Telemarketing, Call Centres and Telebusiness. Telemarketing is ... Planned - Inbound and outbound calls are both planned in terms of objectives and structure.
TELEBUSINESS, SALES & MARKETING IN THE 21st CENTURY Bob Hartley, Department of Marketing, De Montfort University Dave Pickton, Department of Marketing, De Montfort University
ABSTRACT There are now many activities and functions which bring organisations into direct contact with customers and prospects. The headings which marketing practitioners and academics use to describe these are varied. Sales and distribution are two, others are; direct mail, direct response marketing, telemarketing, direct marketing, interactive marketing, database marketing, customer service, relationship marketing, Internet marketing, and now electronic commerce. Yet none of these activities are all embracing. Although all these areas have evolved rapidly over the last fifteen or so years, marketing theory still seems to lack a unifying and integrative terminology and theory for these activities. This paper examines developments taking place within marketing which facilitate direct two way dialogue between the supplying organisation and the potential or actual customer, what we term ’customer contact management’. Links between sales, customer service, database marketing, telemarketing, Internet marketing and direct response marketing are discussed. We attempt to provide a terminology and framework for these activities in order for practitioners and academics to begin to develop better co-ordinated and integrated strategies for the 21st Century. These changes impacting on business are being enabled by developing technology in the fields of CTI (Computer / Telephonic Integration), databases, superhighways, Internet and digital TV. The paper examines the likely impact on individuals, organisations and society. Individuals may benefit from having more choice over the way they buy products and services. Organisations in many industries will need to invest heavily in customer service centres and the new infrastructures required for telebusiness and electronic commerce. Reductions in the size of the field sales force and branch closures can be expected as activity is polarised between key account management and the customer service centre. Society will notice redundancies in some types of sales support and clerical jobs but growth in telebusiness type jobs in new low cost locations. Well established companies in some industries will be challenged by new entrants who by-pass traditional channels to market and set up lower cost, direct to market telebusiness and electronic commerce operations. I. INTRODUCTION There are now many activities and functions which bring organisations into direct contact with customers and prospects. The headings which marketing practitioners and academics use to describe these are varied. Sales and distribution are two, others are; direct mail, direct response marketing, telemarketing, direct marketing, interactive marketing, database marketing, customer service, relationship marketing, Internet marketing, and now electronic commerce. Yet none of these activities are all embracing. Although all these areas have evolved rapidly over the last fifteen or so years, marketing theory still seems to lack a unifying terminology and theory for these activities. This paper attempts to provide a terminology and framework for these activities in order for practitioners and academics to begin to develop better co-ordinated and integrated strategies. Much of marketing communication theory is focused on increasing awareness and influencing behaviour as in the classical AIDA model, for example. More recently a number of researchers, Duncan & Everett, 1993, and Shultz, 1993, for example, have discussed the difficulties of defining and achieving integrated marketing communications. The experience of the potential and actual customer in dealing with an organisation is likely to have a lasting impression on individuals. If the contact experience meets the customers expectations then the experience is likely to have a positive or neutral effect on the individual. If the organisation is difficult to deal with individuals will soon form a negative attitude to the organisation. There is little point in organisation spending large sums of money on advertising if the customer finds the organisation impossible to deal with, just as a small one person business is wasting time and money on door
to door flyers if there is no means of handling the telephone enquiries. We live in a world where people increasingly expect an immediate response. The phone, fax and E-mail are becoming the norm, letters and response cards are seen as tiresome. The intensity of competition means if a company cannot respond to the customers needs right away someone else probably will. This paper examines developments taking place within marketing which facilitate direct two way dialogue between the supplying organisation and the potential or actual customer. What we term ‘customer contact management’. Links between sales, customer service, database marketing, telemarketing, Internet marketing and direct response marketing are discussed. We attempt to provide a terminology and framework for these activities in order for practitioners and academics to begin to develop better co-ordinated and integrated strategies for the 21st Century. These developments are reviewed in the context of their impact on individuals, organisations, and society. II. DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER CONTACT MANAGEMENT Palmer et al (1996) report in a review of the main US and UK introductory marketing text books that the activities of direct response marketing, database marketing, telemarketing, and customer service activities receive very little attention. Traditional textbooks on marketing communications also appear limited in their approach to discussing the promotional mix and find it difficult to move away from the limitations imposed by the categorisation into Advertising, Sales Promotion, Sponsorship, Publicity, Point of Purchase and Personal Selling (Shimp 1997). Yet the growth of Database Marketing (DBM), Direct Response Marketing (DRM), Telemarketing (TM) and Customer Information and Service (CIS) has been very rapid since 1990. The development of new communications technology is facilitating and encouraging a growth in cost efficient and effective personal communication activities between an organisation and its customers on a scale with no historical precedent. It is this development that is the focal point of this paper and which, it is argued will present organisations with some of their greatest opportunities and challenges in the near future. Hartley and Pickton (1997) suggest a new Mindscape of Integrated Marketing Communications (diagram 1) which views marketing communications on a continuum from ‘non personal communications’ to ‘personal communications’. Personal communication involves a two way dialogue with prospects and customers. Managing this activity is referred to as ‘Customer Contact Management’. Definition of Customer Contact Management Customer Contact Management requires the co-ordination and management of all activities involving personal communication between an organisation and its customers and prospects. This personal communication may be in person, by mail, telephone, fax, e- mail, or Internet. Seen in this way, customer contact management transcends traditional organisational boundaries and poses new challenges to management. The relationship between ‘Customer Contact Management‘, ‘Market Communications Management’ and ‘Corporate Communications Management’ can be seen in diagram 1. The activities identified under customer contact management all involve a two way dialogue between the organisation and its customers and prospects. These activities, however, usually come under the control of different functions within the organisation structure. For example, field sales, direct response marketing, and customer service are likely to be separate functions in large organisations each with their own executive head. But who is responsible for exhibitions and trade shows, where does telemarketing fit, and who is developing Internet services? Organisations also rely on other stakeholders to deliver their product / service offer to the final customer. Fill (1995) discusses the responsibilities of channel members in communication strategy and the role of the dominant organisation in managing channel communications and information. Customer contact is likely to be a range of fragmented activities which are difficult to manage with the possible consequence that customers will be confused, frustrated and disappointed. There is a need to co-ordinate customer contacts so that the organisation appears seamless from the customers point of view. Customer Contact Management can be visualised as having three components. Diagram 2 illustrates the tools, activities, and functions which are the components of a customer contact management system. The ‘Tools’ consist of the hardware and software required to run the systems. The Database is most likely to sit within a networked computer system and may be connected to a Call Centre (a computerised telephone hub). The ‘Activities’ are the support activities such as database building; campaign management and evaluation; and research and analysis on customer and campaign records. The ‘Functions’ are the user departments such as sales,
direct marketing and customer service which rely on the database and networked communications for their day-today activities. The paper looks at each of these in turn and concludes with a look at the impact on individuals, organisations and society.. III. TOOLS FOR CUSTOMER CONTACT MANAGEMENT Within the category of personal communications it is the development and applications in database marketing, network computing, and telephonics’ which have led to new opportunities. The speed of technological change in the 1990’s in this field has been startling. The merging technologies of computing and telecommunications have opened up new frontiers in personal communications which allow companies a two way dialogue with thousands of customers without geographic limits. These changes are discussed below: • Database Marketing & Network Communications The Internet, super highways, and satellites may be the glamour end of the new technology, but without the database, companies would not be able to store and handle large volumes of customer information. Definition of Database Marketing Database Marketing (DBM) is an interactive approach to customer contact management relying on the maintenance of accurate customer and prospect customer information, competitor information, market information and internal company information. The database is used to provide computer aided sales support, for direct response marketing, and to support customer information and service systems. Modified from Hartley and Starkey (1996) This definition attempts to embrace the potential applications and user groups of marketing databases, and these are discussed later. The database needs to be accessible to those dealing with customers and thus there is a need for networked communications within the organisation. • Telemarketing, Call Centres and Telebusiness Telemarketing is now playing an increasingly important role in the integrated management of customer sales and service. Provision of customer service by telephone is not new, however, the use of the telephone has been extended into new product and service categories during the last ten years. Technical help lines have been available for many years for users of industrial products and services. Consumer durable manufactures (especially of electrical products) have also provided help lines, usually direct to their service companies and now many FMCG’s carry a care line number. The Careline Report (1995) published by the L&R Group define carelines as “Telephone numbers printed on-pack which the customer can ring for advice or information about a product, often free of charge”. According to research conducted by L&R 81% of products in the USA carried a careline, 22% in the UK. The average response time in the USA was 1.4 seconds with a range from 1 second to 10 seconds. In the UK the average response time was 2.7 seconds with a range from 1 second to 20 seconds. In recent years some organisations, notably in financial services, have moved to run whole areas of their business via the telephone. First Direct Bank and Direct Line Insurance are two examples from the UK. Definition of Telemarketing “Telemarketing is the planned and controlled use of telephone communication to build profitable long-term relationships with members of influential audiences who impact on an organisation’s success.” Michael Stevens (1995) Michael Stevens suggests that the definition be split into five key elements: Planned - Inbound and outbound calls are both planned in terms of objectives and structure. Controlled - Call outcomes and costs can be kept under review. Communication - A two way interactive communication process takes place. Profitable long-term relationships - It is now recognised that it is much more profitable to retain customers rather than keep looking for new ones. Influential audiences - Telemarketing has the ability to target very specific groups and individuals.
