Educational Sessions

Monday September 20th

10:30AM - 11:45AM

Enhance your ability to become an integral strategic planning partner in your organization. When we are ethical in customer relationships, promote emotional intelligence in the workplace, own every customer interaction, are consistent in service quality and delivery, and demonstrate a willingness to go the extra mile, we increase the value of our service function. Learn, discuss and interact with our panel of experts and share practical strategies to incorporate into your current business practices that can positively impact the overall strategic plan of your organization, increase customer loyalty and improve your bottom line.

Attendees will understand the fast paced battle to stay ahead of malicious spyware programmers and the intense demands of support personnel who are on the front lines in this day to day battle. Within this hyper-competitive market, iS3 (makers of STOPzilla) had to differentiate themselves by providing a superior customer experience. Live chat has powered-up the company's care organization while simultaneously reducing costs. In just 45 days the company was delighting thousands of customers a week by responding in real time to support issues via the live chat channel. This case study, bolstered by leading industry research will leave attendees with the knowledge necessary to determine if live chat is a good solution for them, and the steps required for the technology to help provide them with the power to deliver great service.

2:00PM - 3:15PM

Session 3:“Reignite Your Brand: How Compelling Customer Experiences Advance Your Brand and Your Opportunities"
Mary Kathryn Dean - Alternative Apparel

Customer Service is seen by many organizations as a cost center or a place where problem customers are sent. But what if we looked at the customer service department as the place where loyal, raving fans were born? A compelling customer experience helps to differentiate brands, ignite word of mouth and ultimately catalyze growth.

Through storytelling and real world experiences you’ll learn:

Why an internal Branding Campaign helps customer-facing employees deliver a consistent brand experience to your customers each day.
How creating an authentic connection with customers distinguishes customer experience from customer service.
The importance of empowering your employees to take ownership of the customer experience.
How to foster innovation, execute new ideas and create a unique, memorable experience.

Bring your questions for a lively Q&A!

The power of the cell phone is here to stay and has become a major tool in establishing and maintaining ongoing proactive contact with your customers. Session attendees will learn how one company embraced the new technology to establish a closer relationship with its customer base. The session will also detail the steps that must be taken to establish a successful SMS messaging program designed to notify customers of special programs, coupons and product enhancements as well as new programs, products and other services designed to retain and grow customer loyalty and support.

3:30PM - 4:45PM

Session 5:"Hiring for TODAY's Contact Center - Improving the Probability of Making the Right Hire"
Tom Rocca - SupportSeven
Jeff Furst - Furst Person
Scott Stevenson - E*TRADE Financial

Recruiting and hiring the right people for your center is crucial to your operations. Turnover is costly and under-performing agents can slow down your business. This session will explore how using a standardized pre-hire assessment process - of both your company and your applicants - can help you identify the best candidates to build your agent team and to keep your center growing.

Session 6: "The Power of Digital Customer Care"
Beth Dockins - Scotts Lawn Service, Division of Scotts Miracle-Gro Corporation

1.4M Americans have taken advantage of the Federal Tax credits and have suddenly become homeowners and first time service-consumers en mass. This "new" service buyer expects to have a single point of communication to quickly engage and resolve. "First call resolution" is transitioning to "first touch resolution" - and increasingly, "Pre-emptive Resolution." "If I have to communicate with you, you better 'have an app for that' and better still, anticipate my needs and pre-emptively resolve my need." World class service organizations can only sustain a competitive advantage with Customer Sat and Loyalty Market Research metrics that have evolved and continue support these trends. Attendees will gain: * Unique insight of competitive advantages gained by utilizing social media as a compelling tool to augment traditional customer satisfaction and loyalty methods. * Cust Sat metrics are completely reliant on consumers willingness to engage and provide feedback. Learn why emerging social media encourages customers to eagerly and pro-actively "evangelize" in a forum that is growing at warp speed.

Tuesday, September 21st

9:45AM - 11:00AM

Session 7:"MARTA Case Study: Customer Service KPI's and Their Overall Impact on the Organizations' Customer Service Satisfaction"
Roosevelt Stripling - MARTA
Sherry R. Evans - Customer Service 101

Each year, the MARTA Board of Directors works with staff to comprehensively update the Authority's overall strategic plan (its vision, mission and goals), including the development of Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) intended to help better assess MARTA's operational and financial performance. The KPI's have been designed to enhance transparency, accountability, and overall agency performance. The Report Card tracks the organization's monthly successes in several key areas (such as; MARTA's Strategic Initiative to "Provide a total quality customer experience"). Thus the area that this case study will focus on is Customer Service and the Power of Service.

Some of the topics discussed and lessons learned are:

• How to identify top KPI's that most impact the customer
• How to track and report back to management and the customer
• How to utilize the information for continued improvements that is most critical to the customer
• How to develop key training modules that focus on support staff development that is specific to the skills needed to focus on service over the telephone, face to face and via email
• How to implement and coordinate multiple training modules
• How to build on the "positive momentum" from the initial training
• Provide participants with a template for the tracking, recording and employee development based on the power of the service indicators provided by the customer
  
  

Session 8:"An insight into the 'Enterprise Way'"
Cole Carroll - Enterprise Holdings
Todd Hunt - Enterprise Holdings

The biggest ideas are often the simplest. Enterprise founder, Jack Taylor, had an idea to focus the resources of Enterprise, on the satisfaction of our customers and the success of our employees. And, in his words, "The rest will take care of itself." For more than 50 years, his innovative commitment has held true, and we continue to be recognized for our world-class customer service and the way we advance our professionals.

