The CMCone.com Blog

Cardholders Seeking Your Help (3 of 4)

Opportunity Abounds

A continuing theme that we have heard in the trades and that we believe to be true is that a significant opportunity exists for financial institutions, community banks and credit unions in particular, to capitalize on recent events and the current economic situation.  Consumers are looking for simplicity and transparency in card offerings, and are seeking products that will help them manage their finances.  They are also looking for financial partners that they can rely on.  Skepticism still abounds however, and new regulations can present an opportunity to communicate positively with your customers and members about the fair terms that are available to them by emphasizing your products, at a time when they need it the most!

Cardholders Seeking Your Help (2 of 4)

Improvement Coming

The fact is we are not out of the woods yet, but we look to 2010 and beyond with higher hopes!  Most prognosticators indicate that the first half of 2010, in particular, may continue to show sluggishness or a possible deterioration in many economic indicators.  The latest Conference Board Economic Forecast for the U.S. Economy predicts unemployment will peak in the spring at 10.5% and remain above 10% throughout next year.  On the flip side, it calls for modest increases in real consumer spending (1.0%) and personal income (1.4%) in 2010.  The unemployment situation is likely to continue to put pressure on delinquency and losses in credit portfolios in the near-term, while expectations for increases in spending and income could translate into modest improvement in volume for both credit and debit issuers.

Cardholders Seeking Your Help (1 of 4)

Ready to Move Ahead

We are off to a fast start with the beginning of the New Year and I am sure we are all glad to have closed the books on 2009.  What a challenging year it was!  With the economy already swooning, the Federal Reserve instituted new UDAP regulations that included sweeping changes for the card industry, only to be accelerated with the passage of the Credit CARD Act of 2009. 

While recent upward movements in the stock market are a positive sign, the economy continues to present challenges.  Unemployment rates continue to increase and the housing market, while appearing to have bottomed out, is slow to rebound.  The overall economic situation has contributed to higher delinquency and charge-offs for credit issuers, smaller ticket size purchases and a slowed transaction growth in debit.

CMC B2B Lead Generation Case Study Part 3 of 3

Campaign Results

To date, one sale has been closed and implemented and there are 10 leads at the "Serious Conversation" status, which is the final stage of the lead's lifecycle prior to Close and Implementation.  CMC has produced the following results:

• 1 deal boarded - it took less than one month to move a call from a prospect to a customer!
• 270 qualified leads were distributed to Sales Representatives in the first 30 days
• 4,195 dials since the start of the campaign

Lessons Learned

In the short time this campaign has been in operation, CMC has gathered a great deal of positive feedback from customers and sales representatives such as the following:

• The sales team is more effective with a pre-qualified lead list
• Prospective customers appreciate rapport-building and educational nature of call, rather than a "cold call" face to face approach
• CMC's uniquely trained and qualified Lead Generators act as an extension of your service team to help you increase sales
• CMC is able to ramp up or scale back staffing depending upon client needs

Additional Business to Business Outbound Opportunities

Prospecting calls for sales leads is only one campaign that CMC can initiate for clients.  We have the personnel, methodology, and proven success to launch a campaign that targets your unique needs.  Other outbound campaigns may be conducted, including but not limited to:

• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Credit/Debit card activation campaign
• New customer account welcome calls
• Cross-sales to other services/products your company sells

CMC may be able to assist you in creating efficiencies and improve customer service.  For more information about the Business to Business Cross Sales Campaign, contact us today!

CMC B2B Lead Generation Case Study Part 2 of 3

Campaign Summary

The Client has ambitious plans to grow the company by expanding their inside and outside sales forces.  Given the challenges previously described, management looked to CMC for a solution. They were familiar with CMC's ability to conduct a wide a variety of outbound calling campaigns utilizing both live personnel and professionally recorded voice talent.  After strategy discussions, it soon became clear that the Client could lean on CMC to do the initial prospecting by telephone, which would free up the sales representatives' time to "hit the streets" with a pre-qualified list. 

