keep in mind as well that, unlike our Center of Excellence Certification (which is based upon industry-specific comparisons), the statistical pool for “Top 100” reaches across all industries, and includes dissimilar centers grouped according to size, instead of sector.

It is an honor to be among the recipients of the “Top 100” award and we congratulate you on your achievement. We remain available to you for any assessments or initiatives that you feel could move your center to higher performance and lower costs. Thank you again for your participation. We look forward to your participation for the 2017 contest!

What place did I Rank? Following the recommendation of our “Top 100” Committee, which has worked with very competitive data from participants, our CEO has confirmed that we will not release any information on individual positions. BenchmarkPortal does not publish specific rankings for all participants because we don’t want them to be improperly used for competitive purposes by others. This is something that we have addressed each year. We are also mindful of legal issues related to use of company names. Bench-markPortal only publishes the specific ranks for the top 3 in each category. Therefore, centers that are in the 4 - 100 positions are informed that they are in the “Top 100.”

What is the range of participants in the contest? The participants are all from the U.S. and Canada, and the total number of entrants each year far exceeds 100, though it has always been BenchmarkPortal’s policy never to divulge the total number of participants. The combined Efficiency and Effectiveness KPI scores of all participants are calculated and then gathered by full-time equivalent agent size category (5-99, 100-249 and 250 and) with the top 3 scores being recognized as the leaders for their FTE range. The remaining qualifying centers are recognized in the “Top 100” for that size.