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Embracing Tomorrow: A Human Perspective on the Evolution of Sales Support

Much before the internet, smartphones and instant access were a thing of the normal, sales support meant knowledgeable salespeople guiding customers through a brick-and-mortar store. Fast forward to the present day, sales support has metamorphed drastically. Customers are no longer limited by physical spaces and now navigate through digital spaces loaded with multiple choices while also demanding a seamless and personalized experience. The shift in customer behaviour is the shaping factor of evolving Sales support. In the dynamic realm of customer support, the interplay between technology and sales assistance is transforming how we connect with customers. TMP Direct, a seasoned Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company, takes a deeper dive into the fascinating transformation of sales support, exploring the profound impact of technology on customer interactions. Embracing Change in Sales Support The traditional image of sales support associated with call centers is changing to a more responsive and personalized approach. The digital age has increased customer expectations by greater levels, demanding an experience much beyond transactional interactions. This shift of expectations is the catalyst for the transformation of traditional sales support into a dynamic, tech-infused evolving space that now anticipates and meets customer needs. Unraveling Artificial Intelligence in Sales Support At the heart of this transformation is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into sales support. AI is no more a distant concept. AI is the force dictating the landscape of customer-business interactions. AI-powered chatbots are the dominating trend in delivering instant and context-aware responses, streamlining customer interactions. TMP Direct is at the forefront of this change, seamlessly integrating AI solutions that not only enhance efficiency but also empower businesses to anticipate customer needs and preferences. Personalizing Experiences and Omni Channel Engagement The surge in big data analytics has become a cornerstone of the future of sales support. Businesses now possess a wealth of customer data within their reach that goes beyond details such as demographics. This data goldmine can be harnessed to understand individual preferences, predict behavior, and tailor offerings to meet the unique needs of every possible customer. The future of sales support is proving to be solely omni-channel. TMP Direct recognizes the importance of providing a seamless experience across channels. In present times, customer engage with brands through various touchpoints, from social media, email, live chat and phone calls. Being present on multiple platforms and integrating them cohesively to ensure a consistent and high-quality support experience is the tall order that customer support companies must prioritize. This commitment to omni-channel engagement sets TMP Direct apart, providing a unified customer experience regardless of the chosen interaction channel. Envisioning Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Looking ahead, customer support companies must envision a future where Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) redefine the customer experience. The potential applications are boundless with customers being able to virtually explore products, trying them out before purchase, and receiving immersive support experiences. This shift surpasses the transactional nature of sales support and transforms it to an experiential journey that enhances the buying experience and also the post-purchase satisfaction. The end result is a seamless, unified and a memorable experience for the customer at every touchpoint. Balancing Technology with the Human Touch While technology is reshaping sales support, TMP Direct holds true to the fact that the human touch remains irreplaceable. Despite the advent of AI and automation, customers still crave authentic and empathetic interactions. TMP Direct employs an approach where technology is leveraged to complement human capabilities rather than replace them. The synergy between technology and the human touch is where the real magic of future sales support unfolds. Technology enables efficiency, but the human touch factor provides emotional intelligence and understanding, fostering stronger and lasting impressions with customers. Cybersecurity: Safeguarding Trust In a tech-centric future, the emphasis on cybersecurity cannot be overstated. TMP Direct prioritizes the security and privacy of customer data. Trust is not just built on providing efficient services but also on safeguarding sensitive customer information. As the custodian of customer data, TMP Direct invests in robust cybersecurity measures to ensure a secure environment for both businesses and their customers. Continuous Learning and Adaptability Adapting and future proofing requires more than embracing new technologies; it demands a continuous cycle of learning and adaptation. TMP Direct recognizes that staying ahead requires ongoing education and skill development. Our teams are equipped with the tools and knowledge to navigate the ever-changing technological landscape, ensuring that sales support and customer needs remain at the forefront. The Role of Predictive Analytics Predictive analytics is shaping the future of sales support. TMP Direct employs the same to anticipate customer behavior and proactively address potential issues even before they arise. This forward-looking approach enables our clients to stay agile, relevant and responsive. By predicting trends and customer needs, sales support becomes a proactive force, contributing immensely to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Conclusion: Charting the Future Together with TMP Direct The future of sales support is an exciting frontier where the amalgamation of tech and human ingenuity unite to craft unparalleled customer experiences. With vast experience in the field of customer support, TMP Direct stands as a guide through the evolution, leveraging cutting-edge technologies while keeping the essence of human connection intact. The vision is not just a transactional engagement but a holistic journey that anticipates, understands, and exceeds customer expectations. As we navigate this landscape, TMP Direct invites businesses to join hands in shaping the future of sales support – a future that is responsive, personalized, and inherently human. Tech powered by humans and not otherwise.

April 24 2024

The Transformation of Contact Centers: Pioneering Customer Engagement in the Digital Era

In the ever-evolving world of customer service, contact centers have undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. The conventional model of customer interaction, characterized by telephone conversations with support agents, has morphed into a multifaceted, digitally empowered ecosystem. This exploration delves into the captivating journey of contact centers, examining how they have revolutionized customer interactions, and how TMP Direct is pioneering this evolution. The Traditional Contact Center Landscape Not too long ago, contact centers operated within a fairly rigid framework. They relied primarily on telephone calls to connect customers with support agents. Customers dialed toll-free numbers, waited on hold, and conversed with live agents once their turn arrived. While this model was effective in its own right, it was not without its share of challenges. It was often time-consuming, led to long wait times, and accessibility was restricted. Embracing the Digital Age The advent of the digital era ushered in a plethora of new communication channels. Email, chat, social media, and mobile apps emerged as powerful platforms for customer interaction. TMP Direct swiftly recognized the significance of these channels and seamlessly incorporated them into their contact center operations. This shift allowed customers to engage with brands on their own terms, through the channels they preferred. Today, TMP Direct's contact centers are equipped to handle inquiries through a wide array of digital channels, ensuring that customer interactions are efficient, convenient, and highly personalized. Customers can engage in real-time chat conversations, send emails with their questions, or reach out via social media platforms, receiving prompt and contextually relevant responses. The Power of Data-Driven Insights One of the most groundbreaking advancements in contact centers is the utilization of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). By meticulously analyzing data, companies can anticipate customer needs, identify emerging trends, and offer proactive solutions. TMP Direct harnesses these technologies to gain invaluable insights into customer behavior and preferences. AI-powered chatbots are another innovation that has revolutionized contact centers. These intelligent virtual assistants handle routine inquiries, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex issues. Customers benefit from quicker response times, while businesses optimize their resources to gain maximum utilization. Maintaining the Human Connection Despite the integration of digital channels and AI, the human touch remains a cornerstone of contact centers. TMP Direct recognizes that customers still value authentic human interactions, especially when dealing with sensitive or intricate issues. The company has made substantial investments in training its agents to provide empathetic, knowledgeable, and highly personalized support. TMP has ensured that Every client brand messaging that is unique and defining has been consistently maintained through rigorous training and support. This hybrid approach, harmoniously combining technology and the human element, allows TMP Direct to deliver exceptional customer experiences. It serves as a testament to the company's unwavering commitment to evolving with the times while steadfastly placing customer satisfaction at the forefront. Omni-Channel Mastery In the modern contact center landscape, providing an omni-channel experience is paramount. Customers expect smooth transitions between channels, with all interactions meticulously documented for reference. TMP Direct excels in this aspect, ensuring that a customer's journey remains consistent, whether they switch from chat to email or phone support. This level of continuity plays a pivotal role in customer retention and brand loyalty. TMP Direct's expertise in omni-channel engagement sets it apart as an industry leader in the BPO sector. The Future of Contact Centers: A Glimpse Ahead The transformation of contact centers is a continuous journey, with evolving customer expectations shaping the landscape and new technologies. TMP Direct's commitment to innovation positions it well for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. In the coming years, we can expect contact centers to further embrace AI, machine learning, and automation to enhance efficiency and accuracy. AI-powered predictive analytics will empower businesses to anticipate customer needs and deliver proactive support, setting new standards in customer service. Additionally, as concerns about customer data privacy grow, TMP Direct will continue to prioritize data security and strict compliance with ever-evolving regulations. This commitment to data protection ensures that customers can trust the brand with their sensitive information, fostering confidence and loyalty. A Holistic Approach to Evolution TMP Direct's journey through the evolution of contact centers is not merely a technological one. It's a holistic approach that encompasses people, processes, and technology. Our commitment to nurturing a skilled and empathetic workforce, combined with dedication to innovative technologies, is the driving force behind our success in the BPO industry. The integration of modern technologies has also streamlined internal operations. TMP Direct's workforce management systems, powered by AI, optimize agent scheduling, ensuring that customers are always met with swift and efficient support. Adapting to Rapid Changes In a world where change is the only constant, contact centers must remain agile. TMP Direct understands that adaptability is key to success. We regularly evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends, ensuring that our contact centers stay at the cutting edge of customer service innovation. Moreover, TMP Direct actively seeks customer feedback to refine operations continually. A Global Perspective TMP Direct's footprint extends far beyond its domestic operations. With the globalization of business, the company operates contact centers around the world, ensuring that customers receive consistent and localized support, regardless of their geographical location. This global perspective allows us to serve a diverse range of clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, with unwavering excellence. Building Client-Centric Partnerships At the heart of TMP Direct's success is our commitment to building lasting partnerships with clients. The company understands that every business is unique, with specific needs and challenges. TMP Direct works closely with clients to tailor contact center solutions, ensuring that they align seamlessly with their objectives and values. This client-centric approach has earned TMP Direct a reputation as a trusted partner in the BPO industry. The company's ability to adapt and scale its services according to client requirements sets it apart in a competitive marketplace. Conclusion: Shaping the Future of Customer Engagement In conclusion, the transformation of contact centers is an awe-inspiring journey from a rigid and conventional model to a dynamic, customer-centric ecosystem. TMP Direct stands as a beacon of innovation in the BPO industry, leading the charge in embracing digital technologies, data-driven insights, and a harmonious blend of human and AI interactions. The future of contact centers is bright and promising, with TMP Direct at the forefront of shaping the landscape. As technology continues to advance and customer expectations evolve, TMP Direct's commitment to excellence, adaptability, and client-centricity positions it as a trailblazer in pioneering the future of customer engagement. The journey of contact centers is far from over, and TMP Direct remains dedicated to staying ahead of the curve, ensuring that businesses and their customers continue to experience unparalleled support and satisfaction in an ever-changing world.

October 06 2023

Why PCI compliance is crucial

Data security and privacy are today a prime focus for most organizations globally. While there have been several regulations and standards introduced to improve data security, the evolving landscape makes it challenging for organizations to stay compliant. For many, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) are the first topics that come to mind when privacy is concerned. PCI DSS refers to a combination of requirements that make sure all companies that store, process, or transmit credit card information provide an environment for their customers' data that is safe and secure. PCI DSS is composed of helpful rules and guidelines that keep sellers and their customers safer. It was first introduced as an official regulation in 2006, by major credit card companies such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. The PCI DSS is not a regulation per se, and it does not supersede local or regional laws, government regulations, or other legal requirements. However, it has become the financial services industry standard for information security, and compliance is a prerequisite for working with global payment card brands. In 2020, US consumers reported losing more than $3.3 billion to fraud—an increase of nearly $1.5 billion compared to 2019. Improving the data security of card payment systems is the job of the PCI Security Standards Council. They make available standards and materials that incorporate tools, measurements, frameworks, and resources to support organizations as they endeavor to uphold cardholder information security. The council uses PCI DSS as a framework for creating comprehensive payment card security processes that allow for the detection and prevention of and response to security issues. A Qualified Security Assessor will verify all technical information given by the merchant or service provider, use independent judgment to confirm the standard has been met, provide support and guidance during the compliance process, adhere to the PCI Data Security Standard Assessment Procedures, validate the scope of the assessment, evaluate compensating controls and produce the final report on compliance. While the cost of attaining PCI compliance varies depending on what you already have in place, the cost of not being compliant is considerable. The cost of non-compliance is best determined by calculating the cost of a security breach. Although fines are not published for the public, they can be steep. They tend to be between $5,000 and $100,000 for each month you are out of compliance. This holds true for both on-premises and cloud systems. PCI compliance involves 12 distinct requirements, all of which are designed to enhance security. They are as follows: install a firewall and maintain it, initiate strong password protections, protect the data of cardholders, encrypt data that gets transmitted, install and maintain antivirus software, update your software, restrict access to data, establish unique IDs for those with access, limit physical access needs, establish and maintain access logs, scan and perform tests to identify vulnerabilities and document your policies. The problem for most large retailers is that they treat security controls as being a 'tick box', where once a year they show their PCI QSA that they have the policies, processes, and technologies. But only focusing on an annual compliance assessment can create a false sense of security. Investigators have realized that security controls used by organizations that had passed an assessment were often out of compliance when breaches occurred later. According to Verizon’s 2020 Payment Security Report, an astounding 72 percent of all organizations assessed on PCI DSS compliance failed an interim validation. That means that, although they had achieved 100 percent compliance in a previous assessment, only 28 percent were able to maintain that level of compliance in between assessments. In the past decade’s worth of these annual reports, the best performance was reported in 2017, when 55 percent of organizations were found in full compliance. Thankfully, new technologies are available to help manage scope and minimize risk all year long. Identifying sensitive data is the fundamental first step, followed by accurate classification and intelligent data protection. The more you automate and integrate these steps in one continuous, policy-driven process, the more effective your data protection, compliance, and risk reduction efforts — and the less disruptive they are to business users. TMP’s role TMP meets PCI compliance requirements to make sure we are handling all customer and client information in a safe and secure manner. As digital outreach evolves in chat and self-service offerings, TMP is able to keep up and learn these new features as they develop. PCI compliance reinforces our security and best practices in managing technology and privacy.

