Telecenter Operations and Marketing Plan

 

4
Customer and User Profile

Telecenters have many resources to offer communities from business, to education, to better information and communication, to fun and exploration. What is most important is finding the right fit for your community, your users, and customers that can sustain the Telecenter and it's operations, while making it a vital contributor to your community.

Thus this chapter profiles customers and users of Telecenter using survey information from Telecenters around the nation. An examination of who is the customer, how do they use the Telecenter, and when or where do they use the Telecenter? Further, some examples of how these Telecenter are used and operating in communities will be provided, to give a practical description of Telecenters at work.

The Telecenters that we "visited" either in-person, by phone, or on-line are: the Lake Cyber Outpost- Lakeview, Oregon, Happy Camp Computer Center- Happy Camp, California, the Northwest Technology Center- Crescent City, California, Columbia Technology Center- St. Helens, Oregon, Cybersmith internet caf- Palo Alto, California, Siskyou Resource and Business Center- Yreka, California, Seattle Business Enterprise Center- Seattle, Washington, Vacaville Telecenter- Vacaville, California, the Nevada Telecenter-Nevada, Missouri, Rural Health Telecommunity Center- Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Bloomfield Telecommunity- Bloomfield, Nebraska, Chula Vista Telecenter- Chula Vista, California, Jefferson County Telecenter- Jefferson County, West Virginia, Pratt Telecommunity Center- South-central Kansas, Hartwick College Telecenter- Ostego, New York, Ackerville Telecenter- Ackerville, Ohio, General Services Administration Telecenter- Southeast Sunbelt Region 4- Fayetteville, Gainesville, Kennesaw, and Lithonia, Georgia. These Telecenters have varying functions, missions and services that they offer within their communities, and are a fraction of the Telecenters in the United States, or the world.

Customer Profiles

The spectrum of users is as broad as the applications of computers, telecommunications and the minds of the people sitting down to the terminals or using center resources. There are many tried applications already in the marketplace such as: telecommuting and telework, medical diagnosis, video classrooms and learning, legal services, real estate and property acquisition, and video conferencing.

All of the above applications have their own set of customers or users. Some of the customers are not only determined by the applications a telecenter offers, but by the setting which the telecenter is placed. A telecenter located at a college, high school, or library will attract a different customer than one located in a cafe, business park, or governmental office or building. Thus, the location in terms of setting, accessibility in the community, and traditional uses of a building must be considered when profiling the customer or user. Ideally, a telecenter, outpost, hub or access point should be located where the greatest number of users and customers will feel the most comfortable and welcome in using the site. Thus, business people may not feel comfortable about using video conferencing facilities in a high school, or internet caf. Why? In a high school, during business and school operation hours, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., there may be campus security issues, noise, conflicts in scheduling, or a setting that is less than professional when viewed on a screen. At a internet caf, again there are issues of professional appearance in the setting, noise, and other possible distraction. While all of these issues can all be overcome, the aesthetics of a facility must be carefully considered in order to optimize use.

Customers and users from the findings of our surveys come from both genders, all walks of life, all age groups, and all levels of computer and technology competency. Again, it is what the telecenter facility offers and where it is located that seems to determine the uses of that telecenter, and to a degree those who'll use it. For example, in Santa Clarita, California there is a Telecommuting Center in a business park. It was originally developed in response to road closures after the 1985 earthquake, thus their initial funding was from the local Transportation Authority. The facility was specifically designed so that employees in large companies in Los Angeles could avoid traveling into the city to work. The center flourished until the roads were repaired and then the companies wanted their employees in the main office. Thus, the center changed it's focus and began to advertise for new users. Further, their funding dried up from the Transportation Authority so new streams of revenue needed to be sought. Over the years, they have changed from a Telecommuting center that offered twenty plus terminals, video conferencing, meeting space and Internet access, to a much different look. They now service individuals instead of companies. Thus, they have gone from an open concept with workstations in a large room, to individual offices that people rent by the month. They supply the office furniture, computers and hardware, phone lines and all, the customer pays the rent. Most of these individuals work for larger firms that have head offices in other cities, or they are independent business people predominantly in data processing and graphic arts. They have found that the office concept works for them, as long as they have medium sized meeting space. They rent out the meeting space about 20 days a month and this helps to substantially pay for the facility. This is just one scenario of how one telecenter has survived over time, and metamorphosed to fit the needs of the marketplace.

