The "Boomer"ang Effect
A new study released by Weber Shandwick in conjunction with KRC Research revealed that companies are overlooking a relatively untapped area through which to gain competitive
advantage: the relationship networks of baby boomers, or people between the ages of 42 and 60. According to the survey, which polled more than 500 U.S. boomers, these "boomer-to-
friend" (B2F) connections can influence purchasing decisions for products and services.
Among the findings:
- 84% of boomer recommendations are made face-to-face; 82% are made over the phone; 45% are made online;
- 42% of boomers' purchasing decisions are influenced by a company's social or environmental policies; and
- Only 5% of boomers who made a recommendation in the past year had been asked about financial services such as insurance, banking, investments and retirement, reiterating
their financial strength, independence and ongoing employment as they age.
The study also suggests ways in which the findings can help marketing and communications professionals reach boomers more effectively:
- Realize the trend of personal connections and communications in boomers' recommendation practices, and translate that into the way you communicate with the demographic;
- Speak to boomers' growing eco-consciousness by homing in on CSR messaging when targeting the audience; and
- Note the conversational gap when it comes to financial services, as boomers appear to spend the most time discussing other aspects of their lives.
Customer Relations: It's All The Rage
PR practitioners and corporate communicators may not always have their fingers on the pulse of the customer relations function, but that's not necessarily a good thing -
especially considering how much impact customer opinion has on corporate reputation.
Case in point: According to a global survey conducted by Dimension Data, companies are increasing their adoption of contact-center technologies to address consumer complaints.
To keep PR professionals in the know about new trends and technologies to improve the customer experience, here are the key statistics:
- Customer satisfaction rates for North American contact centers dropped from 84% in 2005 to 62.9% in 2007. Common reasons include long hold times, poor voice recognition
software, hard-to-understand agents and absence of live agents;
- Contact centers reported an average hold time of 64 second, which is a 73% increase from last year;
- 69.3% of centers record calls to ensure quality service;
- 75% of surveyed contact centers still own some or all of their technologies, rather than outsourcing them overseas; and
- 64.9% of contact centers use call prioritization as their preferred routing approach, which determines the order in which a live agent will attend to a request based.
While contact center technologies aren't the responsibility of communications professionals, they should be abreast of the customer service complaints and opportunities within
their organizations. New technologies are enabling a more pleasant customer experience; it's just a matter of getting the messages - both good and bad - from the mouth of the
caller to the PR exec who can enact change.
Diversity Most Valuable Players
DiversityInc released its 2007 list of the top 50 companies for diversity, giving a well-deserved nod to corporate behemoths that keep the importance of a diverse workforce
top-of-mind. The top 15 diversity citizens include:
1. Bank of America
2. Pepsi Bottling Group
3. AT&T
4. The Coca-Cola Co.
5. Ford Motor Co.
6. Verizon Communications
7. Xerox Corporation
8. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York
9. JPMorgan Chase
10. PepsiCo
11. Wachovia
12. PricewaterhouseCoopers
13. Sodexho
14. Procter & Gamble
15. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida