Outsourced call centers can swing a campaign

No matter which side of the aisle you sit there is no doubting that the senatorial election results from Massachusetts last night were newsworthy. What you might not have realised that is with a small winning margin in this case less than 5 points, every tactic has implications and this particular election may owe (or blame…again depending your politics) it’s final outcome on the part played by Minnesota!

You may think I need to work on my geography but the reality is two call centers in the chilly Northeast corner of Minnesota were contracted to call out the vote to supporters of one or perhaps both candidates the last week or two. Republican Scott Brown was partially reliant on calls originating in Duluth as 40 agents were dialing potential Republican voters to encourage them to vote in the race to replace the late Ted Kennedy. Meanwhile and oddly just a few miles away a center in Superior was running a campaign also aimed at the New England election although the owner at present is coy as to whether his staff were drumming up support for Brown or the Democrat Martha Coakley. The vague answer from the owner of the second center?

“We can confirm generally that our company and employees will have an impact on Tuesday’s election,”

For a campaign that turned pollsters predictions upside down (Coakley led by 12-15 points just a few weeks ago) the value of the calls that were made could effortlessly be considered good value for money. The upper midwest such as Wisconsin and Minnesota plus indeed Canada are often viewed as ideal places for call center outsourcing due to the education standards and what are perceived by many to be lacking a ‘regional’ accent which can result in a perceived bias from the recipient of the call. Would an employee feel at odds with the nature of the calls? – seemingly not as an employee from the center in Superior revealed:

“There’s a script, and we do what we’re told to do,” she said. “It’s all in a day’s work. We get paid to do it, so we do it.”

While the example of politics is fully viable, a qualified call center can also easily design a campaign aimed at customer surveys, qualifying sales leads or market research. Developing a custom made script and/or survey is an inherent strength of an effective call center and outsourcing within North America can provide tangible dividends versus sending your business overseas. Always ensure that the metrics and training program are created based on your needs and reviewed with you in depth prior to implementation.

(elements of this article courtesy The Associated Press)