November 25 2021

Looking beyond the NPS

‘On a scale of 0–10, how likely would you be to recommend us to a friend or colleague?’ We’ve all seen the pop-ups as we work away in web-based applications or the requests in email messages we receive from vendors asking us to rate their software or service. It’s all part of an organization’s effort to calculate that all-important net promoter score (NPS). NPS was developed and trademarked by Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld in 2003. Reichheld claimed in the Harvard Business Review that it was the “one number you need to grow” when he introduced the concept. NPS is a metric that measures customer satisfaction with a company, with scores ranging from -100 to 100. The score falls into three groups. If a customer scores you as a nine or a 10, they are promoters. If they score you as a seven or an eight, they are passive. You don’t know if they are leaning toward loving you, leaving you, or they just don’t care. And, a score of a six or lower means you have a detractor. To calculate, you subtract the number of detractors from the number of promoters, and divide it by the total number of respondents times 100. NPS is a polarizing statistic. On one hand, there’s a cult that believes it’s the chosen metric, one customer-experience number to rule them all. On the other, there’s a group that sees a vanishingly thin and arbitrary line between a ‘promoter’ and a ‘passive,’ which can cause massive scoring differences. The truth lies somewhere between. NPS is far from perfect, but used in combination with other customer-experience metrics it can add real value to your view of the customer journey and how your customers feel regarding your brand. Satisfied customers are less likely to leave your brand, which means there should be an inverse correlation between NPS and churn rate. Customers who score as promoters should also reduce churn in a second way if they follow through on their willingness to advocate on your behalf, because customers who were referred to a brand are also less likely to leave it. An NPS campaign is an easy way to check the box that you have done something to quantify customer satisfaction. But, it’s just another example of our move to automation at scale. We’re asking our customers to have conversations with chatbots or respond to an impersonal pop-up instead of actually interacting with them. And we can lose out on a ton of customer insight when we optimize those one-on-one discussions out of existence. When you fall back on NPS scores, you may only get superficial information that measures your customer’s sentiments during a very brief moment in time. You can miss out on the critical, nuanced conversations that can uncover how they’re really feeling regarding a particular feature, function or experience. That’s why those NPS scores are just the starting point. Once they’re in, it’s time to go old-school and pick up a phone. It’s mind-boggling that companies would rely on NPS as a key management metric when you consider that the score doesn’t explain why a customer would recommend the firm, doesn’t take into account consumer demographics and it measures intention, not behavior. Yet, organizations use NPS scores to drive all kinds of business initiatives — from new product launches to customer service efforts and even executive compensation packages. NPS doesn’t tell you what you need to fix. It is only an indicator of how likely a customer is to recommend you in the moment. If they give you a bad score, it’s unclear exactly why they did, so it’s difficult to understand how you can improve the situation in the future. Likewise, if they give you a great score, it cannot often be discerned from that single metric what element or multiple elements contributed to their experience. With a single question, it’s hard to know. Asking for a little more detail can go a long way in understanding NPS ratings. Also, having diagnostic analytics throughout your sales and product usage process can feed you information that can help you understand what might be happening. For instance, if the time to complete an e-commerce transaction suddenly doubles because of server errors, and you see your NPS scores plummet, you can very easily correlate these things. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we believe the voice of the customer is arguably the most important feedback that a business can receive. We value continuous learning as it leads to a profitable improvement. Customers leave feedback at the end of the call or receive an email regarding their experience and we calculate and analyze the needs of the business based on numbers.

November 11 2021

How to use a CRM

CRM stands for customer relationship management, and that is exactly where its value lies: managing and supporting external customer relationships while simultaneously integrating internal staff. CRM is much more than simple software applications or business processes; it is a pathway toward a business culture that is more conducive to success and harmony. One of the greatest values of a quality CRM is its ability to bring teams together and allow greater access of data throughout a company. Through a single source of truth, all members of your organization can provide mutually beneficial information. With mutual access, collaboration and quality communication proliferate throughout the organization, unifying staff in a singular pursuit for a greater customer experience. CRMs generate significant value through digital transformation, specifically through the ability to create greater visibility into customers and their interactions with your company. The greatest example of this ability is through a concept known as Customer 360, referring to the 360-degree view a CRM can grant through the consolidation of data. When deciding on the right CRM for your organization, you must first make sure you fully understand how your technology currently operates throughout departments. It’s important to involve key stakeholders from all sections of your business to understand where the biggest opportunities for growth lie. The process of exploring CRM options will be productive in itself, as it will allow you to rethink what you want technology to accomplish. Investing in the right CRM requires buy-in from those that will be working with the system, and there are several key strengths of a CRM system that will help to illustrate its true value. Focus on the increasing visibility of data, throughout teams and departments, the superior analytical tools used to help support missions and goals and the customizability and personalization of communications with the different demographics you serve. Industry-specific CRMs are targeted at a smaller market. Which means that the maker of a manufacturing-specific CRM application is only marketing their products to manufacturers and competing not only against other industry-specific CRMs but mainstream products that also position themselves as solutions. A vertical CRM application only has a small slice of a limited number of customers. That also means a significantly smaller community of companies, developers, partners and others that provide support for a product. Smaller CRM providers will likely have less money in the bank than their mainstream competitors. Investing your time and your data with these companies is riskier. Relying on them to have the funding necessary for keeping their product up to date and integrated with other key applications is also more of a gamble. Capital is important for a software company because you’re not just buying a product, you’re forging a long-term partnership. CRMs and virtual selling tools aren’t capable of helping truly develop, build or manage relationships because they look through the wrong lens altogether. Their purview is focused from the lens of the selling team or organization. Selling tools capture the sales’ team interaction points while completely neglecting the other 90% needed to develop and build relationships. If you shift the focus to the buyer, you will see something quite different. Ninety percent of the decision process of buyers is made when the seller is not in the room. Therefore, you are dependent on your internal champion being able to articulate the key value points to your solution. The need from buyers is far deeper than just slick brochures or engaging PowerPoints. These are just the data points you desire for your CRM, but they are one-directional and do not propel a deal with consensus. The next technology evolution should be focused on the buyer — on helping your buyers to reach decisions in their preferred way. It means powering your CRM with buyer-driven data points produced through your buyer-enablement software, where the focus is not on the management but the leadership of the complex B2B relationship. This also positions your sales team for success by providing them what they need to meet the buyer’s journey. When choosing your new CRM, there are many factors you should consider — a major one being scalability. Despite being thrown around like a buzzword, scalability is quite important. For a business, it means that an application can change quickly according to the business’ requirements. Whether you need the core features or the full set, and whether you have 10 or 500 users, the CRM can adapt within moments and with a few clicks. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we fill in tech gaps using customer relationship management tools specific to each client, utilizing knowledgebase software. We focus on technology, analytics, process and people and our customer-centric approach guarantees success and happy clients.

November 05 2021

How employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction

There’s a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Happy employees equal happy customers. Unhappy employees lead to unhappy customers. Both employees and customers greatly impact day-to-day operations and the bottom line. Any company’s employees can — and should — be its best advocates and brand ambassadors. Measuring and responding to employee and customer satisfaction is vitally important because the two influence and inform each other (and your balance sheet). There are a few ways to measure employee satisfaction, but it’s always best to use a two-pronged approach. One prong should be a more formal survey, such as the annual Great Place to Work survey. The second prong should be something more informal and internally based. Many companies already have annual employee reviews built into their calendars, which can be expanded to include a mid-year check-in. It is important to clearly identify areas for improvement and continue to gather feedback throughout the year. A third-party survey can also be helpful for monitoring customer satisfaction. One of the most important questions is how likely a customer is to recommend your business to family or friends. That’s just one metric, but it tells you a lot and can be used as a marker to measure improvement. As any marketer knows, word-of-mouth advertising is invaluable. More leaders are coming to understand the link between great employee experiences and driving customer satisfaction. If you’ve got a happy customer because they had a good service experience, there’s an opportunity to cross-sell or upsell to additional services. Or they might become an advocate, which helps you get new customers. It is important to hire the right people who relentlessly want to serve customers and love solving complex puzzles. There are people who love to deal with other people’s problems. They have the personality to calm the angriest customers. Getting the right people in the right job is crucial to that 100% satisfaction rating. A great company culture trickles down through the entire organization, keeping employees happy and motivated. That energy also extends to your customers, creating a better overall experience. Fostering a culture focused on employee happiness is sometimes trickier than it seems, though, so leaders need a well-planned strategy to make it a reality. The best employee experiences begin on day one. A smooth onboarding process—one that allows new workers to settle into their roles quickly and without undue hassle—sets a lasting impression. This is more than just ‘nice to have’. It’s imperative to create great employee experiences or you’ll lose out on talent. This also applies to internal transitions, such as job changes and restructuring. Well-executed processes can prevent attrition. Retaining talent is significant these days because the younger generation isn’t afraid to hop around and seek great experiences in different organizations. The longer you can retain talent, the more ROI you’re going to see. Another critical piece of the employee experience is training and development. Employees should be equipped with the skills they need to excel at their jobs and have opportunities to continue to learn and develop. They should be able to check in and touch base with their managers to monitor their progress and discuss any questions or concerns as they arise. The benefits of retention go beyond saving on recruiting costs. Not only are longer-term employees often more skilled at serving customers, but they also serve as internal ambassadors. This yields a network effect, where one employee’s satisfaction can spread among their colleagues exponentially. Employee happiness is derived from finding meaning in work. Employees need to feel that they are going somewhere and that there is a chance to progress. They need to feel that their work makes a difference for an internal or an external customer. The key is to figure out how the organization’s purpose and everyone’s individual purpose can be aligned. Showing employees that you value the work they’re doing is one of the easiest ways to boost their motivation. It can be as simple as saying thank you, publicly acknowledging and celebrating their contributions. It’s time to shift the mindset from employees working just to work, to acknowledging that they’re valuable contributors to a company’s success. Creating a good employee experience has often taken a back seat to the customer experience. Happy customers were simply seen as more valuable than happy employees. That’s changing, thanks in large part to powerful new workflow products that make it easier to unite EX and CX—and, in turn, benefit the bottom line. TMP's role Here at TMP, we value continuous learning as it leads to a profitable improvement. Customers leave feedback through emails and phone calls and we calculate and analyze the needs of the business based on the numbers. Our customer satisfaction exceeds 95%!

October 14 2021

Why cross-selling is important

Cross-selling is simply recommending products or services to your existing customer that will complement or expand the products or services they already have. Look at the travel industry for instance. The travel company may sell you a ticket on a flight to your desired vacation destination – that’s the original sale. The cross-sell occurs when they sell you a vehicle rental for when you land, a room in a hotel to stay in, and a guided tour. When you realize however that it is 5 to 25 times more expensive to get a new customer than it is to keep an existing one, it makes sense to grow through cross-selling. Regular customers are worth up to ten times as much as their first purchase! And, repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers. You’re 60-70% likely to sell to an existing customer, compared to the 5-20% likelihood of selling to a new prospect. One of the most common and easiest ways is to send purchase recommendations to customers. Take note of how their purchase history has been, what their interests are, or even where they spend the most money. Using this information, one can send product recommendations. Amazon does an amazing job of this. They send emails, app notifications and even in-app product listings similar to what you have purchased before. It is estimated that 35% of Amazon’s revenue is generated by cross-sells. According to Forrester, product recommendations account for an average of 10-30% of eCommerce businesses’ revenues. Purchases, where a recommendation is clicked, see a 10% higher average order value and 5 times higher per-visit as compared to purchases where a recommendation is not clicked. Shoppers that click on recommendations are 4.5x more likely to add items to cart and complete their purchase. 49% of consumers say they have purchased a product that they did not initially intend to buy after receiving a personalized recommendation. 52% of consumers would share personal data in exchange for product recommendations. 54% of retailers report product recommendation as the key driver of the average order value. When you see those posters or ads that say buy 3 for $99, you convince yourself you need 3 shirts when all you needed was one. This discount to buy more has high success rates where people tend to buy more products than they wanted to. Also, people have a tendency to pay more money to avoid shipping charges and end up buying more. Suggesting related purchases is a very prevalent form of cross-selling. It uses the logic, “Hey, you bought this, why don’t you buy this too? It goes with what you bought, already.” This is a subtle and probably super-effective way of getting customers to buy more. If someone buys just one part of a package, you can try and convince them to buy the whole package. A very common way to reward a customer is through adding points or e-cash into their ‘wallets’. A lot of businesses follow this pattern, the most popular of which is provided by airlines, where you can accumulate flyer ‘miles’ that you can use later to earn free flights. This encourages the customer to keep flying with the airline to earn that free flight! Cross-selling is one of the most successful sales strategies in eCommerce, because it focuses on presenting comparable things to clients who are now watching an item on the online website or have included it in their shopping cart. According to McKinsey, cross-selling can increase sales by 20% and profits by 30%. Cross-selling adds value to the customer through lower bundled prices, more variety in terms of products and one-stop shopping. A popular cross-selling method is to showcase a list of product recommendations at the bottom of the product page. Customers are at least likely to have a look at those lists, if not to add some of those items in their cart. The checkout page facilitates cross-selling, as customers pay more attention to it. Most often, brands introduce the “customers who purchased this item(s) also purchased” strategy at this point in the buying process. Placing cross-sells on the Thank-You page/follow-up email does not disrupt the purchase process. Driving revenue by retaining existing customers is the name of the customer success game – and strategies that can drive even more revenue – like cross-selling – have huge ROI. And customer success managers are in a great position to cross-sell successfully – because they already have the inside scoop on the customer. TMP’s role Here at TMP, our agents make sure the customers are well-informed on the variety of products and synergy between them. Our agents have the expertise to pro-actively offer customers information on other products or services that are available. We believe in being one step ahead of the competition!

