Note---A Mathematical Model for Evaluating Cross-Sales Policies in Telephone Service Centers

Authors:
Reynold E. Byers;Kut C. So
Affiliations:
The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697;The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
Venue:
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Year:
2007

Citing 6
Cited 2

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Fundamentals of queueing theory (2nd ed.).
Introduction to Stochastic Dynamic Programming: Probability and Mathematical

Introduction to Stochastic Dynamic Programming: Probability and Mathematical
Optimal multithreshold control for a BMAP/G/1 queue with N service modes

Queueing Systems: Theory and Applications
On the Optimality of a Switch- Over Policy for Controlling the Queue Size in an M/G/1 Queue with Varibale Service Rate

Proceedings of the 7th IFIP Conference on Optimization Techniques: Modeling and Optimization in the Service of Man, Part 1
Commissioned Paper: Telephone Call Centers: Tutorial, Review, and Research Prospects

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Value Creation in Service Delivery: Relating Market Segmentation, Incentives, and Operational Performance

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

Cross-Selling in a Call Center with a Heterogeneous Customer Population

Operations Research
When Promotions Meet Operations: Cross-Selling and Its Effect on Call Center Performance

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

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Abstract

Cross-selling in telephone service centers is seen by industry as a useful means to generate profits from an existing customer base. Introducing cross-sales to a service center, however, needs to be properly managed as it could degrade customer service quality. Real-time customer and system information can be used to set the appropriate control policy for cross-sales to enhance profitability without causing undesirable service degradation for calling customers. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the value of using real-time information in selecting optimal control policies for cross-sales in telephone service centers. Specifically, we develop an introductory mathematical model to incorporate the use of two types of information, system status (queuing congestion) and customer profile (likelihood of purchase) in determining the optimal control policy to maximize the expected operating profit of the system. We hope to stimulate further research in this area by providing a groundwork for further modeling. We show that using more information increases a call center's operating profit. Improvements were dramatic for environments with intermediate utilization and high customer heterogeneity.