Yes, we pick people up. And we do it in more ways than one. The idea of driving vehicles to our customers was developed by one of our managers in Florida, and the service quickly spread across the country. It's just one example of our commitment to innovation, to customer service and to listening to our people. If you bring your drive, dedication and determination to Enterprise, maybe we can pick you up.

Join this session and learn how Enterprise has been successful in not only measuring customer satisfaction but also in directly tying it into the success of our employees.

11:15AM - 12:30PM

Session 9:"Delivering Consistent 'National Brand ' Services at Multiple 'Local' Locations
David Carrithers - Martiz, Inc.

The challenge of providing world-class levels of customer service through a services business located in multiple states, with diverse employees, in a variety of industries and markets. The session will include a review of tools utilized, training provided and possible solutions to the support of customer service in this environment.

Session 10: "eLearning - Not ALL Training is Evil"
Don Yager - Afni Inc.

During these challenging economic times, we all look for ways to cut costs, increase performance, and gain flexibility as we try to figure out what the future will hold. There is a LOT of buzz lately around eLearning and CBT (Computer Based Training) as a means to cut cost and increase performance. If one solution to a problem is training and you are considering eLearning you need to make sure your investment will deliver results. In this session, you will learn:

• Keys to effective training, regardless of the approach or methodology
• Why some eLearning fails, while others shine
• Benefits of eLearning when properly designed and deployed
• Examples of returns on your investment (Increased Sales, Increased Customer Experience, Cost Savings)
• Guidelines for effective eLearning development

2:30PM - 4:00PM

Session 11: The Secret to Customer Satisfaction: Energized, Engaged & Empowered Employees. How call center supervisors drive employee engagement to achieve long-term success.
Barbara Burke - Barbara Burke & Associates, Inc.
Kathleen F. Kerr - New Jersey Natural Gas Company

What do legendary service providers like Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom's and Zappos have in common? Highly engaged employees who have a fanatical commitment to wowing their customers every time. It's no coincidence that companies who have a high percentage of engaged employees also have high rates of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Studies by Gallup, Towers & Perrin and others point to several internal drivers of employee engagement, the most important of which is the quality of supervision and support employees receive from their immediate supervisor. According to Gallup, "Supervisors who cultivate positive, caring relationships with agents generate high levels of engagement and customer satisfaction."

Hear the inspiring story and the lessons learned as a call center trains their supervisors to improve employee engagement scores and make a measurable difference in escalated calls by converting from reactive "firefighting" mode to a more proactive, personalized and intentional model of supervision.

Session 12: How to be a Dynamic Trainer
Gwen Thomas - Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center

This results-focused session has been developed around these 4 learning objectives - core competencies guaranteed to make you a stronger, more effective trainer:

1. Identify what motivates adults to learn - and master proven techniques to motivate them.
Entire books have been written on the topic of motivating adult learners, because it's the toughest challenge any trainer faces. That's why early on in your training day you'll identify key factors that motivate adults to learn, as well as the basic learning styles. Then you'll master proven techniques and strategies for motivating different types of learners - including the resistant learner. You'll also gain insight into how to encourage positive attitudes toward learning among your participants.
2. Learn how to increase audience participation by incorporating
learning games, panels, role playing and other activities into your session.
If your participants sometimes resemble bumps on the proverbial log, know you're not alone! Engaging learners will become much easier, however, once you're armed with dozens of interactive learning tools you'll learn in this workshop. Find out not only how to incorporate games, panel discussions, role playing, pen and paper exercises, and other small and large group activities into your programs, but how to maintain control of them - and tie them back into your learning objectives.
3. Learn dozens of expert ways to polish your presentation style.
Whether you're a seasoned trainer or brand new to the field, you'll benefit from proven tips and techniques for enhancing your voice, improving your delivery, sharpening your image as a trainer and more. We'll also cover how to work effectively with multimedia and how to choose visuals that will drive your points home. You'll find out how to avoid the most commonly made presentation blunders, so you'll look like the pro you are - and earn the reputation of an outstanding trainer.
4. Learn quick, super-effective ways to deal with difficult participants and tough training situations.
Snipers, gripers, jokers and know-it-alls can throw you off your game fast - and can distract the rest of the audience from learning anything. But you'll be amazed at how quickly difficult participants can be turned around when you've mastered techniques designed to counteract specific antics. You'll also find out how to professionally handle tough training situations like people coming and going in the training room, outside noise, faulty equipment and more.

Wednesday, September 22nd

9:45AM - 11:00AM

Session 13:"Ask the Experts"
Nancy Porte - Vovici
Scott Broetzmann - Customer Care Measurement and Consulting
Keynote Speaker Bio's

Do not miss this unique opportunity to ask these outstanding experts from the customer service industry any question regarding your most important customer service issues and needs. Simply put, if all your questions were not answered, this will be your opportunity to ask and get responses from the experts in this open forum and highly interactive session.