Northern
Communications
Reaching People When
It Counts Most
SUDBURY • NORTH BAY . TIMMINS
JUNE 1995, ISSUE 2

 
Maximize Your Communication
Minimize Your Costs
 How do I get the most for the least? That ques­tion applies to everyone and everything we pur­chase. Communication included. Let me simplify the paging industry in layman’s terms. Paged messages are in two general categories. Category #1 means that it never utilizes a live operator to receive or send the message. It is all done by computers. Nu­meric pagers are a great example of this. I dial your telephone number. I get a recording telling me I have reached your pager and instructing me to punch my telephone number into the phone. I do so and hang up. Your pager alerts almost instantly, and you get my telephone number on the screen. You call me back and we are able to discuss what­ever I paged you for - (voice and tone pagers also fall into Category #1). Category #2 involves a live operator every time a message is sent out. I dial your number and a live operator answers the line with your customized greeting. The operator takes my message, keys it into the computer, and pages it out to you. Your pager alerts and you receive the full message in written text. You decide whether or not you have to call me.

Obviously operator answered calls provide a higher level of service to you and your client base. They also involve labour charges in order to de­liver the messages. Should you and/or your clients require this level of service, make certain you are doing everything you can in order to minimize your costs. Here are some helpful pointers:

1.    If you have a receptionist who answers your telephone, you can actually do the paging from your desktop computer, saving operator hours with us, and the charges that go with them.

2.    If you choose, you may purchase your pager in­stead of renting it. This will reduce your monthly rates.

3.    For those using alpha pagers, for $2.00 per month you can add a numeric access to your existing pager. This means people can page you without using a live operator. Again it is a significant sav­ings to you.

4.    You can also add a mailbox to your numeric pager access for only $2.00 per month. This al­lows callers to leave you a detailed message, without incurring live operator time.

Good News For Northern’s Clients! CAM-X April 1995 Survey Results In

CAM-X is the Canadian Association of Mes­sage Exchanges. It is a national association. “Everyone had discarded the flat rate system. Those who have a low base rate have very high per call or minute rates, and vice versa.” 44% of members charge based on time used over base rates. 36% charge on a per call basis over base rates. 20% offer both time and per call bill­ing options. Northern Communications charges based on time usage, as it is the most equitable method of invoicing. This ensures people pay only for what they are using, and nothing more. Results from across the country show that our base rates are slightly below average, while our time rates are average.

“Her Favourite Device Today
Is Her Pager”
Globe and Mail Reprint

 Penny Brown, associate broker with Johnstone & Dan­iel Ltd. Realtors in Toronto, is one of the most suc­cessful real estate agents in Canada. She attributes part of her success to keeping at the forefront of any tech­nological advantage that can help her make a sale. She was one of the first to use a cellular phone. The cell phone remains an important part of her electronic portfolio, but her favourite device today is her pager. “A cellular phone is intrusive,” she says. “A pager can quietly slip you the information you need and you don’t interrupt what you are doing with a party who wants to be the centre of your attention.” Ms. Brown gets 40 to 50 pages a day. She doesn’t have to break into the middle of an offer to answer a telephone.

 A FEW KIND WORDS

Dear Gayle;

    We would like to express our thanks for showing efficiency in making sure that we received a call at 1:54am on Saturday. We would especially like to thank Julie for being thorough with her message. It makes our job much easier when there is someone like Julie to get our messages to us complete and quickly. Thanks again!

Kay McArthur

Administrator

Northern Insurance Construction

Make It Easier For Your

Clients To Buy From You!

Ever wonder where the call goes and who answers the telephone when you dial a 1-800 number to place an order. Order entry is a big business! Sometimes your call goes to Toronto. Sometimes Vancouver. Sometimes Halifax. Sometimes these calls come into Northern Communications! That’s right. We are in the “call centre” order entry business too! If you have a product to sell, we can help make the buying process easier. Let’s say you put an advertisement into the pa­per or magazine showing your product and its price -(or drop off flyers in mailboxes or leave them for pick up in stores, hotels .. .) The bottom of the advertise­ment reads “To place your order, call us 24 hours a day at 555-1212.” The client picks up the phone, calls the number, we answer with the instructions you gave us. We take the information you ask us to (name, ad­dress, quantity, number, colour, visa number...) You don’t have to sit by the telephone, or ask people to leave orders on an answering machine. You have just made it simple for your client to purchase your prod­uct. You have also increased the power of your ad­vertising and your credibility by having a live an­swered order line 24 hours per day. It’s good for your client, and increased sales is certainly good for you.

It’s A Boy!

Congratulations Marilyn! (one of our call center operators) Our clients and our client’s clients will miss your voice while you are on maternity leave.

Freedom With

Northern’s People Pager

•       Purchase your brand new Motorola numeric pager for only $99.00!

•       Audio alert or silent vibration mode

•        3yearwarranty!

•       Unlimitcd air time for only $12.00 per month!

•       Or rent the above pager for $19.95 air time included.

Message Centre Supervisors

Gayle Passanen (Sudbury)    673-2955

Paulette Peters (North Bay)    474-2200

Lucy Majnarich (Timmins)    268-4822

Rick Delorme - Branch Mgr. N. Bay      474-2200

 Mike Shantz - Division Manager               674-6453

John Whitehead - General Manager    674-6454

SALES

Sudbury    674-6462

Timmins    268-4822

North Bay    474-2200

Toll Free:    (800) 461-3317

Send mail to info@northerncom.com with questions or comments about this web site.