Matchboard Celebrates One Year

[Open letter to Matchboard Suppliers]

On Sep.3, 2012, Matchboard launched its smart sourcing website to the market, and today, we celebrate our 1-year anniversary!   Thanks to every one of our suppliers, Matchboard has been able to meet market demand for a huge variety of products and services across the sales, customer service and back office spectrum.  In a short space of time, we’ve secured hundredsof clients from small, medium and large enterprise, and from the local, state and federal government sector.   And from our customer satisfaction surveys, testimonials and repeat business, we know that our service is highly valued by those who use it.  At the same time, we’ve identified some exciting opportunities to enhance our offering, and look forward to working together with each and every Matchboard supplier to make our second year an even better one!  

Year 1 Highlights

Category-specific
We shortlisted suppliers to meet buyer needs across seven key categories.  In our largest category,outsourcing, we matched requests for sales, customer service, collections, appointment-setting, lead generation, health information, surveys and data processing, in locations as diverse as Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Fiji, Indonesia and South Africa.  The requests ranged from tiny telemarketing campaigns to 200-FTE strategic outsourcing initiatives.

In technology, we helped clients find knowledge management systems, workforce management and customer contact management software, as well as stand-alone call recording, dialler, web chat and CRM solutions.  Interestingly, nearly all requests were for cloud or hosted (rather than premise-based) solutions.

In consulting, clients have used Matchboard to find expert assistance in areas such as contact centre operations and technology, to provide reviews and recommendations, project and change management, and process design and re-engineering.

We launched digital as a category in March, connecting dozens of companies with suppliers across all facets of their digital customer strategy: from social media monitoring and management to SEO and Google AdWords campaigns, targeted display and Youtube advertising, and online B2B lead generation.

In data, we matched requests for list rental (telemarketing, email and mail data), as well as data cleansing and verification.  These solutions are enabling companies to provide a better customer experience by improving data accuracy and efficiency in self-serve and contact centre environments.

In training, we met needs for sales and service, leadership and emotional intelligence training, as well as email writing skills training.  We predict future demand for social media skills training.

And in recruiting, we’ve connected companies with specialist needs for managers and executives in operational, business development, IT and consulting roles.  We’ve also responded to market demand for suppliers of online assessment tools.

General

• Almost 90% of Matchboard suppliers benefited from new business leads within 3 months of joining. 
• We launched a monthly enewsletter, which now has a database of more than 2000 subscribers and an industry-leading open rate.  (Please email us if you are not receiving this newsletter.)
• We signed partnerships with leading industry associations (ATA, CCMA and the Customer Service Council) and added 30 referral partners to our network.
• We appeared in countless media, from the mainstream (Sydney Morning Herald, The Age) to niche (eg. Procurement Professionals, Dynamic Business, Anthill Magazine).  You can view our full media coverage here. Also watch out for a feature story on Matchboard in this month’s Business Director Magazine, to be syndicated across Google news, Yahoo news, Bing, Associated Press, Linkedin, ABC News, and Reuters and distributed in Qantas and Virgin Business Lounges!
• We posted 11 client testimonials on our home page, and will continue to add 1 a month.
• We’ve developed a strong LinkedIn presence, as you may well be aware!  If you aren’t following us on LinkedIn already, please follow our updates here!
• We were the media partner for four major industry events: G-Force Australia 2013, Call to Excellence, Government Contact Centre Summit 2013 and the Shared Services and Outsourcing Summit.
• We extended our matchmaking service to assist companies looking to buy or sell a business in the niche in which Matchboard operates.  One transaction has closed, with two more in progress.  If you’re looking to sell your business, or invest in one, please contact us.

NEW: Matchboard Proactive

Many suppliers have approached Matchboard about other ways we could help generate new business leads.  There is clearly a demand for business development assistance which goes beyond our web-based matching service.  To this end, I’m pleased to announce some exciting new offerings, under the banner Matchboard Proactive:

• Firstly, we’re launching a series of boardroom lunch events, where Matchboard will contribute an audience of prospects, and the supplier will supply an engaging speaker and venue/catering.  Our first event kicks off tomorrow in Sydney – a sell-out within two days of advertising!   Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about an event for your business.
• We’ve developed a PR package which enables suppliers to promote a special offer across multiple Matchboard media – our newsletter, website and LinkedIn platform – reaching thousands of prospects.
• We’ve beefed up our database of suppliers who specialise in B2B lead generation, PR and marketing, so if you need help with any of the following services, please contact us:

1. Set appointments for your sales team through high-end telemarketing
2.  Acquire a list of calling prospects
3. Write and distribute a white paper online to your target market
4. Appoint a digital marketing agency to manage your SEO or SEM (Adwords) campaigns
5. Create call-to-action marketing materials
6. Engage a PR agency, with specialisation in technology or B2B
7. Get assistance with blog-writing
8. Access sales support through professional bid management and tender writing
9. General consulting about how to approach the market!

Matchboard an ATA Silver Sponsor

This week Matchboard was thrilled to become a national silver sponsor of the ATA, Australia’s peak body for the contact centre industry.  From a vendor perspective, the ATA provides many great networking opportunities, from its national conference in October to regular breakfast and lunch events with members.  In addition, the ATA offers sponsorship packages where you can showcase your offering through webinars, events and member e-communications.  If you’re interested in discussing how the ATA could support your goals, please contact CEO Fiona Keough.

Thank you once again to all valued Matchboard Suppliers!  Here’s to another year of collaboration and growing together!

Sharon Melamed
Managing Director

Last updated on: March 18, 2022