Customers for Video Conferencing

Video Conferencing is one of the services that many of the Telecenters we surveyed offered. Services of a video conferencing site are categorized as: business to business conferencing, individual to individual conferencing, interactive seminars joining users in remote locations, and inter-regional meetings. Yet who uses these services? Educators, business, medical professionals, government officials and employees, legal and mediation services, judicial systems, telecommuters, community groups, and many more. What video conferencing is used for is equally as important as the categories of use. Users teach and take classes, hold meetings, diagnosis patients, mediate differences, take depositions, arraign and pass sentencing, report to work, hold conferences and special events, take continuing education classes and so on These video conferences can be interactive in real time, video and audio tape recorded for later broadcast or for documentation purposes or transcription, depending upon the equipment available at each Telecenter site. In general, users pay a conference room rental fee and charges for audio conferencing, or video conferencing with multi-points, and video or audio taping and transcription in some cases.

In an educational setting, video conferencing can be used to link up schools to teachers and courses. As in the case of Umatilla and Morrow Counties in northeastern Oregon. These two counties, as an educational service district, serve schools in a rural region of Oregon that are often as far as 75 miles apart with as few as 150 students in a K-12 setting. So how in their high schools do they teach Physics or French when they can't afford a Physics or French teacher in every school, nor can the teachers commute between schools? Through the Oregon Public Education Network and US West they received initial funding to place one video conferencing facility at their Educational Service District (ESD)offices. While this video conferencing unit serves the two county ESD the logistics are not favorable to teleclassroom services for the more rural and remote high schools. Thus, they have begun a teleclassroom project for three of their rural high schools, Heppner, Ione and Riverside. This project will place a video conferencing site in each school. These video conferencing sites will be used during school hours for classes. After school these sites can be used for community education, adult education, school board meetings, business meetings, medical diagnosis, and other teleprograms. These sites will link the more rural and remote schools to one another, and to the overall Oregon Education Network, and to Blue Mountain Community College. Thereby allowing the residents in these communities access to education, programming and conferencing capabilities with the larger Umatilla and Morrow counties and beyond.

In a business setting, video conferencing becomes a dynamic tool to keep in communication with many different business venues. The most obvious business application is the business meeting. Video conferencing is used to replace the conference call by phone, or the travel expenses of bringing employees in from various sites to a central meeting. Many of the Telecenters we surveyed reported that business customers rented their video conferencing facilities to hold regular and special business meetings. Business customers also use video conferencing to train, orient, or skills test employees at multiple sites, to complete business transactions face to face, to bring teams together for working across a distance, and to keep in touch with employees that telecommute or telework. In our surveys, Telecenters that have available video conferencing and meeting facilities use the rental fees from these services to assist in supporting their operations. Often these Telecenters seek an agreement with local educational, technical training, or job development programs as regular users of their facility.

One such facility is the Jefferson County Telecenter located in a renovated wing of a 1920s-era garment factory in Ranson, West Virginia outside of Washington D.C. While this facility is for public, private and government use for telecommunters and offers virtual offices users, they also offer video conferencing to local businesses and entrepreneurs. Along with a community education and Internet access program. However, what is interesting about this Telecenter is that they have regular users of their video conferencing facilities. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have the entire business day booked with regular clients. These clients are holding staff meetings, team meetings, and in-service trainings. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday they reserve regular business hours for business clients, evening and weekend hours are primarily used by education, community, and public meetings, courses, workshops and special events. They remarked that they often have trouble fitting new customers into the schedule. They have credited this excellent usage record to a positive marketing campaign, and to affordable rates for everyone. The funding for their facility comes in part from Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, grants, business and education sponsorships, and revenues generated from fees for use.