October 07 2021

How to retain your customers

Given today’s business environment, companies are looking to the long-term value of existing customers, and marketing departments are taking control of the buyer’s life cycle. Forrester has predicted that retention marketing budgets will increase by 30% in 2021. But increased spending doesn’t always translate into improved customer retention. Oftentimes, the only thing setting a company apart is the experience, not the product. That’s why customer retention has jumped to the top of the CEO priority list. 44% of consumers rarely-to-never complain to a company regarding a negative experience — they simply disappear. 96% of customers will leave a brand if they experience bad customer service, and 62% of customers would be willing to pay more for good customer service. Using email to retain customers may seem counterintuitive. After all, the number of emails a person receives in a day exceeds 100. But win-back emails can be an excellent way to reengage customers. Make sure customers leave their email address with your company, whether you ask for it when they make a purchase in-store or during the checkout online. As your email list grows, develop a consistent schedule for sending emails. Text messaging can be used to increase customer retention. However, sending too many texts or messages with irrelevant information are sure ways to annoy customers. Instead, focus on sharing information regarding sales or promotions. When properly configured, texts can show open rates, opt-outs and link clicks. With these metrics, marketing departments should adjust their content to guarantee a better response from consumers. The average person spends more than two hours on social media sites per day. And much of that social interaction is through mobile apps such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter. Make sure your company has a social presence that is active and engaging. With 4.2 billion people using social media, the right message can remind customers that your company exists and is worth doing business with. Outbound calling might seem too ‘old school’, but it is a method that can work when it comes to reaching customers. Use outbound calling to reconnect with customers or to check in with existing ones. The essential element to keep in mind is to use the conversation to learn more. Ask questions on how they are enjoying the product or what they liked best regarding the service. If customers believe your brand is interested in them, they will be more likely to remember the brand when they make their next purchase. When customers contact you on their preferred channel, the customer success team should know how to communicate. A customer success model uses foresight to avoid intense interactions — so much foresight, in fact, that it starts before your first interaction with a customer. It requires customer industry and product research, an understanding of the problems your product solves, and knowing the tools they already have. Customer feedback is a beautiful asset for any business, and it can be used in different ways. Feedback is used as a tool to understand customers’ experiences better and elevate their future experiences. Regular customer satisfaction surveys help calculate the NPS score and surface underlying and prominent issues that users face. When a brand is authentic in its interactions, almost 40% of customers said they’re more likely to feel a personal or emotional connection to that brand. However, being relevant to thousands or even millions of people at the same time is not humanly possible without AI. To make sure customers get the information and content that is most relevant to them, intelligence needs to be implemented from commerce to contact center to chatbots. Connecting interaction data, individual preferences and brand content with machine learning and deep learning enables businesses to improve customer experiences. It used to be that only the largest tech-first companies could use technologies like AI and machine learning to their advantage, as they could afford herds of data scientists, but that’s no longer the case. The democratization of AI means any company, regardless of size and expertise, now has the capacity to deliver an AI-backed online customer experience. Integrating intelligence into service and support throughout the online customer journey can help brands drive repeat business and even spark word-of-mouth referrals and NPS. Winning brands are using AI to reinvent their service to incorporate powerful, intelligent self-service for existing customers — and also to carry that intelligence to agents. TMP’s role Here at TMP, our team will promote your product and make sure that the CX cycle continues. We can set up auto-reminders on your behalf or reach out with our team to add a personal touch to your customer engagement. Whether it is through a coupon, refund, or a simple apology, our team will do what’s right to retain customers.

September 30 2021

The need for CX

One area of a company that has the biggest impact on a company’s growth and success is customer experience. CX has grown in recent years to become a primary driver of growth, customer satisfaction and employee engagement. As the discipline has grown, so too has the number of people working in the field and its importance and credibility. Global CX technology spending is expected to reach $641 billion in 2022. The incredible growth of CX technology spending shows the huge demand from customers for digital solutions and that companies are willing to invest in future-ready systems. The size of the US CX industry is expected to grow 15% annually from 2021 to 2028. 87% of business leaders tag CX as their top growth engine — the highest of any other growth area. Improving CX is a huge opportunity for growth. 95% of leading organizations cite CX job roles as important to achieving business growth — the highest of any job role. Investing in CX pays off with strong customer relationships, personalized digital solutions and innovative products or services. Nearly 90% of companies have a CXO or equivalent executive, compared to 65% of companies with a CXO in 2017. 56% of B2C companies have a dedicated CX team, with most formed in the last one to two years. CX is becoming an intentional and proactive part of business strategy with dedicated teams and resources. The number of brands improving their CX in 2020 was up 13% from 2019, and the number is expected to grow further in 2021. 76% of executives say improving CX is a high or critical priority. Executives see the value of continually improving CX. When leaders are on board, it sets the tone and mindset for the entire organization. 70% of financial companies, 58% of tech companies and 50% of retailers anticipate having a larger budget to invest in CX technology in 2021. The pandemic shook things up for most companies, but CX is still a priority as companies start to rebuild. Of all the ways to increase budget post-COVID, CX is at the top. Improving CX by one point can lead to more than $1 billion in additional revenue. Few other business areas can lead to such huge growth with such small changes. 36% of top CX companies exceeded their top business goal by a significant margin, compared to only 12% of less customer-focused companies. A customer focus improves all areas of the business. More than two-thirds of companies that led in customer experience outpaced others in their industries in the second half of 2020. Global C-suite executives rank CX as their greatest avenue for growth. Modern brands are faced with countless growth opportunities, but CX is recognized as the best chance to grow a brand. Nearly 80% of marketers say improving customer retention is the primary goal of their CX strategy — and 98% have been successful in reaching that. Investing in CX improves long-term customer relationships, which reduces the cost of acquiring new customers. Companies with strong omnichannel customer experience strategies see 10% year-over-year growth. A strong omnichannel CX strategy leads to a 10% increase in average order value. Investing in CX not only improves customer satisfaction, it also makes customers more valuable. Companies that lead in CX personalization have increased their revenue by up to 15%. Personalization has a strong ROI. Today, two-thirds of companies compete on customer experience alone (compared to 36 percent in 2010). Low prices, free shipping and lots of choices are no longer differentiators — they’re a given. Brands must stand out by delivering an exceptional customer experience. Of course, everyone knows that better service makes for happy customers. But do happier customers translate to higher profits? As a matter of fact, they do. Industry leaders in CX have been shown to outstrip the performance of CX stragglers by almost 80 percent. Satisfied customers spend 140 percent more on average and stay with a company five years longer. Happy customers are much less likely to return products or demand a refund. They make fewer calls to customer support, thereby reducing the cost of support staff. The customer experience industry is made powerful by the people who run it. CX professionals and changemakers are improving their organizations and industries every day as they push for a greater focus on customers and innovative solutions to meet their needs. The industry will continue to increase its power and influence in the coming years and affect every aspect of a company. TMP’s role TMP provides white-glove service to its clients with 24x7 omni-channel support for voice, email, chat, messaging, and fulfillment, guaranteeing a unique customer experience. Our support staff and custom IT abilities provide our clients with a fully customizable experience. We believe in putting the customer first!

September 23 2021

Getting customers during a pandemic

It's no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has been detrimental to the economy’s health. We’re facing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Bringing in new business isn’t easy during a thriving economy, let alone during a recession. With a combination of marketing tactics, sales techniques, technology and data, you can fuel your lead generation channels and make them work the way they’re supposed to. There is nothing wrong with a traditional, sales-driven cold call. Family-owned businesses and large corporations have been generating leads this way for many years because it works. It’s advisable to ask the digital marketing team to help aim cold calls rather than replacing them. When implemented correctly, digital marketing research will target the cold call clients your business should be contacting, instead of using a hit-or-miss method. Social networks play a significant role in establishing connections and remain at the forefront of the decision-making process for many business-to-business purchases. When it comes to social media channels, gaining leads depends heavily on consumer engagement. The more your target audience sees of you with posts they have interest in, the more likely they are to purchase your product or services. Website lead generation starts with the homepage. After all, the homepage is probably the most visited page. A headline with a strong call to action at the very top of the page is a good place to start. Now, ‘strong’ doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write something witty or smart. Something as simple as ‘Start Your Free Trial’ can be compelling. It is good to offer something of value to visitors in return for their contact information. E-books or whitepapers are good examples of gated content that you can offer to visitors. If you have gated content that follows a blog post, make sure the blog post has enough valuable information for readers to part with their contact information. It helps to utilize search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. Start a blog, optimize homepage and inner content, take advantage of local SEO opportunities and use ‘alt tags’ for images. Each of these steps will encourage Google to include your website in consumer search results. To showcase your site, Google has to understand it first. Create evergreen content that can make it to Google’s Knowledge Box. Live chat on your website can be a valuable lead generation tool. The idea with chatbots is to help users find information when they need it the most. Once you have helped your site visitor, you can configure the bot to leverage the engagement for an opt-in. The key is to build a chatbot that’s as conversational and as human as possible. Using lead generation forms in your paid social advertising is a great way to capture potential new customers who are interested in learning more regarding your business, your products or your services. Consumers input basic yet important information into a short form and click a button — either to contact you, download a white paper, sign up for a webinar, register for a free trial service or other such offering. Just like cold calling, email marketing is a tried-and-true classic. Utilize your email list to remarket your brand to existing clients and those who may have dropped off. Special offers and ‘we've missed you’ emails are great ways to drive engagement and conversions. Referrals are often considered the gold standard of leads. If you already have valued customers who like your product or service, they can help you generate more business. There’s no reason to be shy when asking for a referral, as many of these contacts will want their other vendors and suppliers to work with companies that they trust. If you have the funds, there are a variety of software companies that can help curate large lists of leads that are relevant to your industry. They use sophisticated algorithms and data mining to make sure that contacts are up to date and that you have direct access to relevant decision-makers and groups. There is nothing in business that influencers can’t help you achieve — be it brand awareness, reach, sales or reputation. When it comes to generating high-quality leads, combine influencer marketing with affiliate marketing. Generating high-converting leads is definitely easier for B2C brands than it is to B2B brands. However, this strategy generates significant results for B2B brands, as well. TMP’s role TMP's proprietary dialer system offers maximum efficiency in reaching out to a large number of customers. Whether it is for pre-sale offers, qualifications, and payment processing, or post-sale satisfaction surveys, we guarantee a good impression for the business. TMP can triage inquiries so that the qualified sales team can focus on the important contacts.

September 16 2021

Emails in the digital age

Emails are still one of the most popular forms of communication. Think tank Statista estimates that 319.6 billion emails will be sent in 2021, a number that’s projected to exceed 376 billion per year by 2025. In 2020, the number of global email users was 4 billion, and by 2025, that number is expected to reach 4.6 billion. A 2019 survey found that over 70% of marketers believe email marketing generates ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ returns. It’s still considered to be one of the best ways to reach consumers who have opted-in for such communications at your online store. When they “opt-in” to receive emails at your online store, 23.6% of them will open the email you sent within the first hour, according to research by Marketing Charts. When these emails are sent during prime e-commerce shopping hours — between 6 pm and 10 pm — they get the most traction. Email services provider Constant Contact explains (via Marketing Sherpa) that 61% of consumers surveyed want to receive promotional messages from retailers at least weekly, and 38% of them want to be emailed more often than that (daily, twice a week or three times a week). So don’t hesitate to send that next promotional message out to your base. We’re being advertised to all the time. A market research firm in 2007 estimated a person living in a city saw nearly 5,000 ads a day. Estimates since then can vary but include ranges from 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day. While some of the many ads may have a subconscious element to them, the reality is that we ignore most of them unless something intrigues us. Opt-in e-commerce emails, on the other hand, are often welcomed by consumers. The Texas Chronicle reports (via data from a Smith-Harmon survey) that 76% of consumers have made purchases from an email marketing message they received. HubSpot gathered highlights from their own research finding 59% of consumer respondents surveyed agree that email marketing influences their buying decision. Email marketing can have an amazing return on investment. What’s the potential ROI? Try 3800%. That’s a $38 return for every $1 dollar invested. Segmented campaigns take it a step further, and in one estimate, they created a 760% increase in revenue. No wonder an estimated 85% of marketers in one survey are using email marketing software to increase awareness, earn new sales and repeat business. Cross-selling is one of the main reasons why email marketing is still one of the most valuable remarketing mediums that exist. Cross-selling involves suggesting related products to consumers either at the time of checkout or when engaging them with any form of a marketing message. Most shopping carts have the technology in place that can automate cross-selling by using the order activity and behavior of the specific consumer. Cart abandonment is just part of selling online. This occurs when a shopper adds one or more items to the cart but doesn’t complete the checkout process. The game changes if that shopper happens to be a repeat visitor to your online store and has elected to receive email messages from you. In these cases, you can automate the process and send something called a cart abandonment email. This is an email the consumer receives that reminds them that they left items in their cart without checking out. Email marketing is still relevant in 2021, and it will likely continue to be in the years to come. Why? Because you can monetize your list of contacts. That’s why your email list is a treasure. The contacts are your contacts, and you can contact them whenever you want — for free. If you build high-quality content that solves important problems for your audience, then a dedicated and targeted mailing list will naturally build with time. One of the many significant benefits is that the audience already has a connection with you. Your contacts already gave you their email addresses — maybe during the purchasing process or in exchange for a white paper or another goodie. While often the goal of email marketing is sales, the first priority is building a relationship with customers, which in turn can lead to many sales over time. By taking the time to carefully craft both the emails and your strategy, your business becomes, even more, a part of their lives. TMP’s role Here at TMP, emails are part of our omnichannel strategy, when it comes to serving our clients and customers. They are a fast and secure mode of communication that is still relevant in this digital age. Though not as popular as before, emails continue to hold a prime position in guaranteeing customer satisfaction, by resolving queries and gently nudging customers to complete their transaction. After all, happy customers mean happy clients!