There are many applications for telemarketing, according to Stevens but they can be grouped into four main headings, namely; lead generation, telesales, building and maintaining the database, and customer service (including customer care lines and crisis management). The call centre is the hub of any telemarketing operation. It may be a single room with a few operators or it may be a number of linked sites with thousands of operators. For example “British Gas Trading {is} the largest billing operation and fifth largest call centre network in Europe” (Focus 1997). This system serves 20 million customers with access via local call rate, and eight call centres around the UK which can handle 800,000 calls per week. A call centre is a complex mix of telephone exchange, automated call distributors (ACD’s), computers and software for handling calls, links to databases and other computer applications and people. It is a highly specialised function and many specialist companies have developed which provide agency services for their clients. Organisations may develop their own in-house operations and expertise or use the services of the agencies. However, flexibility is important depending on the nature of the service required and the campaigns running at any one time. Organisations with in-house facilities may at times require the extra capacity an agency can provide. Some organisations are now referring to the call centre as a Customer Service Centre, Avon for example (Avon 1998) reflects the wider role that is now developing for such centres. Telebusiness is also a new term (Cable and Wireless 1998) which is used to describe the wider activities of telemarketing particularly when it becomes a significant channel to serve the market direct. • Internet Marketing and Electronic Commerce. Is it a channel of distribution or a medium for promotion? Like direct mail and catalogue sales it is a combination of both. Having a web page can be used to generate leads which are then followed up by more traditional means such as a mailing of information, lead qualification by telephone, or visit by sales representative. However, it is wise to remember that this is not a precisely targeted tool and enquiries may come from any where in the world. Companies do have to ask very fundamental questions about the nature of their business and what the potential advantages of setting up a web page may be. For business-to-business sales it may be a very useful tool for generating new leads particularly from smaller harder to reach (with field sales) prospects. At its best, it is already possible to transact all your business over the web for some product categories. Success is already reported in the retailing of books and records over the www (world wide web). But what about financial products such as shares and the ultimate consumer durable, cars? Well, yes, it is already happening (Friedman and Goodrich 1997). Electronic commerce is growing very fast (Bannister 1989, Barrie 1998, Schmid 1998), and many new businesses have already sprung up, particularly in the USA. These new operators will further dilute the market share of traditional business. No one is quite sure where this journey will lead. Many pundits are perhaps over optimistic in describing future shopping trips in virtual reality malls. Shopping in the high street can be an enjoyable interactive social activity for many of us. Even a traditional medium such as paper is unlikely to die out. It is still much quicker to flick through the pages of a catalogue than a computer page on the www, and you can easily view a catalogue while watching TV or talking to a friend. However, the www cannot be ignored as a means of promotion, providing information, and transacting sales as it provides an alternative channel to serve the market. For information products it can even be the main medium of delivery. Although the www is still in its infancy as a marketing tool a number of useful applications are being developed. Melita® have launched ‘Web Contact’TM which facilitates connection of the web site to the call centre. The customer visiting the web page may simply point and click buttons requesting either an instantaneous call back or a scheduled call back at a time determined by the customer. The customer simply fills in some basic information on the computer screen and clicks on send. When the call centre returns contact by telephone the telesales agent’s computer screen will automatically display the details of the customer. IV. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT CUSTOMER CONTACT MANAGEMENT A number of managerial activities are essential to support the tools and functions of customer contact management. The database records need to be built and maintained, promotional campaigns need to be managed, and activities need to be evaluated and customer records researched. • Database Building The accuracy of the database records is of vital importance to all users; sales, telemarketing, direct response marketing and customer service. Acquiring and maintaining data is an essential activity with its own costs. According
to the Hewson Group (Starkey 1997) a database with 100,000 names could, “cost between £20,000 and £40,000 annually to contact customers and prospects in order to validate the details.” Starkey reports that “Merit Direct estimate that in a 12 month period up to 30% of records will become out of date.” The telephone and call centre are increasingly used to verify data. • Campaign Management Campaign management attempts to analyse, evaluate and improve the cost effectiveness and performance of any activity involving customer interaction. This may be a direct marketing promotion, telemarketing campaign, customer service enquires, or any combination of these. All these activities lend themselves to precise performance evaluation due to the nature of the computerised information generated and accurate cost allocation, e.g. number of letters mailed; number of responses handled; number, length and cost of telephone calls; number of teleagents assigned to campaign; etc. V. FUNCTIONS INVOLVED IN CUSTOMER CONTACT MANAGEMENT According to Hartley and Starkey (1996) the possible user functions for the tools identified above are, computer aided sales support; direct response marketing, and customer information and service (diagram 2). These may be described as follows: • Computer Aided Sales Support (CASS) Requires the field sales team, sales support team, and telemarketing