Drop Shipping and The Paper Catalog

I get requests from people every single day to mail them a catalog. And yes, I mean every day. So, if you had to guess, what do you think I do with them? No, nothing grand, I just file them on my computer for a time when I might have a catalog ready. Whenever that may be.

People automatically assume that just because you have an online store, you surely have a catalog. The reality of the day is that a catalog is extremely expensive to produce. Graphic design, original photography and content, and printing is just the beginning. Add on postage and obtaining a decent mailing list and you’ll be amazed at what producing a paper catalog can cost. Plus with an extremely low return rate, you have to mail out tons and tons of catalogs to make it feasible.

While I’m no expert, I’ve heard it said that your store really needs revenues of $1 million before considering producing your own catalog.

However, admittedly, I am missing an opportunity. How can I be taking advantage of these requests?

1. At the very least I should be responding to these emails, thanking them for their interest, and telling them that we only have a website at the moment, but will keep their request on file. But I don’t.

2. I should be adding them to my email marketing list. They have, afterall, requested information from my company. I have, however, failed to do this.

3. I could be sending each of them a coupon or special offer. “Sorry for not being able to fill your request for a paper catalog. Please accept this $5 coupon good on any purchase along with our apologies.” I could mail or email this. But alas, I haven’t done either.

So obviously I have some work to do. But the lesson to be learned here is not to overlook the easy opportunities provide great service and maybe gain some customers in the process.

Does anyone else have different ideas of how to handle this?

Things To Look For When Hiring A Call Center

So you are going to make the move and upgrade your store’s customer service by hiring a call center?  Before you pull the trigger, here are some things to consider.

1. Do you really need one? This is a major commitment.  My guess is that there will be at least a 6 month contract.   There will be training, setting up a toll free number, and more.  Be sure that the volume of your store can support such an agreement.  For me, I made the decision when I was getting more calls and emails than I could respond to, and I felt I was losing more than I wanted, and hiring my call center was worth it to capitalize on the orders I felt I was losing.

2.  Training/Call Monitoring/Coaching – Any decent call center, large or small, should have programs in place to initially and constantly update their training of their associates.  They should be trained in telephone customer service in general, problem solving, and training on the individual stores themselves.  Additionally, they should have call center managers who monitor calls to be sure quality standards are met.  When they are not, they should have a coaching program to help the rep in question improve their performance.  Don’t be afraid to ask these questions to find out exactly how they train their reps.

3. Knowledge of Software System – This is important, but not as much as you might think.  There are tons of different kinds of store systems out there, and the back end software is different on all of them.  On one hand, it is important that the reps know how to use the software in question.  On the other hand the individual reps themselves may never need to even see your back end software.  Many call centers simply pull up your website, take the order from the customer on the phone, and key it into your site just as they were the customer.

4. Reporting – The call center should provide you with monthly reporting to reflect the reporting on your account.  The reports should be able to show how many calls came in and went out, the time and length of the calls, and the outcome.  This reporting will help show you how beneficial the call center is being for you.  If the report show a large number of calls ending in orders, the call center is probably doing you a great service.  If a majority of them are ending in just questions or tracking inquiries, you might want to look at your site to see how you can improve it to cut down on these calls.

5. Dedicated Person with the Ability to Take Assignments – Of utmost importance, in my opinion, is to have a point person for your account.  One main contact that you can direct any questions, issues, or concerns to.  If you find that the customer service reps are giving out some incorrect information, or any other mistakes are being made, this is the person that you will go to to make sure that the issue gets resolved.  This should also be a person who you can give some directions to (“I need customer #1234 called, their item is on back order.  Please find out if they can wait”).  Note that this person may or may not be the actual one to make the calls, but they should be the one to coordinate the effort and report back to you.

6.  Administration – In many cases, you can upgrade your call center agreement to include administrative responsibilities.  This is where you can really begin to save your time and effort by having a person that does a lot of your back end work for you.  In my case, it’s Lori.  Lori checks all my orders, posts all my tracking numbers, follows up with suppliers if orders don’t ship on time.  She fixes billing issues, calls customers when a mistake is made, and she handles the problem customers that ask to speak to a manager.  If I have any problems or needs, whatsoever, Lori is who I turn to.  She checks and take care of my email and forwards to me what is important.  I have given Lori permission to make most decisions herself, but calls me when something comes up that needs my attention.  When I go on vacation, Lori handles everything.

I absolutely don’t know what I’d do without my call center.  In a business that I work part-time (and obviously have a full-time career to tend to), it is reassuring to know that I have people there to mind the store.

Because I know you are dying to know, I proudly use Call Center Services from Solid Cactus.

Hiring A Call Center

In my previous post about customer service, I mentioned a call center as an effective means of customer service.  Most people think of a great big company when you mention a call center.  But believe it or not, there are call centers out there that don’t sell anything of their own.  They simply provide customer service for other companies.  It’s actually pretty common.  In fact, more companies use a third party call center than you’d think.  If they do their job, the customer shouldn’t know the difference between the company, and the call center.

So, what are the pros and cons of using a call center for your drop ship business?

PROS:

1. Availability – The hardest part about selling products is the need to be available when your customers are ready to buy.  This is why the internet is so great; your store is always open.   But what about those folks that want to call in.  They still don’t trust their credit card on the internet, or whatever.  A call center is there to answer the phone whether you are around or not.  They can take orders, answer product questions, give out tracking information, and more.  Typically, there will be a team of customer service reps that take calls for a number or stores.   This keeps the rates reasonable, by allowing reps to work for a number of stores at the same time.  You can, in some cases, have dedicated people, but my guess is that most drops shippers don’t really need that, unless you get really big.

2. Professionalism – Ever call to make a tee time at a golf course and get some old guy barking at you over the phone about the dress code?  Yeah, he doesn’t care of you show up or not. On the other hand, the representatives at a call center are typically trained in both customer service, and on the individual stores they are covering.  Plus they are trained in handling those problem, or upset customers.

3. No Need To Actually Hire People – Tell you what, it is expensive to hire people; and the hourly wage is just the beginning.  Using a call center allows you to have people who are paid and managed by someone else.  A beautiful thing.

CONS

1. Price – Obviously, this kind of work doesn’t come for free. While I’m sure that there are as many plans out there as there are call centers, you will need to carefully consider the fee structure to make sure it’s something you can live with.  In my case, I pay per minute that a rep is physically on the phone.  Considering most calls only last 2-3 minutes, and my average order size is around $80, I feel that I make out pretty well.  However, there will always be that customer that keeps a rep talking for 20 minutes and then not make a purchase.

2. Product Knowledge – You know your product best, and no one will ever be able to replicate that.  Consider your product line before hiring a call center.  If what you sell is complex or complicated, be sure that the call center reps can handle the possible questions.  I once had a guy that contacted me for advise on hiring a call center who sold airplane parts.  I don’t know what he ever did, but I hope he was very careful of his decision.  One thing that can be done to help in this situation is to be sure that you have very through and detailed product information on your site, which might cut down on the need of the reps to answer too many questions.

3. Loss of Some Control - Mistakes will be made.  You are going to have to be flexible.  By hiring a call center you are giving other people some control over your store and orders.  They will be forced to make some decisions on the fly, and they will make some mistakes that will cost you orders.  You simply need to decide in advance what decisions can be made without you, and what amount of honest mistakes are acceptable.  Remember there is a big pay off.  This loss of some control and some mistakes is easily offset by the amount of time you gain, and the improvement of service that you provide.

Next up, what to look for when hiring a call center.

By the way,  I proudly use Call Center Services from Solid Cactus.