September 09 2021

Once ‘coupon’ a time

Since the dawn of the internet, every corner of commerce has been in a constant state of reinvention as new technologies are leveraged to optimize the buying and selling experience. We’ve seen targeting and customer communications efforts streamlined and revolutionized, in-store and e-commerce customer experiences completely overhauled, and breakthroughs in logistics and inventory management. Yet for the past 100 years, this digital transformation has mostly missed the couponing arena — until now. Why has it taken decades for retailers to deliver customers coupons to their phones that they can scan at a store and receive their discount? There is an investment in hardware required for retailers to be able to scan phones to redeem coupons. The back-end technology is there, but without point-of-sale technology capable of translating the coupon, it’s nearly impossible to reach mass adoption. The pandemic has forced retailers’ hands to invest in new point-of-sale technology for the purposes of contactless payments. With a greater emphasis on safety, the old way of doing business through cash or card transactions is being phased out. This rise in contactless payments is also seeing a rise in customer reliance on digital wallets and smartphones as the principal source of payment. A coupon can increase foot traffic and pickup/delivery orders for your store, which can lead to higher sales and revenue. Using coupons and free one-time-use offers, such as new mover offers, can help create brand awareness and provide a quick infusion of cash for your business. It allows you to control the special offer, as well as the timing of the deal. In 2019, 92% of consumers used coupons when shopping, according to a Statista survey of 1,000 people. Seventy-seven percent of shoppers say that discounts can influence where they shop, according to a study by Forrester Consulting. Two-thirds of shoppers surveyed looked for a discount before even beginning to shop. One of the advantages of coupons in the digital realm is the ability to offer discounts or free one-time-use offers over a variety of platforms to appeal to different customers. You can choose from online printable coupons, manufacturer coupons, in-store apps, coupon codes for online purchases, rebates, new mover offers and more. Approximately 40% of shoppers look for digital coupons before shopping, and 51% look for paper coupons. 73% of shoppers prefer to shop at stores from which they’ve received personalized discount offers. With this digital transformation, CPG brands will also be granted the gift of agility. Instead of the required 2-12 weeks to launch a paper-based coupon campaign and then waiting an additional four to six weeks for results, brands will be able to deploy value to consumers’ mobile phones instantly and have near real-time insights into which discounts are being used, where they’re being used, and on what products. Promo codes are great, but you need to design them thoughtfully to encourage more purchases. Limit customers’ access to promo codes to convey exclusivity. You can also create limited-time promo codes to prompt a sense of urgency, like a 24-hour sale. It sounds counterintuitive, but limits can actually increase your sales. However, a 5% discount isn’t going to excite shoppers unless you’re selling a $1,000 product. Give a generous-enough discount that will get your shoppers excited. Rewards programs can retain customers by providing incentives for customers to continue to visit your business. Many rewards programs offer coupons as an incentive. As many as 84% of consumers say they will remain devoted to a brand that offers such a program, according to research from Nielsen. Coupons also offer a way to increase your online following because many consumers follow brands on social media to get coupons. Consumers want a frictionless experience at check-out, coupled with the public health benefits of not having to touch plastic, cash, or paper coupons. Some retailers, like BJ’s, have postponed acceptance of paper coupons for hygiene reasons during the pandemic. Brands have been searching for these solutions for decades, but it took a pandemic to force a shift in thinking among leading retailers. As with any upheaval, the conditions that bring us to certain points may not always be pretty, but the push towards a digital transformation in the couponing space may signal a revolution in a sector of the industry that has demanded disruption for decades. TMP’s role TMP focuses on the customer journey from start to finish, including the digital and physical management of products. To achieve a complete resolution, we can ship or retrieve consumer products and send coupons or refund checks directly from our fulfillment team. You may have hundreds of products and maintaining a library of coupons can be incredibly cumbersome. TMP simplifies that by printing only the paper that is needed!

September 02 2021

Welcome to the party!

The pandemic sparked a 77% increase in e-commerce over February 2020, as online shoppers of all ages turned to e-commerce for ease, convenience and safety. To meet these logistics and fulfillment demands, third-party logistics (3PL) providers had to prove agility, adaptability and flexibility more than ever before. In this post-pandemic balance of 2021 and beyond, leaders face a fragile supply chain, an ever-increasing and demanding customer, as well as B2B e-commerce occupying a massive market share. In 2020, e-commerce jumped to 21% of the country’s retail sales. Some industry experts theorize the pandemic accelerated the shift to online by roughly five years. Revenue from e-commerce in USA amounted to 431 billion US dollars in 2020. The Statista Digital Market Outlook estimates that in the next four years, revenue will increase to 563.4 billion dollars. The supply chain and logistics industries are exploding right now while also being in the midst of a dramatic digital transformation. As of 2017, the logistics industry was valued at a staggering $8.1 trillion, but it's projected to nearly double that valuation by 2023. Digital giants like Amazon, along with a whole host of startups, are exposing entirely new business models and using emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, IoT and many others to change the face of logistics going forward. From self-driving trucks and virtual assistants to robotic-powered warehouses and drone delivery, AI enablement will change the face of logistics. It’s also a race to acquire these capabilities. According to IDC, "By 2023, driven by the goal to embed intelligence in products and services, one-quarter of G2000 companies will acquire at least one AI software start-up to ensure ownership of differentiated skills and IP." The Covid-19 pandemic has not slowed but accelerated digital transformation in logistics, which has already drawn large sums of venture capital and private equity. According to McKinsey, around $11.1 billion was created by startups offering last-mile delivery services to retailers and individuals. The global pandemic has had pervasive and deep impacts across material availability, labor support, asset tracking and security of logistics services. With 93% of shippers and 98% of third-party logistics firms feeling like data-driven decision-making is crucial to supply chain activities and 63% of the largest and most impactful logistics organizations saying investment in predictive analytics is optimal to organize newly digitized fleets, it’s easy to say that data is the competitive differentiator. CBRE Research showed that “$1 billion in incremental e-commerce sales generates 1.25 million sq. ft. of warehouse space demand.” This means net absorption is predicted to go up, reaching nearly 250 million square feet in 2021. For context, the previous five-year annual average for net absorption was 211 million square feet. Analysts at Gartner wrote, "The global 3PL community is working hard to exceed customer expectations by working smarter and better leveraging their knowledge, assets, people and technology. Organizations that have dedicated supplier innovation and continuous improvement programs must also use these to engage with the broader 3PL community to maximize uptake of innovation and gain exclusive access to innovative solutions." For 3PLs to grow, they must emphasize what they do best and reinforce why the alternative is best for new clients. 3PLs allow manufacturers the ability to adjust to increasing seasonal spikes, which have never been more significant. Only when fulfillment demands are met can a manufacturer plan for exponential growth. Every 3PL executive who understands the sales growth must interface with clients who leverage software across the warehousing campus for a competitive advantage. Acknowledging solutions to address the fact that supply chains are fraught with complexities also represents an opportunity to improve efficiency. 3PLs have been ahead of the curve in a wide range of technology solutions, particularly AGVs (automated guided vehicles). The assortment of products and clients made the cost-justification easier. Until recently, such technology meant long and expensive installations, many of which failed to deliver on their promises. Now in a matter of months, an AGV is up and running performing the work of hard-to-find fork truck drivers. The AGV has come of age, and in an aggressive B2C e-commerce environment, it's a lifesaver. 3PLs offer a solution to run a tighter, more resilient operation, improve KPIs/customer satisfaction and reduce costs in warehouse operations. TMP’s role TMP focuses on the customer journey from start to finish, including the digital and physical management of products. TMP is able to provide around-the-clock service and support regardless of the ebbs and flows of traffic. This planning and preparation by TMP helps alleviate the stress of the client’s team and free the business of costly space requirements.

August 26 2021

The role of social media

According to experts, Americans spent more than two hours a day on social media in 2020. Today, 2021 finds more than 3 billion people on social media, with Facebook welcoming 1.8 billion daily active users. Americans spent an average 58 minutes a day on the Facebook app – or 325 hours a year. However, the social network has been on the decline among younger users, who are increasingly gravitating towards Instagram and TikTok – which allow them to be more creative and express themselves. Instagram was the second most used service, and it remained most popular among Gen-Z users, who spent almost 53 minutes per day, or 297 hours a year; while Snapchat was also popular with the younger crowd, who spent up to 50 minutes per day on the app or 277 hours a year. These robust numbers make a compelling reason for major brands to spend their advertising dollars to reach their audience on social media platforms. In 2020, 13 new social media networks were launched, which means there are now more than 100 social media sites in existence today. Fast-growth platforms like Clubhouse came on the scene with a unique value proposition, focusing on voice and collaboration via group audio discussions. Soon after, major platforms created their own version of Clubhouse, including Twitter Spaces, Spotify Locker Room and Facebook Live Audio Rooms. Similarly, TikTok’s success has led to Snapchat’s Spotlight, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Social media management is constantly evolving, and while it may be easy to navigate for some, others are overwhelmed by the process of even logging on and creating an account. With new platforms popping up every few months and some more familiar platforms changing their interfaces and functionalities, it feels like once you’re confident that you’ve mastered something, it’s only a matter of time before you have to start learning again. Statista estimates that there were over 3.6 billion people using social media around the globe in 2020 and that this number could grow to nearly 4.41 billion in four years, so it’s vital that businesses have a presence. While it may feel easy to ignore social media and focus on growing your business organically, these platforms offer huge opportunities to reach potential clients. But, how do you consistently produce content that’s not only fresh and engaging but feels native to the respective platform you’re posting on? How should brands decide which platforms are worth their time, energy and advertising? What’s the best way to track ROI? It’s important to prioritize which platforms a brand should use today versus what might make more sense down the road. For now, it’s wise to select outlets and features that are visually stimulating and engaging as consumers are more drawn to act when they are exposed to eye-catching, compelling imagery. This is why Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube are — and will likely remain — category leaders. To gain success with any medium, you’ll want to track ROI by choosing a platform based on the age, psychographics and demographics of your audience. For example, seven in ten US adults use Facebook, while platforms like Snapchat generally skew younger as it is the most popular social network among teenagers as of fall 2020. Develop content that not only speaks to your specific audience but does so in a way that also feels native to that platform. Determine whether to tap into influencers or produce content, adding a layer of credibility to the respective influencer’s audience. Choose a channel and content format that allows users to align with your company brand, mission, products and content. Keep your social strategy focused and only tap into the platforms that make the most sense for your brand. Focus on the platforms you know your target market is using and set up accounts. These platforms are generally designed to be user-friendly when it comes to setting up your professional page, and there are plenty of tutorials out there to get you started. Some of the top platforms today for businesses are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but check out TikTok if you have a younger audience, Pinterest if you have a strong desire to build your e-commerce sales and LinkedIn if your product or service is a professional one. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we help sell the product and get customers via various social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn as part of our omnichannel strategy, as it is one of the fastest-growing channels, with a focus on lead generation. We also provide extended hours to handle overflow and guarantee superior customer service, documenting experiences, answering questions, especially converting negative reviews, dealing with influencers and trolls. We help the client get a good rating and secure a customer for life.

August 19 2021

digital and physical management of products

A fulfillment of desires

There are a trillion reasons why online retailers have to pack each delivery box with something that captures the emotion of the moment. The trick is making those feelings good ones, by seeing what the shopper sees when that package arrives. And those feelings are critical: 47% of consumers told the last-mile technology firm Convey Inc. they would not likely shop with a retailer after a bad shipping experience. Online retail sales are predicted to reach nearly $910 billion in 2021 – up 13.7% over 2020, according to a report by eMarketer. That translates to billions of packages – an estimated 3 billion were delivered in the last holiday season – and customers expect each shipment to arrive friction-free. In early 2021, 26% of shoppers said they ordered same-day delivery, via online, from a physical store in the previous six months – up from 14% in August 2020. $2.67 trillion was spent globally on the top 100 online marketplaces in 2020, accounting for 62% of global online retail sales. Gross merchandise sales grew 29% last year, with 50 US-based marketplace sales growing 40% in 2020. E-commerce sales in June 2020 were greater than the 2019 holiday season, and a 77% increase year-over-year. According to Forbes, in-store pickup of online purchases increased 195% in May 2020. Getting the right product to the right customer, affordably and on time, requires the seamless integration of multiple entities using multiple technologies. Brand owners must be able to store, track and replenish inventory, prioritize orders from multiple channels, manage volume spikes, accurately pick and pack orders, source affordable shipping options and handle returns. A hiccup at any one point causes customer service nightmares. Fulfillment also becomes one of the largest line-item costs, right behind material goods. An independent study by Fulfillment Companies found that fulfillment costs averaged 10%-15% of gross sales but could reach up to 20% if there is little automation in place. While fixed costs per order will decrease as order volume increases, labor costs will only go up. To lower its cost per order, the business must either invest in its own warehousing technology and automation or find a third-party logistics provider that can provide it for them. Perhaps the most crucial point in all of fulfillment is that last mile. It guarantees more accurate delivery windows and on-time arrival. However, last-mile delivery can be costly – nearly $10 per package on average because of a shorter timeframe for delivery, which means more time and fuel. Technology and old-fashioned creativity can help offset those costs, but what’s inside the package matters as well. Many online retailers alert their customers when a package is delivered, giving the customer peace of mind and sharpening the crucial last-mile delivery moment. The return-on-investment for these alerts can be high, because the technology doesn’t have to be costly. Driver-tracking apps make proof of delivery easier, are relatively affordable and can improve delivery efficiency. A grocery seller can also “gift” a free package of a product already ordered, which can help reduce overstocks. More online retailers are issuing refunds on returns without requiring shoppers to ship the items back. In cases when the cost of the product is close to that of free return shipping, this makes financial sense – a return costs nearly 60% of an item’s original price, on average. But there also can be cases when a repeat shopper is given the option of refund-without-return simply as a ‘thank you’ for continued business. Consumer packaged goods merchants can bring online customers closer to the brand by inviting them to try new products and provide feedback. The offer can be made while the shopper is ordering online, so there is an opt-in, or as a surprise in the delivery. The company can then reward customers who provide feedback, via email or dedicated site, with a coupon for that product. With online retail orders approaching $1 trillion, mere speed and accuracy are no longer enough to stand apart from competitors. Online shoppers already expect speed, accuracy and fee-free delivery as baseline requirements. Retailers need to see their shoppers from the insides of their boxes, just as they see them inside their stores. TMP’s role TMP focuses on the customer journey from start to finish, including the digital and physical management of products. We provide around-the-clock service and support regardless of the ebbs and flows of traffic. This helps to alleviate stress and free the business of costly space requirements. TMP provides regular inventory counts and keeps products secure. We can ship or retrieve consumer products and send coupons or refund checks directly from our fulfillment team. Our environmental-friendly solution gives us the agility to give the customer exactly what they need.