team to have direct access to the database via PC's or notebook computers whether office based, mobile or located in outstations. In addition to access to records, the system should support electronic communication such as fax and e-mail, and personal tools such as diary / organiser, word processing, spreadsheet, and proposal generation. ‘Sales’ is taken in its widest meaning to include field sales, sales office, estimating / quotations department, forecasting and planning department and distributor sales if they are linked to the system. • Direct Response Marketing (DRM) Involves the use of the database for campaigns using addressable communications (such as direct mail, mail order, and telemarketing) targeted at existing or potential customers and for fulfilment of direct response advertising campaigns using the telephone, including DRTV (direct response television advertising). • Customer Information and Service (CIS) Allows customers to contact the organisation quickly and easily possibly using a freephone (toll free) or local number. The reasons for the contact may include; bill query, warranty claim, technical problem, product/service information, or servicing required. Not every company will utilise all the possible functions described above. In small companies these functions may be handled in a single marketing department, however, in large organisations there will be separate departments. For organisations which primarily engage in direct marketing via telebusiness and/or electronic commerce, functions will become indistinguishable as all customer requests will be dealt with by the call centre. VI. ISSUES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY A number of key issues appear to be emerging which will shape the way marketing and sales are organised in the first decade of the 21st century. These are discussed under the headings, ‘issues for individuals’, organisational issues’, and ‘societal issues’. • Issues for Individuals Individuals will become ever more trusting and confident of ordering via digital TV (Direct Response TV advertising and shopping channels), the Internet, and telephone. Ordering across national boundaries will become more popular particularly with the European single currency and the security of credit card transactions. In
modern call centres with Automated Call Distributors (ACD’s) language is not a problem as the country of origin of the call is recognised and the call routed to a telephonist with the correct language. Individuals at work engaged in managerial, professional, and administrative roles will also become accustomed to using these new tools both for business and personal use. Emphasis on the freedom of access to information in the USA is likely to continue to be a significant force in encouraging the development of information and communication services. Protection for individuals, however, is a current issue which is unlikely to go away. Protection of personal data held on computer, and protection from unsolicited high pressure telephone sales calls (cold calls) are the two key areas causing concern in Europe. Protection for credit card users on the Internet and by phone are being tackled by the industry at present. • Organisational Issues Many have argued the strategic value of database marketing, customer service, relationship marketing and integrated marketing communications. Technology in the form of marketing databases, networked computer systems and modern digital telecommunications now provide reliable solutions. The technical interfaces between computing and telecommunications are being harmonised providing better integration and bringing cheaper, speedier, and more reliable systems. The traditional marketing organisation has been based largely on functions such as field sales management, sales administration, advertising and promotion, and customer service. In more recent times, organisations may have set up a separate direct mail operation. Traditionally structured marketing departments are likely to have difficulty in coping with these changes. The challenge for Marketing Managers is in deciding how best to organise for marketing in terms of structure, systems and budgets so as to achieve integration of the marketing functions, avoid duplication, share expenses and control activities. Note that the tools in diagram 2 such as the database, network communications and the call centre should ideally belong NOT to one user department, but to the organisation as a whole - a central resource. Sales may use the Call Centre to verify and qualify sales leads prior to sending an expensive representative to call. Direct Response Marketing is likely today to include a response option via telephone as well as mail and will require the use of the Call Centre. Customer Information & Service is likely to receive more enquiries by phone than letter. At times, all these activities may revolve around a major event such as a trade show or promotional campaign which will cause a peak in telephone activity and database usage as all functions; marketing, sales, direct mail, and customer service pitch in. From the customer’s point of view, the organisation should appear seamless. Unfortunately, and as is the nature of things, computer and telecom communication systems in most organisations will have been installed piecemeal over time; upgrades, add-ons, adaptations etc. are the norm. Few organisations are lucky enough to have predicted all their needs in advance and developed a complete integrated system. In many organisations Customer Contact Management will not be found in one system but in a number of different systems, ‘owned’ by different departments, and which have been installed over the years. These separate systems rarely fit together well and give rise to problems of integration. The multiple contacts between supplier organisations and purchaser organisations present the opportunities for mistakes to be made many times. The process of dealing with an organisation needs to match or exceed customer expectations. Vast amounts spent on corporate image and brand building will be wasted if intermediaries and final customers find that the organisation cannot meet their expectations. With so many ways to engage in personal communications with customers and prospects, organisations are in danger of loosing control. A management without a clear vision of what is possible in the early 21st century and what they desire, and what their customers desire, may find that costs run out of control and that the end result is, according to Friedman and Goodrich (1997), ‘a sprawling mix of sales reps, call centres, resellers and perhaps a web site or two.’ Under the heading ‘multiple channels as a customer alignment strategy’ they discuss the relationship between changing buyer behaviour and the emergence of multiple sales channels. They argue that many individual and corporate customers are migrating away from face-to-face encounters with sales representatives, not only to save money, but also to take greater control of the buying process for themselves. In the 21st. Century there will be two opposing forces at play in business-to-business markets which will shape the way that marketing and sales are organised. As many customer organisations become larger and with the continuing trend to centralise purchasing, supplying organisations are likely to continue with the development of Key Account Management sales structures. However, for actual transactions (large and small) and customer service, the point of contact is likely to be either the call centre or via the Internet, as supplying and buying organisations try to reduce costs. In consumer markets individuals will become more comfortable and trusting
with ordering over the telephone and Internet. The consequences of these two opposing forces will be that the numbers employed in the direct sales force will continue to be reduced. Those that remain will migrate to key account management. Order processing and customer service will be integrated into a Customer Service Centre based on CTI (Computer / Telephonic Integration) and the Internet. This will result in the continued contraction of branch networks as more business is passed through the centralised Customer Service Centre. Independent sales agents and distributors are also likely to suffer in many industries as organisations increase the share of business placed through their Customer Service Centre via direct marketing, telebusiness, and electronic commerce. The roles of the marketing department and marketing management will continue to be challenged. • Societal Issues These changes will impact on society in a number of ways. There will be redundancies and branch closures in a number of industries. This will be due to the contraction in the field sales force as sales activity is polarised towards Key Accounts on the one hand and telebusiness on the other. For the same reason branch offices are likely to close. The functions previously undertaken by such offices such as customer service, preparing quotations and contracts, maintaining records, and supporting the field sales force, will either be handled by the sales representatives themselves or by the customer service centre to which the representatives will be linked by laptop computer with in-built digital modem. The general clerical skills required in a branch office will be superseded with more specialised skills in the customer service centre. Telemarketing operators using a CTI workstation need to be disciplined workers who are competent on the phone and key board. Supervisors and managers in such an environment need to be familiar with complex telephone and computer software. They are required to handle short term analytical, forecasting and planning software, supervision of operators, and meet clients. This is likely to be a more demanding environment than a general branch office. The rapid growth of customer service centres will create new jobs requiring the new skills mentioned above. According to Denny (1998), Sitel (a US telecommunications company) ‘plans to create 10,000 more jobs in the {UK} industry over the next five years.’ He also reports estimates in Datamonitor which suggest that half a million people in Britain (2.2% of the workforce) will be employed in telemarketing by 2001. These call centres are not geographic dependent, as are branch offices, and are more likely to be in low cost locations. In fact, neither are they country specific. A company may serve a number of European countries from one centre as ACD’s can identify the origin of the call and allocate the caller to an operator with a matching language ability. Staff in these centres may be required to work flexible shifts and part-time employment is likely. These changes bring new business opportunities. Many specialist firms are being created and are growing rapidly such as CTI hardware and software specialists, direct marketing agencies and telemarketing bureaux. In some business sectors new entrants have been attracted by the opportunity of serving a market direct via telebusiness. This has given very quick access to a national market at relatively low cost. Traditional market structures requiring retailers, agents, distributors and a large direct field sales force were a barrier to new entrants. These barriers will disappear in some industries. New services will be created via telebusiness. Health services in the UK are now experimenting with 24 hour help lines staffed by qualified nurses and ‘expert systems’ in order to reduce unnecessary trips to the doctor or hospital casualty department (White 1998). Legal advice can be dispensed in a similar way and paid for by a premium phone line. Finally, where there is new business growth, governments are not far behind with a review of taxation. Individual governments, the European Union and The World Trade Organisation are now interested. VII. SUMMARY Customer Contact Management requires the management of all activities where the organisation interfaces with its customers and prospects. This includes all types of selling activity and customer service; face-to-face sales, trade fairs, direct response marketing, telebusiness, and electronic commerce. For an integrated approach to customer contact management the tools required are likely to include the database, call centre, and networked communications. Ideally these are likely to be financed and managed as an organisational resource rather than that of a functional department. The user functions may be described as Computer Aided Sales Support, Direct Response Marketing, and Customer Information and Service and their effectiveness will be related to the degree of computer / telephony integration (CTI). To support these tools and functions the organisation will need to engage in activities such as database building, campaign management and research. Companies will need to reappraise their organisational and managerial structures.
