SPRZEDAJ
ALBO ZGIŃ!
Istniejący od 1991 roku
MasterPlan jest firmą doradczo-szkoleniową w zakresie relacji z klientami. Od 1995 roku - dodatkowo -
specjalizujemy
się w doradztwie dla call centers i szkoleniach w zakresie posługiwania
się telefonem w sprzedaży i obsłudze klienta. Nasze
przygotowanie zawodowe, a także zebrane w trakcie pracy dla naszych Klientów
doświadczenie pozwala nam oferować doradztwo
i szkolenia
we wszystkich możliwych aspektach funkcjonowania telemarketingu w
naszym kraju, a od 2002 roku także na skalę międzynarodową. >> więcej
Marian J. Kostecki.
Glosariusz terminologii call
center/help desk.
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. 2007. GRATIS >> ściągnij okładkę i zawartość
Marian J. Kostecki. Efektywność
i skuteczność w call center:
Miary skuteczności i efektywności pracy contact center, call center,
help desk (ruch przychodzący). Warszawa: moimzdaniem.pl 2006, 110
stron. GRATIS >> ściągnij
Marian J. Kostecki. Telefoniczna rozmowa handlowa:
Wszystko, co
powinieneś wiedzieć o sprzedaĹźy przez telefon zanim podniesiesz
słuchawkę, w trakcie posługiwania się nią i po jej odłoźeniu. Warszawa:
moimzdaniem.pl 2006, 238 stron. GRATIS >> ściągnij
wiadomości
istotne dla środowiska call center zapowiedzi wydarzeń -- news
-- ogłoszenia o pracy -- gratisy
SAMOUCZEKopisy
przypadków,
które mogą zostać wykorzystane w samokształceniu
pracowników działów obsługi klienta,
handlowców,
webmasterów, telemarketerów::
Zawartość tej internetowej strony jest chroniona prawem autorskim.
At Your Service
Dariusz Styczek, At Your Service: Express Delivery. Warsaw Voice. June 20, 1999
What's an express forwarding company to do to stand out on the Polish market?
Leading express delivery companies on the Polish market offer comparable standards and
prices. But they display considerable differences when it comes to the way in which they find
clients. The delivery services market is full of paradoxes directing the marketing strategies of its main
players. First, despite the relative saturation of the market, most companies - and they are growing in number all the time - are noting a high rate of growth in their revenues each
year. Second, in similar market segments, both large international companies and small local firms offer practically identical
services. Third, competitors sometimes begin to cooperate with one another and become mutual
subcontractors. Fourth, differences in the prices of services offered by individual companies are so small that they are not a factor behind the division of clients into
segments. Another characteristic feature is that the market is dominated by firms with foreign
capital, even though they had worse conditions at the start than their Polish
counterparts, like EMS Pocztex.
Ten years ago, DHL was the first to spread its wings on the Polish express delivery market, it benefited from the advantages of its pioneering position for many years as the only one on the local market. DHL had come to Poland to serve its network clients and it did not have to worry about them too much because it was tied to them by means of international
contracts. But, on the other hand, DHL was forced to carry out a "public
awareness" campaign in Poland because prior to 1989 a market for such services practically did not exist
here. A company gopher was usually considered to be enough when it came to
delivery. "We are the most expensive company on the Polish market, and this is our deliberate
strategy," says Joanna Regińska of DHL. "For our clients, price is not the
priority." Interestingly, in general, price is not the most important factor in choosing a service provider on this market-a rarity in
Poland.
EMS Pocztex tries to challenge DHL's elitist image by publicizing itself as an egalitarian neighborhood firm that is widely
available. And with good reason, because it has a network of 2,200 client service points located in post
offices. It is identified with the excellently known PP Poczta Polska, taking advantage of the postal service's renown and brand
name. Pocztex uses several methods to reach potential clients. It regularly uses posters and fliers available in post offices and it also advertises its services by mailing information to regular Poczta Polska
clients, chiefly companies. These activities are accompanied by periodic advertising
campaigns.