While education and business are the predominant use for video conferencing there are some other uses that are showing up in various communities. Video conferencing is used in South Dakota in their statewide network for interactive medical diagnosis in rural communities and for teleradiology, telepathology and electronic medical records. In Seattle, Washington the King County Courts use interactive video conferencing between the jail and the judges in the courthouse to do arraignments, sentencing, and probation hearings. In different areas, lawyers are using video conferencing to take depositions and to work with clients. Many professional fields such as medicine, dentistry, law enforcement, fire suppression, emergency medicine, accounting and finance, and lawyers are taking certification and required continuing education courses through video conferencing. Community groups are using video conferencing for workshops, special events, meetings, and in Nevada, Missouri to weekly rehearse their regional chorale. Consequently, individuals and communities across the United States are finding a multitude of uses for video conferencing. The only obstacle to full use of a video conferencing site is presenting a good marketing campaign that brings the customers in to use the facility. After that folks find many creative uses for video conferencing on their own.

Training Center & Resource Lab

Within a Telecenter's services and facilities is the capacity for the one to many approach to service delivery. One to many centers around having one trainer who instructs many students. Through this approach many important partnerships with public and private entities can be forged. Educational institutions, governments agencies and programs, businesses can use the Training Center and the Resource Lab at the Telecenter to offer an array of training and educational courses. Users can present software, hardware, or technology demonstrations, or provide to the general public software and hardware computer training, or institutional software and hardware computer training, or multi-media presentations.

With the exception of the Telecenters that are dedicated to telecommuting, almost every Telecenter we survey offers some form of one to many services. These services are a natural component of a Telecenter since there are computer terminals all at one site. Yet, a Training Center and Resource Lab depending on it's intended function may be limited in it's one to many uses by the number of terminals and/or the hardware and software available at that site. Thus, some business or educational institutions may not use a Telecenter for training and other purposes if there are too few terminals, inadequate hardware, or incompatible software.

Yet given the right hardware, software, and terminal access who uses these one to many services? Many of the Telecenters offer computer training in hardware and software use to the general public. This training is offered through differing options. Some Telecenters offer on-site courses in basic computer use with an single trainer. These courses include, how to start, run and generally use a computer, a mouse, a keyboard and so on for the very beginner to how to surf the web, to advanced macro spreadsheet applications and data base development and management courses. This allows Telecenters to build, retain, and expand their customer base by offering classes to the public in a broad spectrum of computer, software and hardware topics. Telecenters usually charge a course fee for these classes. The Columbia Technology Center located in their specially built facility in St. Helens, Oregon offers courses in this format. Focusing predominantly on Microsoft software and applications they offer courses led by an instructor in Word, Excel and so on. They offer 13 classes a month with a capacity of 12 people in each class. Their courses fill in one week after registration opening.

However, Columbia Technology Center (CTC) is a good representation of an effective use of the one to many resources available through a Telecenter. They forged many partnerships that have a positive impact on their center overall. Through a partnership with their school district they trained their whole staff on WordPerfect. They continue to train staff and teachers, while pursuing grants for "professional development for teachers" in order to expand their capability to respond to the needs to this customer. This is an especially important partnership since many schools and school districts at every level in Oregon are bringing more and more computer based technology and instruction opportunities into the classroom.

Columbia Technology Center has also developed other partnerships, one with Boise Cascade to train employees for a flat fee on Windows and other business programs. They usually offer three to five courses to Boise Cascade employees per month. Another partnership with Portland Community College to use their lab as an extended learning lab on one day a week. They have received a grant from US Bank to provide free public access to five terminals for internet and other uses. These terminals have access to scanners and printers with a fee for printing. These terminals are in use at all times with one to four users at any given time. They are seeking to expand their training components to Columbia County staff and other small business partners.

However, the bulk of their use is centered around providing Internet access, with their busiest time of day being between 3 to 7 p.m. Many of these users had to first complete courses at CTC on how to use a mouse, how to use Windows 95 or 98, and how to access the Internet. 35% of their overall usage is by individuals over 55, they offer a senior discount, and 55% of their overall usage is female. Their goal is to be a full service community based Internet and technology center. Through the development of partnerships with the school district and businesses they are reaching people all over Columbia County.