What has resulted is a partnership that, in less than two months, is already having a dramatic impact on sales. The Client and CMC have teamed up to launch an outbound calling campaign that uncovers pre-qualified leads for new business.

Here's how it works:

• CMC Lead Generators are assigned lists of businesses within the sales person's territory
• They dial about 80 business prospects per day in hopes of generating interest in the Client's solution
• They establish a rapport with their contact and try to gather four to eight key pieces of information that a salesperson would need when placing a sales call. If they obtain at least four pieces of key information, they qualify the lead for distribution to the sales person for that territory
• The Lead Generators have already produced over 300 qualified leads - 18 of those were even from a "stale" prospect list

CMC B2B Lead Generation - Part I of 3

Campaign Objective
Develop qualified leads for business to business sales force to promote products.

Campaign Period
The campaign period began in August 2009, and is currently in operation.

The Client's Challenge
The Client has a large sales force located throughout a multi-state geographic region.  The products and services offered by the Client would benefit virtually any business including but not limited to:  retail stores, restaurants, and medical/professional offices. 

The primary challenges were:

• An unlimited number of potential prospects
• No effective method for screening or qualifying leads
• Limited time to make solicitation
• No unified system to track the lifecycle of the lead

As a result, sales representatives spent too much unproductive time making face-to-face "cold call" visits to businesses, many of whom were not qualified or had no interest.

Campaign Objective
Develop qualified leads for business to business sales force to promote products.   CMC offered a solution.

 

CMC Serves the Community

CMC employees take service to heart. Not only do we strive for ultimate satisfaction in our service levels at work, but we also work hard to serve the communities where we live. This fall, our team sponsored the YMCA 10K walk/run; participated as a Pace Setter for the United Way "Feed the Fund" campaign; volunteered in the United Way Day of Caring; and participated in the Evansville Race for the Cure and the Casselberry, Florida Autumn Rock-n-Run. The spirit of serving and giving to others is alive and well in the CMC community!

CMC Offers The Complete Card Solution

Managing a credit card portfolio today has become increasingly complex. Financial Institutions must manage a qualified full back-office customer service support staff, and incur the increased cost of customer demanded enhancement features such as internet services, rewards, and collections. Additionally, they must also ensure comprehensive support in areas including processing, chargebacks, statement production, security/fraud, and lockbox processing. Yet in spite of the challenges and expense, many banks and credit unions - particularly those with 7,500 cards or less - still want to maintain ownership of their portfolio. Until now, there have been few desirable alternatives to manage this line of business.

The Complete Card Solution (CCS) is a cost effective option with streamlined implementation and processes that optimize card operations. This "one-stop-shop" option allows you to maintain ownership of the portfolio, while handing over control of the servicing. You own the receivables, while CMC provides superior contact center services at an attractive price for your unique situation. We become an extension of your financial institution and remain transparent to your cardholders.

CCS offers competitive pre-set MasterCard® and Visa® products. Two service options are available: full customer service and risk management servicing service.

Full Customer Service
• Interactive Voice Response 24 X7
• Customer Service
• Pre-defined Empowerment
• Chargeback Services
• Security/Fraud Services
• Settlement Services
• Application and Data Entry
• On-line Account Management
• Reporting

Depending upon your financial institution's needs, our Risk Management Servicing option includes the management of security/fraud and chargeback processing but allows your financial institution to continue receiving inbound card holder calls.

Risk Management Servicing
• Chargeback Services
• Security/Fraud Services
• Settlement Services
• Application and Data Entry
• On-line Account Management Reporting

Both the full card servicing and risk management servicing may be combined with additional services such as:
• Rewards! Program
• Collections & Outbound Teleservicing
• Promotional Pricing
• Marketing Support
• Enhanced Reporting
• Lockbox Processing
• Daily Account Refresh File
• Custom Pricing

From start to finish, the conversion or start-up process can be completed within 75 -120 days. For more information about the CCS product offering, contact CMC by phone at 812.425.0072 or by email at contactcmc@CMCone.com.