August 12 2021

A boost to good health

The pandemic changed our relationship with health and nutrition in ways we had never imagined. For the first time in modern history, words like ‘wellness’ and ‘immunity’ became linked to survival. Suddenly, many were reading up on ways to boost overall health. While waiting for a solution to a global pandemic, we zoned in on enhancing mental, spiritual and physical health. Subsequently, ingredients, super foods, immune-boosting vitamins and power oxidants became essentials to a life in lockdown. People began to realize the immense value of investing in health. Interest for products that enhance wellness is now at an all-time high. This not only applies to rituals that help keep us relaxed and feeling balanced. Many of us have also began to pay closer attention to what we put in our bodies. Are we eating clean? What type of beverages do we consume? Interest and sales in the supplements category spiked, reports Euromonitor International. “Global consumers reached to vitamins and dietary supplements to meet both acute and general health concerns, and prevention, nutrition and wellness became universal needs with COVID-19 front of mind,” stated Euromonitor’s Head of Consumer Health. It’s easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel as vaccines have become available. After more than a year in the new normal, it’s safe to say that we will never be the same again. Following a global health scare, many are vowing to stick to health habits recently formed — eating cleaner, working out more consistently, making time for self-care. Doubling up on vitamins has become the catch phrase of this pandemic. Now more than ever, we’re taking our daily doses more diligently to a point where it’s become a security blanket. Infusing refreshing juices or fruit shakes with a serving of vitamins is a daily ritual. A glass in the morning or midday does wonders for boosting energy and reducing fatigue. Multivitamins have become an integral part of one’s morning ritual. Just like our workouts and diets, it’s important to understand what we put into our bodies, the dosage and how they affect overall health. There is no one template where nutrition and health are concerned. What works for another may not necessarily work for you. This most certainly applies to our supplements and vitamins. So before buying your next bottle of vitamins or pills, think of your health goals. You’ll be surprised by how an efficient and effective arsenal of boosters and nutrients effects change — to your energy levels, mood, focus, quality of rest, and yes, even the way you look. Daily skincare has been simplified to include a gentle cleanse, toner and face massage using a facial oil. Finding healthy, natural alternatives to anti-aging treatments like Botox and lasers is crucial. Infusion of Vitamins A, C, D3, E and B6 help to prevent premature aging and boost collagen production. Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, B-5, D-Biotin, Zinc and Iodine contribute to create a healthier glow, improved skin texture, and reduced appearance of blemishes. Weight management supplements are designed for specific purposes such as helping to reduce body fat, burn more calories, lower blood sugar and decrease appetite. They are designed to produce results when users exercise regularly and maintain a balanced diet. It’s always been believed that meat proteins are the best sources of energy and strength. However, large amounts of beef and animal fats are harder for the body to take in. Record-breaking bests are actually fueled by a plant-based diet. Proteins keep us full for longer, which is why a protein shake, especially midday or right after a workout, supports satiety. Plant-based protein supplements include better brain as well as bone health. Rest and recovery are often overlooked when it comes to enhancing fitness and overall wellness. A good night’s sleep, or a full day to recover, does wonders in accelerating muscle gain. This is especially true after a full week of exercise and “being good with your diet”. Microbiomes play a vital role in digestion, enhanced immunity and overall health. Maintaining an ideal balance of microbiomes in our bodies prevents diseases and conditions like inflammation, weight gain, high blood sugar and cholesterol. Typically, we take a dose of probiotics and then another dose of prebiotics to help support gut health. Essential oil diffusers emit negative ions to remove airborne particles. Hence, diffusers have been a popular purchase during the pandemic. So too have nasal inhalers, chest rubs and roll-ons containing essential oils like tea tree and eucalyptus, to decongest the sinuses and respiratory tract. Among the noteworthy properties of essential oils are their analgesic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory actions when inhaled or applied on the body safely. As people become increasingly concerned with staying well during the pandemic, wellness brands will continue to innovate with new products.

August 05 2021

The role of artificial intelligence in retail

As online shopping replaces more and more brick-and-mortar retail stores, AI in retail is taking center stage for enterprises. Artificial intelligence solutions in retail are helping retailers align their offerings with the expectations of their customers. The disruptive impact of artificial intelligence in retail is seen across the value chain and is emerging as a powerful tool for retail brands to gain a strategic advantage. Marketing research firm Tractica has predicted that global AI revenues will grow from $643.7 million in 2016 to an excess of $36.8 billion in 2025. Artificial intelligence can automate in-store operations and reduce operational expenses in retail stores. It can replace sales personnel to assist customers in the store, reduce queues through cashier-less payment, replenish stock by real-time stock monitoring, and digitize store display and trial rooms. AI solutions in retail can effortlessly improve customer engagement by building interactive chat programs. Chatbots can be an effective way to communicate with customers. They can answer frequently asked questions, recommend products, address grievances and collect valuable data from your customers before diverting the call to a telesales executive, if needed. The chatbots can be programmed to self-learn from past data to keep refining and personalizing their subsequent interactions with the customers. Artificial intelligence solutions can also provide valuable information for pricing strategy. These applications help enterprises to analyze the efficacies of multiple pricing models before arriving at the optimal price for their products. Retailers can also adjust prices by competitive products and consumer demand. AI-enabled logistics management can predict demands for products by scrutinizing historical sales, location, buying patterns, etc. AI-powered drones that can reach difficult corners and automatically update a central database with available inventory in real time have been developed for warehouse management. All aspects of the retail supply chain, including inventory, staffing, distribution and delivery, can be managed in real time by AI. Artificial intelligence solutions in retail can offer a personalized shopping experience to customers. Technologies like biometric and face recognition can identify customers revisiting a store and remember their likes and dislikes. They can recommend products and design promotions for them. Advanced AI algorithms can look into demographic data, social media impressions and digital footprints of consumers to decode their interests. Artificial intelligence in retail can also simplify product identification for customers. Customers can now take a picture of a product they like and then use the picture to search for a retailer selling it on the web. Machine learning retail software can classify millions of items from various sellers and categorize them for customers within seconds, making product search and comparison easier than ever. Multichannel retail has made store operation complex. Store associates have to play multiple roles in a warehouse. Their job is no longer restricted to receiving goods, stocking them and managing inventories. They have to provide product information, keep track of promotional offers and handle merchandising. AI in retail can streamline the work of a store manager by automating back-office activities and using robotics for quality checks. As retailers consider strategies like bringing AI to brick-and-mortar, we are also advancing technology on the backend in integrated facilities management (IFM). For instance, paper records are being replaced by mobile apps and browser-based programs, resulting in real-time communication with facility professionals. That will lead to the ability to produce data sets that can be used to facilitate promotional strategies such as appointment shopping. With advanced analytics, retailers are able to predict their minute-by-minute foot traffic every season. Using this information, retailers can formulate strategic promotions to fill slower times. For example, a brand could offer a targeted subset of customers a reason to come into a store at a specified time to receive discounts, promotions or personalized experiences with added value. D2C and Gen Z Direct-to-consumer has spurred since the pandemic because it enabled brands to learn more, engage more and sell more to complement the unstable retail space and overloaded online marketplaces. D2C brands have seen the majority of sales growth come from their own channels, but online and offline models have pretty much converged. While more retailers are certainly going online, D2C brands are also opting for in-store distribution. Gen Z rocks the retail industry. Not only are they retail customers, but they also make up the future retail workforce. This digital-savvy generation knows exactly what they want. Plus, the great news for retailers is that Gen Z loves shopping in-store. Digital means are essential to connecting on a more human level within the retail organization and redefining the customer journey map.

July 29 2021

The tech revolution in healthcare

Amid the turbulence of the pandemic, we’ve seen impressive innovation. But perhaps nowhere has this innovation been more pronounced than in the healthcare industry. Faced with unparalleled strain, medical facilities forged a new way of operating — and AI was front and center. From AI-powered thermal scanners to disinfection robots and autonomous PPE deliveries, AI played a central role in supporting medical staff, maintaining a sanitary environment and supporting efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19. The industry turned to AI to help keep things running smoothly, from the CDC chatbot to contact-tracing tools. A recent Intel survey of healthcare decision-makers found that the number of medical organizations that are currently or soon will be using AI nearly doubled after the onset of the pandemic. The survey also revealed growing confidence in AI. Two-thirds of respondents said they would trust AI to process medical records in the next two years, and 62% said that they would trust the tech to analyze diagnostics and screening. Overwhelmingly, people are on board with these applications. For example, 74% of respondents in a survey were comfortable with companies like Pfizer using AI to develop vaccines more efficiently. Similarly, 76% of people are comfortable with medical facilities using disinfection robots to create a more sanitary environment, and 79% want this practice to continue or expand post-pandemic. However, AI won’t directly treat most of us for quite some time (if ever). In most cases, the technology isn’t quite there yet, and neither is our collective comfort level. In most cases, AI can drive impact more effectively and sooner in supporting applications; that’s where we’ll likely see the immediate focus for the tech. Emerging types of technology are also being applied to opening new possibilities in healthcare teaching and diagnostics. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are now being used as physical therapy components and to help train doctors for advanced procedures. The global AI/VR healthcare industry will be valued at $5.115 million in four years. This also includes virtual assistants, nurse robots and self-help chatbots. In recent years, investment in robot-assisted medical devices has positioned doctor-machine collaboration as a model for the future of surgery. In fact, despite only making up 2% of all procedures, the market for robotic-assisted surgery is currently valued at more than $4 billion, already half the size of the market for traditional minimally invasive surgery. These innovations are critical to streamlining operations as a global shortfall of 10 million medical professionals is predicted by 2030. In addition to improvements within the operating room, AI is set to revolutionize how we monitor our health from home. As we work to prepare ourselves for any future health emergencies, AI-powered wearables can catch vulnerabilities at the source and enable individuals to make informed decisions on their health in real-time. This could help to save lives and also reduce the cost of emergency room visits and save doctors’ time. From authorization of insurance to following up on unpaid bills and maintaining essential hospital records, the careful management of healthcare administration not only results in improved allocation of resources but is also foundational to providing treatment effectively. AI platforms can help automate these repetitive tasks. Healthcare organizations can invest in high-quality training data and be sure they're educated on the benefits of human-in-the-loop and machine learning-assisted annotation teams. The industry as a whole must seek to avoid bias or inaccurate data by creating scalable and continuous feedback loops, achieving what neither humans nor a machine can achieve on their own. On the fringe of widespread adoption before Covid-19, telehealth exploded during the pandemic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a 154% increase in telehealth visits in the last week of March 2020, compared with the same week in 2019. More than 46% of consumers now regularly use telehealth, up from 11% in 2019. While consumers don’t have to make a commute, secure childcare or leave work early for virtual care appointments, they are required to have a stable internet connection and a quiet, private place to take an appointment. As of March 2020, the Federal Communications Commission estimated that 21 million Americans still lack access to broadband internet. Social networks have also become an important health resource for consumers, and not just for millennials. According to a study from the Journal of Medical Internet Research, nearly 90% of baby boomers and adults over the age of 67 have used social media for sourcing and sharing health information. As consumers increasingly turn to digital avenues for their health, provider organizations should better utilize these channels to reach consumers.