Conversely, at the Jefferson County Telecenter they too offer instructor led computer training courses, but they go a step beyond. They also offer on-line computer training opportunities through Ziff-Davis's internationally acclaimed ZD University. Over 50 instructor led classes in the hottest topics in computing today, as well as over 25 self-paced tutorials originally developed by LearnItOnline, another Ziff-Davis service merged with ZD University. Courses cover online business, programming, databases, and networking. Courses are led online by an instructor and require a textbook, and sometimes other materials and are given repeatedly throughout the year.

Jefferson County Telecenter also provides the time and location for many software and hardware companies to demonstrate their products, or to update their products. In 1998, they hosted five workshops presented by a local Microsoft dealer on Windows 98, how to install Windows 98, and how to get around the "bugs" in Windows 98. In the last two years they have hosted Microsoft, Lotus, Hewlett Packard, Gateway, Digital, Dell, Yahoo, Netscape, Compaq, Adobe and other technology firms at their site. (It must be noted that their access to some of these firms comes from their proximity to Washington D.C. and the number of computer owners and users in their community in general.)

Another Telecenter, the Nevada Telecenter: Outreach and Extension of the University of Missouri offers one to many training in a broad base of topics to a broad spectrum of their community, but uses a niche audience approach. They offer courses specifically to farmers titled: Quicken for Farmers, Quicken Taxes for Farmers, Spreadsheets for Farmers, and Internet for Farmers. These courses are so popular they are looking for other topics to expand to for Farmers. They also offer continuing education in computer applications, computer aided dispatch, GIS, database, electronic records to law enforcement and fire fighters. They are seeking other specialty and niche audiences for courses and trainings at their site. They find that courses designed to bring people together with common experiences and needs, like farmers or law enforcement, have been very popular and well attended.

Hence, there are many approaches and users for the one to many services of a Telecenter. It is up to the Telecenter to assess the needs of their community both public and private to find the right blend of courses to offer at their center. Whether it is training corporate staff like Boise Cascade employees, providing professional development for educators, or spreadsheet training to farmers, these resources can be a dynamic part of a Telecenters offerings.

Self-Directed Resource Center

The self guided options in a Telecenter are generally used by individuals who have some level or need for computer skills and access. In general, there are five areas of concentration of self guided users: Internet and community Intranet Access, Business support functions, access to community databases, business development assistance, and student services access points. But what does "self guided" mean?

Self guided means that an individual uses the various resources of the center under their own direction. Thus, staff at the Telecenter may provide technical assistance, or some initial help in using the Internet or computer system, access files or software, or referrals to useful on-line sites and sources. But beyond that, the user is expected to direct themselves through whatever work or research they are completing.

In an academic setting, the student services access or the self guided use of a telecenter looks a lot like using the reference library and the library stacks, with the exception that the student is now at a computer terminal. Research on every topic imaginable can be carried out on-line, with information, resources all readily available and accessible to be printed out or downloaded. Or there are many sites on-line that offer actual learning experiences, everything from how to learn Sanskrit and Sanskrit lessons, to the various virtual classrooms and courses, to real time interactive offerings such as those on the Discovery Channel site. Further, students can complete homework using word processing, spreadsheet or other software applications available. In some areas, students can submit their homework or assignments on-line. At Southern Oregon University, in many departments, students now can find their syllabi, some course lecture notes, bibliographies, instructor's office hours for advice, and are expected to submit their class work on-line.

With 18% of wage earners in the United States working out of the home support to business through a Telecenter is an important component of services. The small home business person and entrepreneurs across the country are increasingly seeking new tools, assistance and solutions for their businesses. Thus, for the business person, entrepreneur, the business development assistance as a self guided use of a telecenter is valuable and limitless. Everything from how to start, develop, and grow your business in terms of software, and on-line offerings exists, to tax, legal advice, and access to government agencies exists. For example, the state of Oregon offers on-line technical assistance to non-profit organizations and community services through www.tacs.org/~tacs. This site offers information on: how to start a non-profit organization, how to apply for tax exempt status, running you organization, and a calendar of workshops, classes, conferences and events on nonprofit issues. Many state and federal agencies have direct access to information, forms, and advice on-line for business people. Similar offerings are available on-line through the Small Business Administration focusing on the issues for the small and developing business, the Seattle Business Information Enterprise Telecenter is one such site.

