Frequently Asked Questions

Call Centre

• More and more companies are opening call centres. Do customers really use them?
• Does Call Centre mean only contact with the customer via telephone?
• How much time is needed to launch a new Call Centre project?
• Why do companies from all over the world move their telephone customer service divisions to countries like India or Poland? How does it work?
• What is the direct influence of Call Centre outsourcing on lowering company's general costs?
• In which economy sector is Call Centre outsourcing most popular and most frequent?
• Is it possible to call a Call Centre from a mobile telephone?

Premium Rate

• SMS payments seem to be very popular recently. How does it work?
• What does it mean that marketing campaigns using SMS Premium services may be self-financing?
• What are the most frequent business applications of SMS Premium services?
• Our company prepared an idea for a SMS service to support marketing campaign of a new product on the Polish market. How much time do we need to implement such service and how can we monitor effects of the campaign?
• Can Mega Communications prepare a SMS Premium service contents based on ideas of our marketing department?
• Are Premium Rate services an effective method for increasing sales of our products?
• How many people are interested in SMS Premium as a form of entertainment and information?

Call Center

• 1. More and more companies are opening call centres. Do customers really use them?
• Indeed, the number of companies launching call centres for their customers is increasing. A call centre is an important marketing tool allowing the company to receive feedback from its customers. In Poland the number of active consumers is increasing by the hour, and a call centre allows them to get in touch with the manufacturer of the product they purchased.
• 2. Does Call Centre mean only contact with the customer via telephone?
• Telephone is the main CC tool used to contact a customer or another company. However, due to technological development, communication between parties is possible also through the following channels: fax, e-mail, Internet (WAP), SMS, voice messages, or traditional mail. Modern CC uses all possible methods to contact customers.
• 3. How much time is needed to launch a new Call Centre project?
• The most important factor determining quality and effectiveness of a CC is the staff. The time needed to launch a new CC project usually does not exceed 4 weeks from signing the contract. The time depends on individual features of the project, and on customer's requirements.
• 4. Why do companies from all over the world move their telephone customer service divisions to countries like India or Poland? How does it work?
• Today, companies choose outsourcing or offshore telephone customer service much more frequently, than in the past decade, because it allows them to lower considerably their general costs and maintain high customer service standard. Modern technologies and theoretically unlimited internet access make business easier. Through intensive development of international communication, every man is able to learn a new language in a short time, which means that companies are not limited to searching business partners only in their countries.
• 5. What is the direct influence of Call Centre outsourcing on lowering company's general costs?
• Outsourcing means commissioning specialised independent companies to perform processes necessary for your own company. It means direct savings in terms of staff and infrastructure necessary to maintain a customer service department or a telesales department.
• 6. In which economy sector is Call Centre outsourcing most popular and most frequent?
• Due to the nature of Call Centre services, i.e. contact with customers, it is used in sectors where maintenance of good customer relations is crucial. In the case of outbound calls, it is sales and marketing. In the case of inbound calls, it is the banking and information sector.
• 7. Is it possible to call a Call Centre from a mobile telephone?
• Yes, this service is already available in Poland. Mobile telephone owners may call 0-800, or 0-801 numbers. Unfortunately, not all operators provide this service to their customers. However, soon this service will be available to all mobile phone owners.

Premium Rate

• 1. SMS payments seem to be very popular recently. How does it work?
• Indeed, one may observe increased interest in additional telecommunication services, i.e. payments through SMS (Premium SMS). Most companies that use this solution provide their customers with access to websites, or even sell their products. At the moment this solution is most popular in the so called micro-payments sector, typically used to pay parking fees, to pay for multimedia contents, and for whole range of entertainment services (games, competitions, lotteries). This solution is very simple and quick, therefore its popularity increases. Very soon it may play a major role in our everyday lives, similar to the one of a credit card.
• 2. What does it mean that marketing campaigns using SMS Premium services may be self-financing?
• Marketing campaigns that use SMS Premium services may be financed by SMS messages sent by customers. When a company organises a competition or a SMS poll for its customers, it promotes its brand, or collects necessary information, generating at the same time income from SMS messages sent by customers. In most cases income from such marketing action is higher than the cost incurred to prepare it.
• 3. What are the most frequent business applications of SMS Premium services?
• SMS Premium campaigns are typically used in entertainment and information sectors. They are very popular and effective among the media and companies selling their products and services to end-customers. They are used as an entertainment product (competition, chat, forum), or a marketing tool (voting, mini-polls, registration of applicants).
• 4. Our company prepared an idea for a SMS service to support marketing campaign of a new product on the Polish market. How much time do we need to implement such service and how can we monitor effects of the campaign?
• Implementation time of such service depends on its complexity, e.g. whether it is going to be automatic, or moderated. Launching simple SMS services takes practically a few days, and Your company will have access to on-line statistics (in real time). You will be able to monitor permanently activities of consumers and their interest in the service.
• 5. Can Mega Communications prepare a SMS Premium service contents based on ideas of our marketing department?
• Yes, our company apart from the core business, i.e. implementation and management of the abovementioned services, also provides advice, creates contents and ideas for Premium Rate services.
• 6. Are Premium Rate services an effective method for increasing sales of our products?
• Premium Rate services may be a tool for a very effective marketing campaign increasing recognisability of Your brand on the market, attachment of customers to your products and services and optimising communication with customers. This may result in improved market position and increasing sales. What is more, the cost of the campaign will be covered by income from the telecommunication traffic on Your SMS Premium numbers.
• 7. How many people are interested in SMS Premium as a form of entertainment and information?
• Sector data and independent experts estimate, that in Poland on average 9 million SMS Premium messages are sent every month. This type of service is most frequently used by people with at least secondary school education, aged between 20 and 30. In time, the number of people using this type of solutions will increase, age boundaries will expand. Analytics' forecasts for the premium rate services say that the market will grow by 20 - 25% a year, which indicates a great potential of SMS services as a marketing, entertainment and information tool.