July 22 2021

AI and the telecom industry

While the telecom industry is mature and has a built-in infrastructure, rapid change is happening alongside the huge impact brought by Covid-19, including the rollout of 5G and the increasing adoption of IoT. These changes also bring increased competition from new technology-driven entrants, and there is growing regulatory pressure. Telecom service providers are large and multifaceted organizations, so it isn’t uncommon for the business to operate in silos and use separate solutions to manage workers and contractors in the field and equipment and supplies, whether owned, rented or leased. Combining asset management, work management and mobile field enablement seamlessly from a single software package allows some transparency. With customers at the heart of what a telecom provider does, service is the key touch point and main source of friction. Telecoms, by their nature, often only come into mind when changes are being made or when something goes wrong. With customer expectations at an all-time high, getting it right the first time has never been more important. Customers want to be empowered to report issues, book their own appointments, and track service crew location and work progress. Customers want short service windows, so it is crucial to automate scheduling so that the right crew member or contractor is dispatched. The crew will need access to the account, history and job details and will need to have the right parts and tools to give them everything they need to get the job done. Asset downtime is not an option for a telecom service provider because the costs go far beyond the lost usage. Service must be focused on prevention-focused uptime and performance, not a reactionary break-fix model. Remote monitoring capabilities enable any potential issues to be detected or predicted and then addressed. The expansion of connected assets and equipment via the IoT, AI and ML technologies is key to a telecom company implementing these automatic, predictive processes. This will prevent downtime, improve profitability and create a competitive advantage. A major challenge facing telecom providers is the network infrastructure they manage, and the assets they have responsibility for can cover a large geographic area. Location intelligence is also fundamental in keeping up with customer expectations and giving them a competitive edge. Telecom service providers are turning to location and GIS to help with their complete digital transformation by leveraging location services and maps in new IoT products and services while supporting traditional lines of business. With organizations’ increasing migration toward cloud-based solutions, an optimized, integrated solution will lead to happier customers, faster service and increased profits. But with many organizations still deeply entrenched in legacy systems, these can be complex to integrate with some cloud-based technologies. Organizations need to realize that the work done by those in the field is the first line of contact with customers, so they need to support workers with the best, most straightforward solution. Ideally, this should be a single solution that combines all scheduling, service and equipment tools with industry-focused IoT and AI/ML support. The role of AI AI has helped the telecom sector redefine customer experience, bringing forth new opportunities but also complicating business models. AI applications in the telecommunications industry help CSPs build self-optimizing networks to improve customer satisfaction and prevent outages. Since AI can help networks adapt and reconfigure according to customer needs, they can provide consistent service more proactively. AI also makes use of advanced algorithms to detect and predict any network anomalies. In the context of cybersecurity, this means giving businesses the ability to detect a cyberattack in advance. Additionally, these technologies considerably reduce response time, allowing telecom businesses to thwart the threat before it exploits internal information systems. AI and machine learning have enabled telecoms to extract valuable business insights. Since telecoms have a massive amount of data, AI can use it to make efficient and effective decisions through customer segmentation, predicting the lifetime value of a consumer and making purchase recommendations. Cloud, 5G and AI, cognitive engagement with consumer insights have made it possible to answer a wide variety of questions, all in the customer’s language. However, in the future, as businesses get comfortable turning customer insights on to machines, human customer-service agents might become a thing of the past, allowing customers to engage with an intelligent-agent avatar. AI is also predicted to leap from only dealing with insights to predicting consumer behavior and impacting business decisions. This should lower costs and enhance customer experience, increasing their lifetime value. With intelligence-powered data, reliable insights and manual expertise, there may be no limit to what AI can help us achieve.

July 15 2021

The digital revolution in insurance

The insurance industry is undergoing profound change. But this disruption is not just digital — harsh market conditions, demanding customers and innovative new market entrants are just some of the forces transforming the insurance industry. But where there is a challenge, there is an opportunity. And all these sources of disruption can be harnessed. As the traditional business model of insurance firms is disrupted by external and internal forces, insurers are facing increasing pressure to innovate and adapt. Customers of today are fundamentally different from their parents and grandparents. Not only did their needs, knowledge and expectations expand exponentially over the past decade, but the blending of technology with our everyday lives has created a new kind of consumer: a digital native. Customers became the disruptive force in the insurance industry. With so much focus on instant gratification, endless choice and consistent change are omnipresent. And with comparison sites, ratings and testimonials just a click away, customers are quick to leave sign-up processes as soon as they encounter friction. According to Deloitte, by 2024, nearly 33% of the premium insurance volume will come from brand new propositions. That means that the industry is rapidly shifting from product-led to service-led offerings that deliver a holistic experience to customers. It also means that technologies are quickly maturing. While AI, IoT and big data have been buzzwords until recently, today, it is difficult to imagine the future of insurance without these technologies. Insurance always had the reputation of a very conservative industry. This, too, is rapidly changing. In an effort to push their digital transformation initiatives forward and satisfy the demands of modern consumers, insurers today became early adopters of the latest technologies. Digital-first insurers and tech giants entering the insurance space are one of the forces pushing the industry as a whole toward an innovative mindset. Personalization is the name of the game. Laser-focused personalization capabilities are the new competitive edge when it comes to acquiring and keeping customers in 2021 and beyond. Customers are well aware that digital communications mean that their insurer collects their personal data — everything from behavioral data to their location or any information they have submitted. In return, customers expect a business to use this information in order to improve and personalize their experience. From the moment a potential client lands on an insurer’s website, it is up to the insurer to use the treasure trove of data they have on each user in order to improve their experience. The ability to deliver personalized, well-timed offers is a primary driver of conversions in the digital realm. Offering a specific person a tailored product at a perfect price point can significantly increase a policy sale probability, customer retention, as well as lifetime value. This shift toward digital journeys reveals how insurers are building and maintaining their customer relationships. From your website and your mobile app to your social media profiles and your email campaigns, insurers must always deliver the best customer experience. To build deeper relationships with customers throughout the entire customer journey from application to cross-selling, insurers must build engaging, personalized journeys at every step of the way. Life insurance isn’t an investment, but it does have that savings component. Life insurance is a conservative portion of your investment portfolio that allows you to put in dollars on a tax-deferred basis, and unlike other vehicles, you get to control the flexibility and the options. If properly put together and funded, you can take out a tax-free income over a period to supplement your retirement. Life insurance can also be used to replace income from your pension or Social Security. Lastly, it can be used to cover long-term care costs. A lot of modern policies even have benefits for long-term care. With life insurance policies with cash value, the cash value grows tax-deferred within the contract, and beneficiaries are paid federal income tax-free. Using life insurance and buy-sell agreements upfront can help guarantee continuity of the business. There are always going to be expenses that come along with an estate. Life insurance provides liquidity to pay for some of those expenses and estate charges. While purchasing life insurance, term insurance, also known as ‘pure’ insurance, is popular because it’s easy to understand and considerably less expensive than other types of permanent life insurance, such as universal-life or whole-life insurance policies. A whole-life or universal-life policy may cost 5 to 15 times more than a term insurance policy with the same benefit. It’s no surprise the most popular type of life insurance is term insurance. It is important to explore ways to use life insurance as part of your financial plan.

July 08 2021

A question of finance

Although the global pandemic continues, glimmers of hope, in the form of vaccines, have appeared that promise the potential to get people moving again. A clear uptick in the onboarding and usage of digital banking services was expected during the pandemic. And that’s precisely what happened. Forrester reported in October that 14% of US online adults used digital banking for the first time during the pandemic, and it seems like it won’t be their last time. Add that to an additional 14.2 million US citizens who count a digital bank as their only bank, and it’s clear this is here to stay. As digital services take priority in both neo and traditional banking structures, change is coming to brick-and-mortar branches. Banks have been reducing physical branches in favor of digital services for quite some time, which presents challenges such as access for some clients as well as risk management. As a result, banks are onboarding new technology to make services more accessible to all clients, from making transactions easier to making lending more straightforward and even automating processes such as risk management. In 2020, the amount of savings held by individuals rose. “Forced saving,” due to lockdowns and restrictions, meant that many consumers were not spending as they usually would. And when they did spend, it was generally with an online retailer. As savings increased, spending from the start of the pandemic through September decreased to 90% of the expected figure without a pandemic. What can we expect from consumer spending and saving habits going forward? Potentially, lower-income households could be more likely to seek short-term loans to plug gaps in their finances. Meanwhile, higher-income households may be more likely to seek investments. In 2020, consumer credit took a plunge. In late 2020, EY predicted that consumer credit would be down 5.6% for the year. Potentially, this is the result of lockdowns and various other restrictions. The exception is mortgage lending, which is predicted to grow by 3.4% in 2021. Business lending is also on the rise. During the ongoing pandemic, loans have been instrumental for small and medium-sized businesses to help their businesses stay open long term. Many have used both private and government-issued loans to do so. Although many services have gone digital, that doesn’t mean the human experience needs to. Whether it’s in a branch, on the phone or via a messenger, the care you deliver your customers will make all the difference in whether they stay with your bank or not. With so many options out there, what will set your business apart is being able to provide services without delay and with a little humanity. On cloud nine The fintech industry is capitalizing on the benefits of the cloud, helping to drive the industry’s forecasted 23.84% compound annual growth rate. When the pandemic hit full force in early 2020, there was a dire need for remote self-service technology. As the crisis continues, and even after the pandemic ends, this need will not evaporate. Conversely, it may increase, especially if you consider the continuing closures of brick-and-mortar bank branches. Both individuals and businesses need the ability to open and manage their finances from a distance. Despite early concerns regarding security and data protection, the cloud has proved reasonably secure if the right measures are taken. Zero-trust verification and encrypted data have increased cloud security in recent years. When used alongside measures such as employee education and access control, among others, the cloud proves itself no riskier than traditional IT infrastructure setups. For fintech providers, no doubt, security is at the forefront of their minds when adopting new technology, and it’s vital they make sure their systems have adequate measures in place. Acquiring and working with data is a top priority, from onboarding and identity verification processes to account management, balance, checking, analyzing spending habits, etc. Data is key. Companies can use cloud technology to gather and store large quantities of data securely and make it accessible at any time. Cloud technology provides the agility to scale relatively easily while saving on on-premises technology infrastructure, which can be more costly to upgrade. Moving infrastructure to the cloud measures accessibility, flexibility, and scalability for both fintechs and financial giants.

June 17 2021

More than just skin deep

Consumers are placing more value on health and wellness these days, and the definition of health and wellness has evolved. The phrase now refers to a more holistic state of being, where one’s mental, physical and emotional health are in sync. Looking great, feeling good and sleeping well are the new luxuries that consumers want to enjoy and flaunt. Today’s customers want to be healthy and happy, no matter who they are. Owning the most expensive or the latest goods has taken a back seat to looking good and feeling good, and consumers are showing an increasing preference for participating in activities and indulging in experiences that promote their well-being — and sharing them with their friends. People are spending on a holistic approach to health and wellness that includes nearly every aspect of life, even sleep. Consumers are increasingly participating in fitness classes and activities that improve well-being; using products, devices and apps that aid sleep; and eating organic and natural foods, taking health supplements, and following special diets. Millennials are driving this growth. According to the Harris Group, 72% of millennials would rather spend money on experiences than on material goods, and that preference is forcing retailers to adapt as more millennials ascend into adulthood and increase their spending power. For millennials, wellness is a daily pursuit, and one they are willing to spend on. The global beauty and personal products market is nearly $400 billion, and expected to grow to more than $700 billion by 2026. And the global skincare market increased nearly 60% in the past decade, and is projected to be worth $183 billion in four years. Rapidly changing cosmetic preferences are affecting the global marketplace, as most consumers find cruelty towards animals unethical and are spreading awareness against it. Moreover, embracing natural substitutes such as plant-based personal care products is working in favor of the market. More and more people are striving to make purchases that are in line with their personal values, whether it’s to use more sustainable ingredients, reduce pollution, or avoid animal cruelty. A tale of two fates Recent retail news depicts a tale of two distinct fates: stores that are prospering, and those that are barely hanging on. Why are some retailers thriving while others are gasping for air? Smart use of technology and recognition of customer values is what shapes the performance of modern retailers. As consumer habits and beliefs evolve, so too should retail strategies. In almost every category of consumer packaged goods, sustainability is where the growth is. Therefore, it’s critical for modern retailers to prove to consumers that they make sustainability a priority in business operations, whether it's sourcing only from sustainable textile mills or running stores on 100% renewable energy. Consumers will gravitate to brands that demonstrate this larger purpose. Retailers today must be invested in technology in order to survive. Omnichannel retail — or seamlessly connecting different channels within one shopping journey — is essential in this effort because by offering multiple platforms for consumers to shop on, retailers will offer increased convenience and personalization and create opportunities to maximize revenue. What sets the health and beauty industry apart? The major difference has been a laser focus on technology. Health and beauty retailers have adopted digital strategies to enhance customer engagement. The combination of leveraging platforms like YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram — which shoppers look to for tutorials — with in-store technology that provides personalized product recommendations has transformed shopping in the beauty industry. Health and beauty retailers have done an exceptional job at serving up top-notch digital and in-store experiences, recognizing shifting consumer values and catering to different types of consumers. It’s clear from the rise of specialty beauty retailers that keeping up with consumer preferences and new technologies is the primary way that retailers will stay afloat — or better yet, prosper — in the future. Role of TMP Here at TMP, we understand how important it is to help customers feel good, having been in the health and beauty industry for more than 30 years. We reinforce the client's message, engaging the customers, gently nudging them to try the product, and making them regular users, who return month after month. We appeal to the customer's need for a healthy lifestyle, whether it's through weight loss, vitamins, minerals and supplements or cosmetics that make you glow from the inside. We help clients boost their customers' self-confidence, by helping them feel younger and healthier. After all, a healthy customer is always a happy customer!

June 10 2021

Say cheers!