In May, a nationwide advertising campaign was conducted on the radio, in the press and through direct
mailing. It was the first campaign for Pocztex since 1997. Pocztex ads appeared in the largest dailies and
weeklies, and mailing activities were especially intense in the last two weeks of
May. According to Anna Ksyl, a promotion specialist at Pocztex, information was directed to several hundred thousand of Poczta Polska's top
clients. The 10 regional authorities of Poczta Polska handled regional campaigns on their own with the use of local newspapers and radio
stations. "The spring campaign was designed to boost brand recognition among clients who have had contact with
Pocztex; our other goal was to provide information about our services to all those who have not used them
yet," Ksyl says. For September and October, the firm is preparing another
campaign.
Masterlink Express carried out a typical advertising campaign last year. The company's Agnieszka Smektała told the Voice that the press campaign lasted from September until the end of December with the use of Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, Wprost and Businessman
Magazine. At the same time, a billboard campaign was carried out, fairly rarely used by express delivery
firms.
Tomasz Patoka, a specialist at the communications department of Stolica Messenger
Service, says that below-the-line activities are the most productive. "We don't invest in
advertising," he says. "We use our representatives in 44 offices nationwide. Their task is to reach the clients and offer them our
products. Moreover, we use telemarketing and mailing." He says that regional mailing campaigns are a very effective marketing
tool. Stolica has its own telephone information line and its own data base of
clients, even though Patoka admits that the firm also uses widely available business listings such as the Panorama Firm yellow
pages.
The Internet is becoming a standard method of communicating with clients. Every major firm has long had its own web
site, and some-like Masterlink and Stolica-have even started accepting orders
electronically. "We receive several orders [this way] a day," Patoka says.
Most firms take advantage of advertising, but opinions about its effectiveness
vary. Michał Bącalski, director-general of Kurierserwis, says that press ads are not the best way of
advertising. "The greatest results are produced by contacting the client by phone or
mailings," he says. Advertising as a tool in the fight against the competition is increasingly used by delivery
firms. But it is difficult to estimate how much money companies spend on it. Asked about
money, they usually cite trade secrecy and protection against collecting
intelligence. Certainly, there is something to it, but advertising campaigns and expenses do not determine a company's position on the market.
All representatives of express delivery firms polled said that one cannot win clients with low prices
alone. The most important factor is the speed of delivery, on-time delivery and
safety. Other important factors are the credibility and reliability of the firm. Price was listed as less important behind these
factors. This stems from the fact that differences in rates are marginal. In services performed within a given city, the differences are zl.1-2. One exception is
DHL, which deliberately charges steep prices for domestic shipments, because it specializes in international
services. Pocztex, on the other hand, focuses on a policy based on low prices. As one of few
firms, it uses the same rate for all of Europe.
With guaranteed deadlines for domestic delivery, all leading firms follow the same
policy: The shipment reaches the addressee on the next working day if it is forwarded by 4
p.m. This explains why accepting and carrying out orders on holidays is becoming an important element of the products offered by different
firms. Krzysztof Śmigera of Pocztex's analysis department says that his firm, as one of the
few, is capable of next-day delivery to practically any locality in Poland, not only to large cities as in the case of other
companies.
The growing availability of standard services is the reason why firms are beginning to
specialize. "We are moving to the delivery of packages and heavy shipments," Regińska
says. "Such are the requirements of the market." Masterlink is also focusing on
packages. Its new service, the bispak, is directed to its regular corporate
clients. It is based on periodic collection and distribution of packages of up to 35 kg (for
example, twice a day). By definition, X-press Bikers is a strongly specialized firm. Its couriers on bikes operate only in the center of the city, carrying documents and small
packages.
For these firms, corporate clients count the most. Patoka says that they account for 70 percent of
sales. But smaller firms also focus on serving one-off, chance clients, and sometimes consider this one of their
advantages. Bącalski says that thanks to the fact that his firm delivers about 150 shipments
daily, it can pay more attention to the service of each individual client and even pamper
them. This is important because customers are exceptionally disloyal. According to DHL's Regińska, even regular clients have their whims and can switch companies
overnight. Pocztex, until now fairly reserved in its discount policy, Śmigera
says, is also beginning to use discounts for large, regular clients.
