Customer satisfaction is being jeopardised by poor technology in call centres which forces agents to spend the majority of their time on administrative duties.

Call centre operatives are spending an average of 71 per cent of their time entering data, making notes, seeking advice and reading from information screens, according to new research.

A survey by Direct Magazine registers an increase of 10% from 2007, in the usage of e-mail marketing by direct marketers.

According to the report, contacting prospects through e-mail is fast becoming the most desired medium employed by the direct marketers, with over 70% contacting customers via e-mail.

However, this development doesn’t signal the end of snail mail. If not as popular, it continues to be utilized as an accompaniment for marketing strategies. The report details that 66% of direct marketers still harness direct mail as a supplement to e-mail. This is a 4% decrease from 2007. The report also records that 59% of direct marketers also use snail mail to reach sales prospects.

Direct mail was the reason for most complaints made by members of the public according to the first annual review carried out by the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB).

31.1% of total complaints received by the FRSB related to direct mail, 21.17% related to data protection issues and 21.1% to telephone fundraising. This came as a bit of a surprise, as it was expected that most complaints about fundraising would be about face to face situations, but only 13.6% of total complaints were made about this.

The report goes on to say that direct mail is causing concern and problems for many charities and supporters, but in its first year, the FRSB, set up to provide the charity sector with a self-regulatory body, seems to having a significant impact. Public trust and confidence in charity fundraising is crucial and the major responsibility of the FRSB is to be the voice of the public and ensure that sector codes of fundraising practice takes its interest into account.

This was the first time ever that the public’s attitudes to direct mail have been sought and their feedback has been sent to the Institute of Fundraising.