As states around the country begin to ease restrictions, residents start to emerge into public places, and restaurants open, albeit to new rules, the future of the food and beverage industry is coming into focus. While there a lot of unknowns, one thing is certain: it is going to come out of this a changed industry. Until now, restaurants have battened down their hatches and weathered the storm with combinations of furloughing, take-out programs, and as much delivery as they can support. Many states temporarily lifted bans on alcohol being served in to-go formats, giving bars a much-needed revenue stream. As restaurants begin to open, in most cases to 25% capacity or outdoor seating with social distance rules in effect, the biggest question is how consumers will change their behaviors post-pandemic. Consumers will not only need more reason to go out, but will expect more safety from their local favorites as well. The love that the food and beverage community can expect from the customer is going to be entirely conditional. Additionally, with health and safety top of mind, rules put in place for restaurants, and the explosion of virtual happy hours during coronavirus restrictions, consumers are now creating elevated drinking and dining experiences from their home while taking advantage of new take-out programs from restaurants. As a result, consumers are expanding their stock, thanks to modern barware and curated cocktail kits that simplify ‘mixology’ – bridging the gap between the industry and consumers. You might say we’re witnessing the creation of Generation D – delivery. Delivery, take out, ghost kitchens and outdoor dining. Particularly since Millennials and Gen Z adults tapped takeout or delivery for dinner at higher rates than older generations. This means having a flexible business strategy and efficient e-commerce fulfillment to meet industry and in-home consumer needs. One of the biggest keys to having the flexibility to operate in the food and beverage industry in this new normal, is partnering with companies and leveraging their expertise and people so businesses can focus on what they do best. As the food and beverage industry ramps up, there will be no “right” way to do things. And, everyone in the industry will have to leverage the strengths of each other to meet new customer behaviors and demands. This means being nimble to change strategies whether it is going from dine-in to take-out or adding e-commerce capabilities to reach consumers. Retail therapy With every threat comes an opportunity, and today that opportunity is for retailers to jump in and take advantage of the estimated $2.5 trillion in global sales ($500-600 billion in USA) that is up for grabs. This opportunity was created by the closing of various channels during the pandemic and the permanent shift in channels that has now occurred. It is essential that a retailer have a healthy combination of online sales and in-store sales, in addition to other channels, to retain customers and grow sales, especially since many consumers were introduced to e-commerce for the first time during the pandemic. Retailers need to identify which customers they want to serve what products, in which stores and online. Then they need to engage customers with social media and other incentive programs to lure them in. Stores need to have a contactless delivery and pickup system and offer a frictionless experience to consumers. Stores within stores to make for a better customer experience; private label to offer premium, nutritious and low-cost products; technology to provide cashier-less stores; suggested purchases; tracking orders and the like are all the necessary ingredients to make it in these times. Crystal gazing Curbside pickup won’t go away, and technology will play a much bigger role in supermarket strategy. Direct-to-consumer, including online sales, which grew tremendously during the pandemic, will continue to expand. An awareness of health will feed more healthy and nutritious food sales. Plant- and cell-based foods have been attracting capital and consumers at a dizzying pace. Environmentally-friendly packaging, organic foods and private label all will continue to grow in this new scenario. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we cater to all the consumer affair requirements of the client using omnichannel services. We answer and document all questions and contacts in a timely, effective, accurate, and professional manner. We interact with consumers on a daily basis, providing information on products, while also addressing any concerns. We help food and beverage companies serve as the consumer’s advocate, capturing the customer's voice on how products and services are truly performing in the marketplace. We focus on customer experience using our client's technology and analytics and make sure that any serious problems or potential issues relative to quality, brand infringement or company image are speedily addressed. This results in happy customers, and ultimately, even happier clients.

June 03 2021

The American homecoming

Sooner or later, you might join the millions of Americans who remodel or renovate their homes each year. The reasons for home remodeling are as varied as the projects homeowners undertake. For services like home improvement projects, maintenance and emergency work done, cost has always been uncertain and difficult to assess. Home improvement was up 12% and continued to deliver strong performance throughout the pandemic leading up to the March selling period. Roughly half of all households doing home improvement projects do some DIY work and then also hire a professional contractor to do additional work. This tendency does vary by age however, with those 55 and older around 50% more likely to strictly hire a pro than those between the ages of 25 and 34. The top three projects of 2020 were interior painting, bathroom remodels and new flooring, according to HomeAdvisor’s 2020 State of Home Spending report, which noted that 35% of households that completed an improvement project undertook some type of interior painting, while 31% completed a bathroom remodel and 26% installed new flooring. Interior painting, at an average cost of $2,007, is the third lowest cost project, after installing home office networking and smart home devices. However, unlike networking and smart home devices, interior painting can have a massive visual impact on your home. The sweet spot of affordability plus a large visual impact is likely also what drives the relative popularity of flooring ($4,680 and third most popular project), landscaping ($2,389 and fourth most popular project) and exterior painting ($3,291 and sixth most popular project). Of course, not all high popularity projects with high visual impact are what we would typically think of as cheap. Bathroom remodels were the second most popular project with a significantly higher average cost of $13,401. Similarly, kitchen remodels were the fifth most popular project with a much higher average cost of $35,317. Out-of-the-box solutions From she sheds and granny pods to pop-up office spaces and modular multi-story homes, shipping containers turned modular buildings are popping up all over the globe. Containers and prefab modular building products appeal to many for affordability, space-saving qualities, less environmental impact and expansion potential. Pandemic restrictions have paved the way to prefab and modular construction to accommodate remote workers who need either an isolated workspace in the backyard or a quick home extension. Home has shifted from a passive place to dwell in to an active space to host everything. With significant limitations on where we can or can't venture, people have started to put all their energy into where they are. Home improvement projects have seen a huge surge and 70% of Americans have completed home improvement projects during the pandemic. It is no surprise that demands for home offices have drastically increased with 44% of people working at home full time and many schools functioning via remote learning. In response, real-estate professionals are incorporating notes around ideal backdrops, lighting, and potential for extra rooms to fashion the perfect home office (or ‘Zoom room’). Generation Next Both Millennials and Gen-Z are seeing the home as a refuge, as many have felt stressed by issues such as climate change, the 2008 recession, student debt, and now Covid-19. With a strong majority of Millennials and Gen-Z having the goal of owning a home, how they use that home will be of interest to markets in many product categories. This will include heightened demand for: fully-equipped home offices, home fitness space and equipment, private outdoor space, well-equipped kitchens and play space for children. Covid has led to 80% of young people self-quarantining and 83% reporting that their home has provided them with comfort during the pandemic. 71% indicate that they enjoy being able to spend additional time at home. The ‘comfort’ element of the home is making young consumers more likely to indicate they want to engage in DIY home improvements. 64% of young consumers say they are more interested in home improvement than before Covid. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we help make connections. We help home improvement manufacturers get together and engage with their customers; we get the local dealer and customer together. We help with lead generation, lead distribution and appointment setting when it comes to home improvement, home services, and home warrantees. We understand the industry, have more than 30 years of experience and utilize digital tech such as mobile apps and speed-to-market techniques and this gives us an edge compared to our competitors. We go the extra mile to make sure that the customers get the best deal and service, ultimately resulting in happy clients.

May 27 2021

The full package deal

Until March 2020, ordering groceries online was mainly a growth segment driven by millennials. There's nothing like the threat of a deadly airborne virus, a nationwide shutdown of brick-and-mortar retailers and government-imposed lockdowns to incentivize consumers, from baby boomers to Generation Z, to move from occasionally ordering items online to converting their browser search bar into the front door of their supermarket.The pandemic has accelerated e-commerce growth by approximately 4 to 6 years. Look no further than Amazon for validation. The more nimble smaller shops have pivoted to take advantage of plug-and-play e-commerce platforms like Square and Shopify to stay connected with their current customers.Consumer Packaged Goods brands in all categories have spent the last decade honing their digital presence and cultivating engagement. Integrated digital marketing and advertising programs have been maturing and proliferating on all platforms. The integration extends from social media platforms to brick-and-mortar aisles, with shopper marketing programs designed to keep a brand top-of-mind and drive sales velocity while building brand affinity.Engagement with consumers is more critical than ever as consumers reach for their laptops instead of their car keys. While this integrated marketing programming supports folks who still go to the supermarket, it is perfectly suited for the consumer taking advantage of supermarket order and pick-up services. The interaction is more seamless than ever as one can locate the recipe online and add items to a grocery order without leaving their laptop.The CPG industry is a behemoth, representing nearly 10% of the national GDP. Yet as consumer habits evolve quickly and e-commerce continues to gain market share, CPG companies are facing three serious challenges: expenses (they spend 24% of their revenue on marketing), insufficient data (they have little to no first-party customer data because they sell to consumers through retailers and marketplaces) and competitors (they have growing competition from direct-to-consumer startups and private labels).By creating new products for DTC brands, categories, segments and themes – especially in emerging markets – CPG companies can become more cost-effective, data-driven and agile. Instead of spending a quarter of their revenue on marketing, they can allocate some of that budget toward lower spend channels. They can build direct relationships with customers, cultivating trust, collecting first-party data and personalizing customer experiences on different brand channels.E-commerce platforms like Shopify and Squarespace make it simple to promote new products and manage sales and fulfillment without a large investment. Since your company sells directly to customers, you own the relationship you build with them. You can expect your marketing execution to improve with your ability to gather first-party data, as you learn more of your customers’ preferences, behaviors and buying habits. Most importantly, you have permission to use their customer data, giving you opportunities to offer one-to-one personalization, research new product ideas and enhance customer experience.Brands put a lot of consideration into their packaging. The packaging is designed to help products stand apart, convey branding and display information. As CPG brands begin looking into introducing IoT elements into their packages, it behoves them to add cues designed to induce habits. This is something we haven't seen much of in the market yet, but something we can expect to see a lot of in the next year or two. We can also expect that brands will introduce more on-package rewards in which consumers scan a product to earn points toward discounted or related products as well as an increase in contests and giveaways.Brands can also use packaging to connect users into larger, connected social groups. In this instance, being part of the group is the reward that the cue induces. Through user-directed scans or packaging that syncs directly to a user's phone, consumers can join private social networks, where the users share pictures of themselves using the product, participate in exclusive events or take advantage of exclusive offers. This social adaptation will find great CPG brands mimicking the effort.TMP’s roleHere at TMP, we support the customer journey, keeping the specific brand in mind. We partner with them through multiple channels that help in customer acquisition and growth, and ultimately result in retaining the customer, making them brand advocates. We use chat, chatbot, IVR and live agents to address every single need they might have, from order details to tech support.We focus on improving customer engagement by reducing costs and increasing customer revenue, helping our clients get a better share of the market. We provide customer support 24/7, answering all queries and resolving all complaints, besides promotion of special offers and new products. We gently guide customers on every step of the relationship cycle. Ultimately, a happy customer means a happy client!

May 20 2021

Putting the ‘e’ in e-commerce

Running an e-commerce store can be a great business opportunity, especially during a pandemic, as many have learned this past year. In 2020, an estimated $1 out of every $5 spent on retail was transacted online. Marketplaces grew by over 80% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2020 and expanded their seller base by an average of 46%. It is predicted that global e-commerce sales will reach $4.2 trillion this year, with US consumers accounting for close to one-quarter of that spending. Stimulus checks and rising vaccination rates pushed US e-commerce sales to record levels in March. Americans spent an extra $8 billion online, compared to normal projections for the period, between March 11, the day the American Rescue Plan stimulus law was signed, and March 31. US consumers spent $78 billion online in March, up 49% year-over-year, the highest growth since July 2020. For the first quarter of 2021, US e-commerce sales grew 39% year-over-year, to $199 billion. US e-commerce spending this year is expected to total between $850 billion and $930 billion, and to top $1 trillion in 2022. In the United States, the promise that new stimulus checks were in the mail apparently led more consumers to use buy now, pay later options for their online purchases. Buy now, pay later purchases were up 166% year-over-year in March. Toys, furniture and bedding, video games, and auto parts were the top purchases made by US consumers in March. As e-commerce has grown, so has the popularity of curbside pickup. Many retailers with brick-and-mortar stores have adopted the system of allowing customers to order goods online and pick them up in the parking lot. This method is a massive hit as customers are able to collect their orders without even exiting their vehicles. Many shoppers expect a personalized experience from retailers. Augmented reality can help with that by allowing consumers to see how products look on them or in their homes. For example, shoppers can use apps with AR features to see how a piece of furniture looks in their living room, or to try on makeup. In today’s digital economy, consumers expect personalization as a basic standard of service. According to Salesforce data, 84% of customers say that being treated like a person (i.e., understanding their wants and needs) and not a number is critical to winning their business. Each customer should feel as if you understand their intent, and that means tailoring offers and promotions according to each shopper’s profile and habits. Mobile customers, for example, tend to skew younger and more price-sensitive. For these budget-conscious demographics, perks like free shipping can mean the difference between an abandoned cart and a completed path to purchase. Four years ago, barely more than a third of US e-commerce purchases took place on mobile, but mobile’s share is set to reach 54% this year. Mobile accounts for an even greater share of visitors referred by social media platforms, so your site should be optimized for customers to search, find reviews and pay in the quickest and easiest possible way on their phones. Influencer marketing Influencer marketing is a booming industry, and brands are on pace to spend $15 billion on social media influencers by 2022 — nearly double the $8 billion spent in 2019, according to estimates from Business Insider Intelligence. It’s no mystery why brands are willing to spend big on influencer campaigns. The ROI potential for brands big and small is vast, as 61% of consumers trust the recommendation of an influencer, whereas only 38% trust brands. Influencers’ authenticity and credibility offer real heft to companies looking for powerful brand ambassadors to stand out among the massive amount of content consumers are bombarded with every day. TMP’s role Here at TMP, we provide omnichannel support to our e-commerce clients, helping establish a direct relationship with the customer. Once a customer is driven to the website by digital media, we gently nudge customers, enhancing their shopping cart experience and converting it into sales. As most of them prefer self-service customer service, we provide assistance through chat, chatbot or IVR, escalating to a live agent if necessary. We provide the full solution with extended hours, in tandem with their in-house group to make sure customers are serviced 24/7. We fill in the gaps, making sure they have a good customer experience. We provide incentives such as coupons, to make sure they make a purchase rightaway. This results in cost-savings, generation of revenue and a better customer experience. After all, the customer is king!

