Marketing the Help Desk By David Fletcher, Science Applications International Corporation Dave's Top Ten 10   Use multiple methods 9   Contact targets early (in their career, in the day) 8   Use customer testimonials in materials 7   Join organizations that management respects 6   Be a visible sponsor of the undesirable 5   Use other organizations to market for you 4   Speak the language of the target group 3   Sell from both cost & benefit perspectives 2   Create a brochure or a resume 1   Gather metrics & write reports that highlight contributions to corporate strategic direction    Don't write your own newsletter! Get published in everyone else's!    Print a "tips and tricks" or "application ideas" sheet for a specific organization. (Accountants using computers, secretaries and monthly reports).    Change your name.    Create a virtual computer training & support organization to address the concerns of specific groups.    Start an advanced user's newsletter based on applications supported by the computer training and support organization.    Sponsor a trivia contest. (Award prizes you picked up in the exhibit hall).    Publish a telephone list of your community's computer user groups.    Develop a letter outlining services available to managers.    Produce a strategic plan response. Copy the format of the plan and highlight special projects, value-added activities and your contributions.    Be the central location for information on upcoming events, changes in operation, or anything easily distributed.    Distribute your mission statement. Put a copy on the back of your business cards.    Cite a Federal regulation or guideline and describe how your organization can assist in compliance (computer security, OHSA, FLSA).    Add a note to all your training and support materials "Replacement value $XX.XX.".    Develop a monthly report on the cost of services used by each organization.    Build a display box to distribute your materials. Put your logo on the front. Put a box in the cafeteria and every hallway.    Produce an annual report. Highlight visible contributions to management goals. Summarize year-end statistics.    Produce a bookmark that outlines how to obtain computer training & support services more efficiently.    Produce a list of currently supported products and services.    Distribute job aids for computer software.    Use customer testimonials to advertise your services.    Create a brochure to advertise computer training and support and its services.    Send out birthday cards to your best (worst) customers.    Send free subscription cards for professional magazines to customers.    Send product evaluation cards to customers who are infrequent users of supported products. Ask for their comments.    Create a voice mail box and an e-mail account to receive comments and suggestions for the computer training and support organization. Use the corporate Intranet.    Add the Help Desk du jour to the snack bar menu.    Get a link on the corporate procedures page.    Offer to automate standard forms.    Put the tip of the day, month, week as a lead-in message to your call distribution system. Add an option for network status.    Create a computer training and support welcome wagon. Visit or call every new employee and give them your brochure.    Hold a slogan contest. Print the slogans on bumper stickers or pins and hand out to callers.    Produce a video tape commercial (home movie quality is fine) about the organization. Show it in all training classes.    Route copies of technical notes, tips and tricks, and newsworthy articles to influential contacts in each organization.    Put together a volleyball team, a softball team, a hiking club.    Host a product focus day.    Offer training, tips, customer-developed applications.    Put a copy of your brochure in everyone's pay envelope.    Send out a survey. Leave space for free form comments. Include an advertisement for services with each form.    Keep a favors list. When someone helps you, return the favor -- "compliments of our organization.".    Create voice mail commercials for new services.    Use other support organizations to help locate your marketing targets.    Design a computer security training module with the computer training & support's recommendations for trouble-free computing.    Adopt a school, a park, a trail, a roadside.    Hold a user's group meetings during lunch, before or after work.    Sponsor any celebration you can, National Computer Security Day, Founder's Day, Flag Day, Income tax day, Birthday of the Macintosh computer.    Use electronic mail to put a bulletin board together. Put computer user tips, updates, templates and utilities in special mailboxes.    Distribute freeware and shareware such as virus checkers, screen savers, widely used forms, and custom utility libraries.    Develop a job aid for secretaries on how to use a company product or service.    Hold training review days. Feature a particular application or product and give special attention to anyone who calls in to discuss the training topic.    Distribute audio tapes containing instructions.    Update distant users on new procedures and services in your organization.    Put an expert on duty in a centralized location such as the training room or a conference room.    Team up with another support organization to develop solutions.    Maintain data on every user's computing environment, their service, training, and preferred software. Offer them services based on past interactions.    Get a mouse pad imprinted with network logon commands and the computer training & support telephone number.    Create an "information by FAX" system to fax information to customers.    Advertise a research service for software features and functions.    Hold an open house at the help desk.    Create a user's fax newsletter.    Update recent users of your services. Put them in touch with other users of the services.    Mail brochure to first time computer training & support customers; first time students.    Publish a telephone list of vendors who provide free product support and information.    Meet with different organizations to discuss your mission statement.    Collaborate with another organization (training, repair services) to produce an advertising document for their services. Advertise your contribution.    Produce a bookmark with network logon services.    Create an Introduction to the computer training and support organization video for use in new employee orientation.    Sponsor the Combined Federal Campaign, the Savings Bond drive, a food or clothing drive.    Create voice mail boxes with instructions for recurring problems.    Publish a list of Internet LISTSERVs and NEWSGROUPS of general interest to an organization.    Distribute advertisements for home computers.    Track customer complaints in your call tracking system. Advertise the service.    Create an internal World Wide Web site for the computer training and support organization.    Take out an ad in your company newsletter, company store catalog, or other employee publication.    Create a sticker with your telephone number AND the steps customers should take before calling the computer training & support.    Circulate articles from the Life Raft and Service News and Real Market Research.    Visit a customer and provide an on-site service.    Create custom help files, complete with your logo and mission statement and distribute to customers.    Put an advertisement in all of your company's training materials.    Create a support level summary card that describes services available and slip in every software manual or case.    Keep a list of your frequent callers by software type.    Provide them with advanced notice of new products and services.    Put multiple listings in your corporate telephone directory.    Compare your organization with the profession and distribute the comparisons (benchmark data).    Create Computer training & support wallpaper, startup screens, start up programs.    Send holiday (any holiday) greetings by fax.    Put training posters on the ceiling, in the rest room, and inside the lunchroom magazines.    Produce a trend report and customize a cover letter for each customer organization.    Participate in a fund drive for public television or radio.    Put table tents or placards in the company cafeteria.    Create a computer training & support logo. Put it on all the "give-away" items.    Offer a "preventive maintenance" workshop for home computer users.    Set up a configuration system for laptop users who also have desktop computers.    Develop your own stationery & letterhead.    Invite customers to visit your computer training & support facilities.    Hold a quarterly review of your call tracking system or Knowledgebase. Invite the public.    Publish toll-free support numbers and distribute to advanced users.    Offer to be the beta test site for company developed software applications.    Send users copies of new templates, and electronic memo forms.    Distribute your call center and training program statistics.    Create video magazine updates of short training topics, product demonstrations, and quick tips and tricks.    Distribute a one page, sample service level agreement.    Customize Windows Help with your logo.    Develop customized training to accompany a product or service kick-off.    MBWA. (Market By Walking Around) Make appearances at the staff meetings of other organizations.    MBWA. Ask other organizations what you can do to help.    MBWA. Be visible! Nothing markets your services quite as well as your personal visibility and communication. Home | Daily Report | Resource Center | Company | Affiliations | Research | Contact Us © 1998 Real Market Research Corporation.          Real Market is a registered trademark of Real Market, Inc.