Published by Telerx, the experts in transforming the customer experience

In This IssueLessons Learned: Brand Management During a Natural Disaster.....................1-2

When BPOs Step In................................................................................................3

Brand’s Facebook Pages and Websites Face-Off....................................................4

Fall SOCAP Recap.................................................................................................5

December

2012

Lessons Learned: Brand Management during a natural disaster

Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast in October and left a trail of destruction that displaced thousands of individuals. Yet, as is often the case during trying times, communities and organizations rallied together to help one another. And, social media played a large role in the effort.

Many brands across the nation, both large and small, shared their resources in the hours and days immediately after Sandy’s destruction and continue to do so today. This outreach is not part of a marketing scheme, but instead it is genuine corporate social responsibility in action. Here are some ways brands have pitched in to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

DonationsFrom pledging millions of dollars and goods to relief agencies, such as the Red Cross and Feeding America, to launching internal match programs, corporations and their employees have stepped up to the plate. For example, in addition to matching employee donations, top-tier airline

companies, such as United Airlines and American Airlines, offered a collective five million miles in rewards points to those customers who donated $50 for the relief efforts. JetBlue teamed up with several food trucks in the New York area to provide free meals. Many of these offers were publicized through social share buttons allowing users to quickly distribute the information throughout their social networks.

Offering ConnectivityDuracell helped people stay connected by setting up charging stations in Manhattan’s Battery Park. Power-less New Yorkers were able to charge their phones and other devices, use the free Internet access and receive batteries for flashlights and radios. Knowing that people were mostly relying on social media to stay connected and abreast of the news during and after the storm, the brand loaded their Facebook page with information about the charging locations throughout the area and even used their cover photo to tell users to check the brand’s status updates for new locations.

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Lessons Learned: Brand Management during a natural disaster (cont’d)

Two powerhouse cell phone providers, and equal competitors, put aside their differences to team up for the greater good to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Due to downed power lines and other energy issues, cell phone service remained spotty for quite some time. To help resolve this situation, these two companies enabled expanded coverage, allowing calls to be made through whichever network was the most operational.

Housing and Facility RentalThe popular travel and rental website, Airbnb, asked members to lower rates on housing in the affected areas and waived the company’s service fees until a week after the storm. The company also posted these specific listings on Facebook and provided a button that automatically dropped the price of those listings by 50 percent in affected areas.

Telerx also joined in the relief effort by offering available office space to corporations whose call and fulfillment centers had been closed due to physical damage or power outages.

Financial Waivers Financial institutions stepped in the best way they could, as several of the country’s largest banks offered temporary relief to the nearly 2 million families that were affected by the storm by waiving ATM fees and charges, increasing credit lines and offering flexible mortgage payment options. At a time when cash wasn’t king, these customers found a helping hand.

Implementing Social Media During a CrisisWith the proliferation of social media, corporations must implement a social media policy specific to crisis situations. Hastily posted updates, over-engagement and other mishaps can cause a second crisis for a company because of the medium’s viral nature. Here are several Do’s and Don’ts for companies engaging in social media during a crisis.

Facebook• Replytoyourcustomersindividuallywithinthecommentssection.NotethatFacebookcommentsarelisted

chronologically, so for clarity, tag fans or write statements that apply to a number of people commenting.•Writeaseparateposttoaddresstheissueandprovideasolutionifpossible.Whilefanscancommentonthenew

post, which can extend the length of the crisis, most people will appreciate a proactive response to the issue.• Usetheprivatemessagingfeature.Thisallowsbrandstocommunicateone-on-onewithfansoutsideof

the public eye.

Twitter• Sendouttweetsaddressingthesituationandoutlinethecompany’ssolutions.Frequentupdatesareexpected,soitis

not enough to simply tweet once. Something as simple as, “We are working on the issue and will continue to provide updates,” goes a long way and lets fans know that you are actively listening.

• Engagefollowersinone-on-oneconversation.Byusing@replies,followersreceiveindividualizedresponsestotheirqueries and concerns.

• Foramoreprivateconversation,sendaDirectMessage(DM).TheseDMswillnotbeseenbyanyoneelseexceptforthe user receiving the message.

YouTube• Usethecommentssectiontorespondtoindividualcomplaints.Thiscanbequitetimeintensive,particularlyifthe

situation becomes volatile, but it provides individualized answers and shows your interest in engaging.• CreateavideoresponsetotheinitialYouTubevideo.Ifthesituationcallsforamassresponse,providinganother

video can help spread the word to everyone, and can rectify the situation more effectively than simply responding to everyone’s concerns through comments.