May 13 2021

A silver lining

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for everyone, but especially for caregivers, home health workers and senior living facilities. While no industry remains unscathed, the pandemic is hitting senior living and post-acute care providers particularly hard. However, they continue adapting to challenges, demonstrating remarkable resilience and dedication. All senior living communities have a major role to play in the senior care continuum — even those that don’t provide dedicated clinical care. That’s because wellness has been shown to improve health outcomes among older adults, including increased independence, mobility and mental health. Psychological well-being has been tied to stronger immune responses. Employee turnover remains an ongoing challenge, with rates exceeding 33% in senior care, according to Argentum’s 2020 Report. We’ve seen turnover rates exceeding 70% among caregiving staff in many skilled nursing facilities. The pandemic further drives the staffing shortage as caregivers struggle to manage competing priorities, from caring for children and family members to juggling demanding work schedules and striving to protect their health. Meanwhile, longer lifespans are increasing the demand for care. In the US, nearly 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. Research estimates that many of the 67 million people over age 60 need or will need care. In the next 20 years, another 65 million more Americans will turn 65 while experts predict the number of seniors who need long-term care will increase to 15 million in the next 30 years. By 2034, the population aged 65-and-older is expected to, for the first time in American history, outnumber the 18-and-under population. According to the US Census Bureau, between 1960 and 2015, the average life expectancy increased from 67.7 years to 79.4 years. By 2040, life expectancy in the US is likely to be 85 years or higher. According to AARP, the number of caregivers to senior ratio is also changing dramatically. In 2010, there were seven potential caregivers for every senior in need of care or support. By 2030, the ratio is expected to be 4:1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that by 2026, there will be 7.8 million direct care job openings due to a shortage of workers. As the senior population grows exponentially, so do the business opportunities available to long-term care operators to meet tomorrow’s needs. Boomers in particular — children of most senior living residents and potential senior living inhabitants themselves — often have issues with the way the $250 billion senior living industry is run and what it offers. Amid rising turnover and rapidly expanding care needs, many operators face an unprecedented staffing crisis. Skilled nursing and assisted living facilities that were short-staffed before the pandemic are finding hiring and retaining nurses even harder now. They know quality of care is intrinsically linked to staffing but struggle to overcome this shortage. Digital transformation through workforce management will be key to solving the pressing issues facing senior living and post-acute care facilities, from meeting staffing challenges and reducing overhead costs to safeguarding residents and staff to achieving operational efficiencies. Many communities are already integrating telehealth into their service offerings, providing much-needed care within the comforts of the home. If your loved one must be in a senior care community, you will need to be their advocate and investigate the facility carefully and diligently. Look over the caregiving records, and make sure everyone has the correct protective gear while caring for the residents. Ask questions, set up meetings and explore their practices and protocols to protect employees, clients, and residents under normal circumstances and during times of crisis. TMP’s role TMP provides a dedicated team of specially trained senior living community counselors to manage and nurture online referrals. The counselors follow a robust workflow of learning the family story, building a relationship, conducting an in-depth needs assessment, providing recommendations and solutions, offering financial assistance and matching the family needs to a local community. Once matched to the community, the counselor sets up a tour of the facility. Our extensive knowledge of the senior living referral industry is our greatest strength and we understand the domain. The average counselor tenure is 7 years, and the annual attrition rate is less than 15% (while the industry average is 40%). We look for empathy, strong listening skills, motivation to help, strong work ethics and value system besides caregiving passion in our counselors. We take into consideration the type of housing needed, medical requirements and dietary concerns and provide information on services, amenities, community features, FAQs, pricing, floor plans, special events, menus, and photos. We understand that this is a difficult decision for caregivers, but you can rest assured that your loved ones are in good hands. After all, we are professionals!

May 06 2021

IVR to the rescue!

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition that many organizations were already making from traditional sales teams handling all revenue transactions to leveraging e-commerce or online stores for transactional and lower-dollar deals. Not only have sales organizations determined they must focus higher-cost resources on larger revenue clients, but they have also realized that buyers and customers prefer to use self-service options. We have all heard the standard advice on communicating with your customers. It would include, don’t keep people on hold too long, make a good first impression, speak to your customers like real people, don’t use scripted language, be willing to apologize, take responsibility when something goes wrong, and make sure to end conversations effectively. Technology is now playing a big role in customer service. AI-fueled chatbots, interactive voice response systems (IVRs) and other technologies are rapidly growing in popularity. However, we can’t ignore the basics, and the common thread between them is the human-to-human interaction. While there is plenty of room for technology to be a part of those interactions, we cannot lose sight of what many of today’s customers still want, which is to communicate with a person. That doesn’t mean that some customers don’t prefer purely digital solutions. While some appear to always want to talk to a human, there are ways of integrating technology that will give your customers the service they expect and prefer, while still giving them a human experience. As technology is evolving, the customer service we provide also needs to evolve. You need to know your audience and what will resonate with them. Deliver a modern, convenient experience that still keeps your customers feeling like they are connected to people, and not a computer. When customers are queuing for an IVR, offer them an option to chat with an agent. Customers will receive a link via SMS and can click on the link to start a chat with an agent. Pass on IVR data to the chat agent, allowing customers to restart the conversation where they left off. Sometimes people just want a quick quote on price, or they are having login issues. Whatever the reason, it’s always a good idea to be able to answer a customer’s question on the spot. When customers call, your ability to quickly respond to them is directly related to their impression of your business — and their likelihood to purchase (or repurchase). More than 70% of customers believe that respect for their time is paramount when it comes to service. So, attracting and keeping clients requires timely, top-notch communication. However, traditional phone services can tie you to your desk or storefront. Further, many businesses are moving away from landlines. For instance, among employees and SMBs, 62% use smartphones for work purposes. Mobile phones offer added flexibility but are still not ideal. You have to use the same device for personal and business calls, or you have to carry two devices. Here’s where IVR comes handy. An IVR or “auto-attendant” can make dealing with after-hours calls easier. Based on the time of day, you can choose to redirect calls to a specific team member or set an internal after-hours response schedule to share responsibility among team members. Technology is driving new ways to engage customers. Whether you’re making a customer service experience more convenient with auto-callback facility, expanding your presence with social customer care, or using memes or humor to infuse some fun and personality into your business, you need to maintain a balance between evolving technology and good old-fashioned customer service. IVR at TMP Here at TMP, the IVR is integrated with our CRM, and is a client-specific, complete solution. It is designed to engage the customer, capture customer data and provide information on orders, transactions and shipping status, besides pre-sales Q&A, lead generation and renewal processing. The number recognition facility makes sure the live agent has all the relevant information even before talking to the customer. The edge that TMP has is the facility to record IVR calls and listen to it within five minutes on a platform, to monitor customer satisfaction on a daily basis. We also have ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) facility, which greatly improves the customer experience, besides reducing the cost. Though we have both IVR and live agents, we make sure the customer experience is never compromised and we exceed our KPIs every time to guarantee customer satisfaction. We provide the full range of services to make sure we have happy clients. After all, it’s our customers who make us who we are!

April 29 2021

The future is calling

Call centers have leveraged advanced technology for decades. As nascent applications in artificial intelligence gained traction in the 2000s, call centers were more focused on using tech to reduce costs than they were on improving customer experience. It’s no surprise that the market for call-center AI technology is expected to increase from $800 million in 2019 to $2.8 billion by 2024. First, the mass adoption of smartphones, social media, and consumer-friendly apps changed customers’ expectations forever. Second, the explosive growth of widely-available cloud services and machine-learning tools has put powerful new AI capabilities in the hands of call centers to improve customer service in all forms. Enterprise executives today cite customer experience as their Number 1 reason for investing in AI; cost reduction has now moved to second place. The role of AI AI-enabled conversational agents, for example, are expected to handle nearly 20% of all customer service requests by 2022. That alone relieves human agents of huge burdens and time. And when you do talk to a live agent these days, AI tools are bringing many of them up to speed even before they get on the line. They already know who you are, what you need, and, in most cases, how to get it. AI now has a powerful role in digital marketing, as it is used widely to customize the digital journey to each person. It is quickly becoming apparent that AI also has a significant role in bridging the customer experience between the action of selling to them and responding to customer needs regarding a purchased product or service. The customers that contact the customer support center are the best source of new revenue. Natural language understanding (NLU) software—using seven language models and two acoustic models—now translates more than 90% of spoken sentences that it “hears” from customers. AI-enabled conversational assistants aren’t just getting customers basic information they need; behind the scenes, they are also feeding human agents intelligent data and analysis to deliver better, faster outcomes, without customers ever being aware. Using another type of AI application related to NLU, called sentiment analysis, virtual assistants can parse customers’ spoken or written comments to understand what they are trying to accomplish. Then they can recommend a handful of solutions—not to the customer, but rather to the agent, who can use her human skills (such as the ability to gauge and respond to customers’ emotions) to decide on the best option. The end result is reduced call times and a more personalized customer experience. Similar types of AI applications can help sales teams make smarter decisions and help boost customer satisfaction. A growing number of companies are using machine learning tools to turn dozens of data types into customer risk scores. And when the scores rise to certain benchmarks, the software alerts sales teams and sends recommendations for personalized offers like rebates, discounts or other perks. The business payoff? Lower churn rates and higher customer satisfaction scores. For all the hype around AI, surprisingly few companies have embraced it in call center operations. But adoption rates are expected to climb rapidly in the coming years, in part because the pandemic has forced many call centers to shift suddenly to a remote-work model, and many won’t be returning to the pre-pandemic status quo. Many contact centers have experienced an explosion in call volume. Contact center agents have really had to change the way that they had been working for the last 30 years, with everyone being forced to work remote, almost overnight. TMP’s call center Here at TMP, we provide extended hours, even overnight and during the weekend, to make sure that our clients get the support that they need, 24/7. We fill in tech gaps using customer relationship management tools specific to each client, utilizing knowledgebase software like Adobe RoboHelp. We help our clients progress from being a just cost-neutral center to a profit center by providing cost-effective solutions. We enhance the customer experience through self-service options such as IVR and chatbot. Our customer service agents are trained extensively on the platform, policies & procedures, response delivery and product before handling calls for our clients. This improves our customer satisfaction scores and helps us exceed our KPIs every time. We focus on technology, analytics, process and people and our customer-centric approach guarantees success and happy clients. Ultimately, of course, the only increase that matters is the level of customer satisfaction. And this is one area that TMP excels in, with an average customer satisfaction score of 93% for the first quarter this year. Here’s looking forward to more happy clients!

April 23 2021

A new look at chatbots

If you’re looking for ways to spice up your customer service department, then it’s time to look into chatbots. When used correctly, they can enhance the user experience, improve engagement and provide customers with actionable solutions. Chatbots have proved their mettle when it comes to simple transactional tasks; and now brands are looking to create interactions that are also memorable and experiential. Brands also need to consider how their chatbots look, act and sound — how they interact with people, not just transact with them. Chatbots need to show emotions like empathy, warmth, friendliness or bemusement. Chatbots can answer questions, make recommendations and more, driving up both leads and engagement for brands. They can be personalized to customer needs based on the prompts that a customer asks or answers throughout their interaction. They help businesses directly sell their products, book appointments, nurture leads, capture contact info and build relationships. Chatbots work to meet your potential customers at different stages in their buying journey. They can create engaging, immersive experiences for your audience that provide them with a deeper understanding of your products and services and improve customer experience, both of which are crucial to converting your potential customers into brand advocates. It’s true that chatbots are now capable of impersonating human beings pretty well and holding impressively natural conversations. But then, there are times when only human interaction will do. Unless you want to alienate your audience, you will need to think carefully regarding which tasks are suited to chatbots and which are best left to humans. Customers expect speedy service and solutions to their problems and if a business fails to provide answers quickly, customers won’t come back. It’s important to prioritize those already doing business with you so that you can continue building on those relationships. Chatbots are a great way to offer users real-time, round-the-clock support that moves customers through the sales funnel. Instead of using a chatbot for self-service, it can be used to identify the user’s goal when they call, collect some basic information and then transfer to an agent to handle the actual issue. This means that agent handle times decrease significantly due to fewer transfers and by spending less time gathering customer information. Freeing agents from handling these inquiries also means that they can focus on more complex problems and human empathy. Bots boost engagement, satisfaction, and also free up the founder’s and employees’ time to run the business and grow sales. Chatbots are a competitive advantage because they generate leads and respond to questions all the time, unlike humans. By interacting and providing answers in real-time, they also prevent visitors from checking out your competitors. With so many e-commerce options available, you need to consider what makes you different from your competitors. What makes you stand out and gives you an edge that separates you from the rest? Here’s where TMP’s chatbot comes handy. TMP's new chatbot TMP's chatbot has a knowledge layer, on top of machine learning and a dialogue engine for intelligent responses. The knowledge layer helps bail out on errors from machine learning, while the dialogue engine manages fail cases and unexpected conversations. This results in a higher range of conversational capabilities for effective engagement and predictable performance, while costing a fraction of the manual channel. The benefits of TMP's chatbot include the following: * A fully-powered AI platform that provides a range of conversations from general responses, consulting/interactive conversations, to context-based promotions/messaging and more. * A flexible, adaptable solution that evolves along with the evolving needs of the business. * A one-stop solution that takes care of all types of conversational automations, all channels, and all processes such as sales, service, tech support, feedback, front-desk etc. * It is IoT-capable and works on smart speakers too. * It has a live-chat module for all channels including Web, WhatsApp, and more. * It supports more than 150 languages. * It can be integrated with any system with restful APIs. * All conversations are end-to-end encrypted with socket layer. * Conversational flows are changeable within the dialogue engine. * Quick customer engagement 24/7, with zero wait times for response. * No manual keying in of requests into CRM, fetching information and relaying to customers. TMP’s chatbot is just the competitive edge you need in your business!

April 15 2021