The Seattle Business Information Enterprise Telecenter is a apart of the Small Business Administrations services and facilities in Seattle. In the Telecenter they have twelve terminals, IBM compatible and Macs, available for use during their regular business hours. Further the Telecenter has software specific to business needs and applications such as start-up and development, accounting, taxes and so on. The Telecenter also provides a self help library and two staff for on-site assistance with research. They also have some resources and services available to assist in incubating a small business. However, this is an aspect of their program they are still developing. This Telecenter is predominantly used by individuals working with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to in the development of their business plans which assist them in seeking funds from the SBA, banks or other investors.

Further, many entrepreneurs and small business people conduct business on the worldwide web. Thus, they require computer access, resources, and technical assistance in creating, developing and maintaining a website. Although, not initially a self guided option or use, the resources of the Telecenter could be used to assist business people with their website needs. This leads into the discussion of a Telecenter's business support functions as a self guided option.

The business support functions as a self guided option, seem to be the most popular in counties, cities or areas that are outside of a major metropolitan area that workers must commute into. Thus, in communities like Santa Clarita, Chula Vista, and Vacaville California, we find active TeleCommunting/Telecenters. These centers offer computer terminals with business and graphics software and applications, modems, dedicated fax machines and lines, scanners, copy machines, large format printing, phones, office space, meeting space, and often video conferencing. Their predominant focus is to if not eliminate commuting into the office in the "big city," then to significantly reduce it. The most significant challenge with these Telecenters is to keep them open by promoting telecommuting and telework.

Again and again, during our survey the response from these centers include remarks on finding an effective marketing campaign for these business services. Why? While telecommuting and telework are viable solutions to freeway overcrowding, long distance commutes, or corporate office overcrowding there is still the corporate/business mentality that, "if you aren't in the office, you aren't working." Thus, corporations may try out telecommuting for an amount of time, or in certain instances like to reintegrate an employee after or during maternity leave, or if an employee is injured and rehabilitating, or in the case of roads being inaccessible after and earthquake. Or corporations and companies may try our telecommuting to assist employee morale. However, in most cases, within a year, employees are back in the corporate offices. Simply put, the boss just wants to see their face everyday. Many corporations site this an issue of accountability, or in having difficulty in managing an employee over a distance.

While, these can be obstacles to "managing" they can all be overcome with some simple planning and implementation of changes in corporate attitude and expectations. As stated at this on-line site for Ackerville, Ohio's telecommuting program, "The employer may have deadlines as to when projects must be completed and may have certain times of day when tasks must be done or times when the employee is 'on call.' Rules may be created because managers are concerned with telecommuting. They 'like to see employees at desks in the process of work' so that they know the work is being completed efficiently and correctly. However, in telecommuting jobs managers have seen 'productivity increases of 40%', but a 'range of 10% -40% is probably more typical. Many successful companies have seen the added benefits of telework. 'Two-thirds of fortune 1000 companies currently have telecommuting programs, half of which were instituted in the past two years. A majority of those with telecommuting programs expect them to grow, while nearly 60% of executives from companies without programs expect to institute one within the next three years."

Thus, a Telecenter in an area that is not adjacent to an urban or metropolitan business center, may need a marketing campaign to attract and retain the telework or telecommuting company customers. There is also the element, as in Santa Clarita's case, where telecommuting and telework has supported their center through individual employees using the center. Such as graphic artists that contract on a project-by-project basis with firms, or data processors who also work by contract, or by the project. Other professionals such as consultants, writers, editors, proofreaders, advertising professionals, regional sales people etc. also benefit from the use of Telecenters.

While Internet use may seem like a generic reason or use of a Telecenter, it is a self guided use with a growing audience in the area of Internet and community Intranet access. Each day, more and more, people worldwide and locally log on to the Internet. Therefore, more and more people desire access to the Internet in more and more places. So, some Telecenters have found that individuals passing through their towns, traveling, touring by car, or by RV wish to have access to the Internet. They may not own a portable laptop computer, or choose to carry this expense item on a pleasure trip, yet they may have need to check their e-mail, or contact friends, family, or business connections by e-mail or on-line. They can also save the expense or aggravation of long distance phone calls, by renting some time at a Telecenter to go on-line. Travelers keep in contact with their homes, business and world, map their travel route, make hotel, motel or dinner reservations on-line, and much more.

