One customer to consider when marketing your help desk is your peers (service partners) frequently referred to as second and third level support. The single-point-of-contact support model places the help desk at the hub of the entire support organization—the most important position because it relates to keeping company employees productive. The single-point-of-contact describes the relationship of the help desk to its customers and to the other groups and departments who contribute to the service delivery. These "service partners" should not be overlooked as you proceed with your marketing efforts.

After all, as the manager or director of a help desk organization, you inevitably have frequent conversations with your service partners who are frequently referred to as "second level" and "third level" support organizations. If you use those terms "first, second, and third level" in your day-to-day conversations, you are inevitably having a negative impact on your marketing effort and here's why. In the simplest of terms, the single-point-of-contact model gives customers one place to call, e-mail, or submit Web requests, regardless of the issue, and the help desk then facilitates the resolution of the customer's issue. Single-point-of-contact, however, does not mean single-source-of-support.

The help desk, on the frontline, is fully accountable to your customers. But if the help desk is accountable to customers, then who is accountable to the help desk? Are the second and third level service teams? That's highly unlikely, given the implication behind the terms "first, second, and third level." Consider what is implied. Presumably, first level service staff knows less than second level staff, who in turn knows less than third level staff. In other words, when you use these terms, the help desk staff is generally perceived as having the least amount of knowledge, experience, and value.

But when do "first level," "second level," and "third level" distinctions work? Within any service organization, there will always be a combination of junior and senior level people. Referencing people as "first level," "second level," and "third level" is not incorrect. What is incorrect is the use of these terms to refer to various groups and departments where the single-point-of-contact service model exists. Organizations that have implemented the single-point-of-contact service model, and whose objective is first-contact resolution, have put their frontline help desks in an extremely pivotal position.

Their frontline personnel need to be aware of and have access to enormous amounts of information—far more, actually, than their peers in the other groups and departments who participate in service delivery. As you enhance your marketing efforts, don't forget the negative impact certain terms can have on your organization. Reference to "first, second, and third" level support should be eliminated. Replace these terms with more accurate ones such as "service partners." Use terms that indicate responsibilities, rather than terms that imply a hierarchy or false level of importance.

To read more about marketing your help desk, see HDI's focus book Marketing Your Help Desk by Lisa Welsher. This book is available on the HDI eStore at www.thinkhdiestore.com.