There is no doubt that the express delivery services market is growing by the
year. However, estimates about its actual rate of growth vary. Pocztex's Śmigera estimates it at 50 percent
annually, and expects that the market will continue to grow at the same level for several more
years. Bącalski, on the other hand, estimates the growth rate at 10 percent
annually. Certainly, market leaders-five to eight companies with the highest sales-tend to be more optimistic in their assessment of the market. DHL's Regińska says that her firm's sales grew 40 percent in 1998 from 1997.
How will the market evolve in the years ahead? Regińska says it will undergo a clear segmentation into firms operating on an international
scale, DHL, TNT and UPS, firms focusing on domestic operations, Pocztex, Servisco and
Masterlink, and firms operating locally like X-press Bikers. Śmigera says that firms with the most extensive logistic facilities
(including independent facilities for sorting shipments) will cope the best on the market. Other important factors will include financial
backing, and in this area firms with foreign capital and the know-how of their partners lead the
way. "Certainly, the market will become more concentrated," Patoka
says. "The number of express delivery firms will shrink, and new ones stand a slim chance of making it big."
OPINION
Konrad Ciechomski, vice president of Polish Parcel Service Polkurier Sp. z o.o.:
Each of the companies operating on the express delivery services market has major reserves when it comes to unexploited capacity. This explains why we have tough competition on the market in both domestic forwarding-where, according to my estimates, turnover is growing at a rate of 80-90 percent annually, and international delivery-where the rate of growth is from 20 to 25 percent annually.
A company's position on the market primarily depends on the opportunities it has for enlisting new clients. In this area, the most successful activities involve direct marketing: winning clients through commercial representatives in local areas and by way of telemarketing. Also important are below-the-line activities, including loyalty-enhancing programs.
Pricing and tariff policies are still an unusually important tool used by firms to boost their competitiveness. This is a very favorable trend for clients, but less favorable for delivery firms. Given the small differences in tariffs offered by individual firms, various kinds of preferential programs and discounts secured from the most important clients take on special meaning.
I can see two barriers to the development of the express delivery market. The first, in international shipments, is posed by customs procedures different from those followed in the European Union. The second barrier, in domestic shipments, is posed by the arbitrary and subjective interpretation of Value-Added Tax regulations by tax offices, especially as there is a lack of a clear interpretation in this area from the Ministry of Finance.
Companies with large networks have a chance to survive on the market. The same goes for those which have a strong partner in the form of national postal services: German, Swedish or Dutch. These postal services will become increasingly involved in the Polish commercial postal services market.
Maciej Bielicki, director-general of TNT Express Worldwide Poland Sp. z o.o.:
The market remains dynamic and vigorous, and it is far from saturated. Demand for express services is growing in direct proportion to economic growth. And the future development of this market will basically depend on three factors: first-Poland's foreign trade and the scope of the Polish economy's opening up to the world as well as progress in approaching European Union structures; second-foreign investments in Poland; and third-the development of the Polish business sector.
As far as domestic services are concerned, the greatest rate of growth in this area will be displayed by transportation services as part of the entire logistic process. Fast, efficient and timely delivery of mass shipments will increasingly count on the market. This, in my opinion, explains why the position of a firm on the market will be determined by the following factors: the efficiency of the operational system, attractive price (as well as flexible pricing policies), and the quality of the services offered as well as advertising and promotion. Taking into account operational efficiency in international services, DHL, UPS, Federal Express and TNT will remain without competition for a long time to come.
In international delivery, a basic barrier is posed by the old customs law unadapted to the current requirements. In domestic services, on the other hand, this involves the lack of clarity in classifying delivery services for the purposes of calculating VAT, accompanied by the still-privileged position of Pocztex and the disastrous condition of road infrastructure and the threat to the safety for regular
deliveries.