Source: “How brands are helping victims of Hurricane Sandy,” November 2012 PR Daily

Source: “How to React on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus,” August 2012 Salesforce Marketing

TelerXpressions | December 2012

The Role of Business Processing Firms During Adverse Events and Product Quality Complaints By Barry Peters, Vice President of Corporate Quality & Compliance, Telerx and Heather D. Ferrence, Director of Corporate Compliance, Telerx

Every pharmaceutical, biotech and device company faces AdverseEvents(AE)andProductQualityComplaints(PQC)daily, whether minor or front-page newsworthy, capable of endangering the company’s reputation. Nonetheless, as the industry faces increased regulations and competition, many haveturnedtoBusinessProcessOutsourcing(BPO)firmsto help them overcome the challenges and problems surrounding AEsandPQCs.

Pharmaceutical, biotech and device companies are aware of the need to uphold the strictest standards of quality as outlined intheU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration’s(FDA)CodeofFederal

Regulations Title 21 and typically have a clear, strong governance for compliance expectations. Those companies that make use of BPOs further ensure effortless compliance, process coverage and have the added benefits of the unique input and counsel BPOs provide about how best to approach their business. Additionally, BPOs can provide benefit and scalability in reaching a large population and may be involved at many points in the lifecycle of a pharmaceutical, biotech or device product.

When BPOs Step InIn 2010, a U.S. manufacturer of pharmaceutical products began a voluntary recall of several over-the-counter products, after a routine FDA inspection found that the products did not meet required quality standards.

As the recall unfolded, many potentially-affected consumers could not get through to the company via phone due to call volume. As companies have an ethical responsibility during the course of a recall to respond to all concerned customers, record every event and retrieve product as completely as possible, this manufacturer realized the need for more personnel, in addition to the current BPO, to handle consumer inquiries. With the call volume continuing to grow, additional BPOs were brought on to help, employing hundreds of specially trained professionals to more efficiently meet the recall requirements and stem consumer worries. The BPOs were also able to assist the company by maintaining its regular processing in addition to the recall.

As a result of the involvement of multiple BPO firms, the manufacturer was able to maintain customer satisfaction as well asitsshort-termandlong-termreputation.AdditionallythecompanyimproveditsabilitytocaptureAEsandPQCsduetoamuch larger workforce dedicated to the task of recall management.

To read more about BPO qualifications and event reporting, check out “The Role of Business Processing Firms During AdverseEventsandProductQualityComplaints”intheOctoberissueofthePharmaceuticalComplianceMonitor.

When BPOs Step In

Source: “The Role of Business Processing Firms During Adverse Events and Product Quality Complaints,” October 2012 Pharmaceutical Compliance Monitor

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In years past, having a static listing in a printed medium like a daily newspaper might have been enough to keep your business top of mind with your target audience. No longer can brands rely on just an advertisement, or even a website. Instead companies must develop a multi-layered online and offline presence to expand reach, stay ahead of the competition and communicate with customers in a variety of ways. Having a vibrant, interactive, online presence is especially important for any business – large and small.

Of course, most companies have embraced this “must,” but as social media platforms continue to expand, the conversation is quickly shifting to networks like Facebook, and away from traditional business websites.

Toremaincompetitive(andrelevant),businessesneedtoexpand their definitions of online presence; by investing more time and financial resources into social media. In fact, a recent survey found that 50 percent of consumers think a brand’s Facebook Page is more important than a traditional website. In case you’re still in doubt that social networks are changing how people interact with your business, here are several key reasons why those Facebook “Likes” matter:

Out of 1,000 social media users:

• 87%ofpeopleLikebrandsonFacebook• 75%feelmoreconnectedtothebrandonFacebook• 82%believeFacebookisagoodplacetointeract

with brands• Biggestmotivatorsinlikingabrandare:Promotions/

discounts, giveaways and customer loyalty

For a full look at how a brand’s Facebook presence is viewed and valued, view Mashable’s infographic.

Brand’s Facebook and Website Pages Face-Off

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Source: “50% of Consumers Value a Brand’s Facebook Page More Than Its Website,” September 2012 Mashable

Telerx is here to help.

Many of the world’s most prestigious companies rely on Telerx to help them build brand loyalty – and their bottom lines – by transforming the customer experience. www.telerx.com

1.800.2TELERX | solutions@telerx.com | www.telerx.com723DresherRoad|Horsham,PA19044

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At this year’s SOCAP International 2012 Annual Conference inSanDiegoinOctober,Telerxjoinedover530industrypeers for the opportunity to network and discuss key issues, trends and strategies critical to customer care professionals. Telerx served as an exhibitor, hosted an evening reception, and partook in the conference’s outstanding keynote speaker sessions, such as motivational speaker, Kyle Maynard, and artist, Erik Wahl. The conference also included Spotlight Sessions featuring groundbreaking research and trends, interactive breakouts and unlimited networking with customer care leaders from more than 150 leading industry brands.

However, it wasn’t “all work and no play” for the attendees as they all gathered for a spectacular social finale at SeaWorld with Shamu and Friends.

Here’stothe2013SOCAPSymposium–can’twaittomake another splash in New Orleans!

Contact Telerx at 1.800.2TELERX or email solutions@telerx.com.

SOCAP 2012 Annual Conference Recap