The impact of these changes will be felt on individuals, organisations and society in general. Individuals will have more options by which to buy products and services; high street, broker, catalogue, and direct via telephone, digital TV or Internet. Organisations may need to invest heavily in CTI and reorganise the business around customer service centres. This will be paid for by a contraction in the field sales force and a closure of branch offices. The strategic issues involve the paradox of cost reduction, while at the same time improving coverage and penetration of markets with an enhancement of customer service in order to retain existing customers and attract new. Society will feel the effects of redundancies in particular localities as large companies reorganise, but new jobs requiring new skills will be created in low cost locations. New business start ups will continue in the telebusiness industry. In some traditional industries, established companies will face competition from new entrants who set up low cost direct marketing operations via telebusiness and electronic commerce. Traditional ways of serving the market may suddenly look high cost and un-competitive.
way
1-way
dialogue
2-
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT non personal personal communications communications
individuals
corporate advertising
customer service point of sale display
distributor sales corporate sponsorship incentive promotions direct sales communications corporate PR merchandising counter sales corporate identity literature telemarketing corporate image product advertising Internet marketing brand sponsorship direct response marketing brand PR trade shows MARKET exhibitions COMMUNICATIONS trade marketing publics
segments targets
Diagram 1: Mindscape of Integrated Marketing Communications, Hartley / Pickton
Field Sales
CASS
Agents & Distributors
TOOLS Database Call Centre Network Communications
DRM
ACTIVITIES Database Building Campaign Management Research Existing Customers
CIS
Prospects & Potentials
Functions: CASS = Computer Aided Sales Support DRM = Direct Response Marketing CIS = Customer Information and Service Diagram 2: Tools and Activities for Customer Contact Management
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Richard
Friedman, L.G. & Goodrich, G. (Oxford Associates, USA)(1997) “Sales Strategy in a Multiple Channel Environment”, Proceedings of 1st. International Symposium on Selling and Major Account Management, Solent Conference Centre, Southampton Institute, UK, 25th June Hartley, B. & Pickton, D. (1997) “Integrated Marketing Communications - a new language for a new era”, Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Marketing and Corporate Communications, University of Antwerp, April Hartley, B. & Starkey, M.W. (Eds) (1996) Management of Sales and Customer Relations, Thomson International Press, London Melita Europe Ltd. 253 Burlington Road, New Malden, Surrey, UK Palmer, A .J. & Hartley, B. (1996) The Business and Marketing Environment, 2nd Ed, McGraw Hill, London Palmer, A.J. Hartley, B. & Starkey, M.W.(1996) “Direct Marketing: Struggling to Find a Position in Higher Education”, Proceedings of the 1996 Annual Marketing Education Group Conference, University of Strathclyde, July Schmid, J. & Shannon, V. (1998) “Huge growth seen for Internet shopping”, International Herald Tribune, 19 March Shimp, T. (1997) Advertising, Promotion, and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications 4th Ed, Dryden Press, New York Shultz, D.E., (1993) “How to overcome the barriers to integration”, Marketing News, 19 July, Vol. 27, No.15, p16 Starkey, M.W. (1997) “Telemarketing”, in Jobber, D. (Ed) Selling and Sales Strategy, Butterwoth & Heinemann, London Stevens, M. (1995) Telemarketing in Action, McGraw-Hill, London White, M. (1988) “NHS hotline launched”, The Guardian, 24 March, p8