Equally, as important and used is local access to the Internet. More and more people of all ages, abilities, interests, and computer skills are logging on. Yet, not everyone wants to own, or can afford to own a home computer, or they may not want to pay the monthly Internet service fee and phone line charges. (This is especially true in rural areas where logging on to the Internet may require a long distance phone call and charges to connect the Internet server.) Thus, a Telecenter can meet the local need for Internet access in one site. Where we once dropped by the local post office to get our mail, greet our friends, post our letters and bills, now we can add a stop to the Telecenter to pick up our e-mail. Or to do some research, or shopping, or to chat with friends and family, or to visit a website, or take a class, file our federal income taxes, register for college, do some banking and investing, or make travel arrangements.

The last option within self guided access to a Telecenter is the access to community databases. Every Telecenter we surveyed offered access to community databases whether these were government, public library or university library, achieves, and other service directories, the offerings depend upon the predominant users of the Telecenter and their needs, and also the costs of subscribing to any of these resources. But all Telecenters found that these databases were used, requested and an integral offering of their service and center.

It should be noted that in the self guided option that some Telecenters raised the issue of youth and children's access to certain sites on the Internet that are not for children. And further, certain sites on the Internet that contain objectionable, violent, or pornographic materials by anyone using the center. While individuals pay for access to the Internet at a Telecenter, some centers have reserved the right to "block out" certain uses and accesses for their terminals. They have done so by having a stated and publicly displayed operating and access policy and by implementing software that blocks out these Internet sites. By in large, Telecenters surveyed did not have many adverse experiences of this kind to report, yet they sited this as an issue to consider, along with any other system security or virus scanning issues.

Summary of Customer Profiles

From the results of our survey and profiles of various Telecenter sites across the country, we have come to see that Telecenters have taken on the personality and characteristics of their communities. They are the busiest when they respond to the needs of public and private customers and enter into active partnerships with a variety of users. They have users of all ages and both genders, and people of all backgrounds, experiences and interests. Further, those Telecenters that have multiple options, such as self guided, video conferencing and one to many are widely used and accessed by their customers. There are also some very creative uses of Telecenters such as rehearsals of chorales and training directed to farmers, that speak to the ability of technology to assist humanity with a myriad of needs. The niche market captured tends to define the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the customers more than the product itself. For example, if the Video Conferencing product/service line makes significant penetration into the medical consultation field, the profile of users will match the medical service providers profile. Since we are identifying more broad markets, we have elected to provide a list of customers as opposed to a singe niche profile.

Customer Profiles

Demographic/ Psychographic	Video Conferencing	Training Center/ Resource Lab	Self-Directed Resource Center
WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?	Businesses, Field Representatives, Management groups, Educators, Legal Practitioners, Medical Personnel, Government Officials,	Software Manufacturers and Retailers, Business Trainers, Educators, Entrepreneurs, Service Organizations, Private Citizens	Home businesses, Students, Job Seekers, Would-be entrepreneurs, Visitors to Town, Non-profits,
WHAT ACTIVITIES DO THEY DO?	Many to many conferences, Presentations to clients at remote locations, Distance learning, Participation in Seminars, Consultation, Mediation and Depositions, Medical Consultation, Continuing Education	Demonstrate new technology, Train staff, Learn a new skill, Provide fee-for-service instruction, Provide community information.	Research, Internet Access, word processing, design, resume preparation, on-line tax preparation, business planning, loan prep, grant writing, community database, access.
WHAT PRODUCTS ARE PRODUCED?	Seminars, Regional Conferences, Legal Opinions, Medical Diagnosis, Staff Meetings, Presentations	Software training, Group training, Continuing education accreditation.	Resumes, Reports, Business Plans, Brochures, Flyers, Grants, E-mail Retrievals
SPECIAL NOTES:	Video Conferencing facilities often will include special set-ups based on the needs of the user. All pricing models and operating procedures will need to address this issue.	When developing a marketing plan for this product-line their are two types of audiences that must be addressed; 1) those teaching the course, and 2) those who would take the course.	Because this serves a wide variety of clientele, the hours of operation will need to be significantly greater than standard business hours.

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