When most of us think of a 'telechannel,' the first thought that comes to mind is those uninvited telemarketers who call just as we're sitting down to dinner. Cold-calling into consumers' homes, though, is just a small part of how companies use telechannels. In 1997, for example, US business-to-business sales over the phone totalled over $158 billion dollars and represented well over half of all telephone-based transaction volume ^[1]. Today, telechannels handle a diverse range of responsibilities such as technical support, customer service, catalogue sales order processing, lead generation for other channels, outbound sales campaigns, and various customer loyalty/retention programs. Far from being just another low-cost channel with limited sales and service capabilities, the telechannel is a versatile and potent way to do business, and offers its own unique brand of competitive advantage. Consider the following:

• Marriott, the worldwide leader in lodging, has over the past twenty years built a world-class call centre to book room reservations, corporate events and major conferences. While many regional hotel chains and smaller national players still book these reservations at the individual-property level, Marriott's call centre provides centralized handling of over 50,000 calls per day by over 2000 telereps to book reservations across its entire lodging network.

  In addition to being a significant source of the company's rapid expansion and growth, this call centre has enabled Marriott to launch whole new businesses quickly and cost effectively. For example, when Marriott launched two hotel chains for the lower-cost travel niche, Courtyard...