Bell Atlantic Presents Frequency Marketing, Inc. With Supplier Excellence Award

23 June 1999

Bell Atlantic Presents Frequency Marketing, Inc. With Supplier Excellence Award; Company Receives High Marks for On-Time Delivery and Pricing

    NEW YORK--June 22, 1999--Frequency Marketing, Inc., (FMI) of Milford, Ohio, has won the Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award for outstanding customer service. FMI is a marketing services company that developed and manages Bell Atlantic's Business Link Reward Program. The program provides customers with Bonus Credits based on their use of Bell Atlantic products and services, operating like an airline frequent flier program. The Bonus Credits can be redeemed for discounts on products and services from Bell Atlantic and other marketing partners.
    Richard G. Barlow, president of FMI, will accept the award on June 24 at 11:30am, from Dana Ainge, director, Bell Atlantic General Business Market Management at FMI's headquarters.
    "Our suppliers play a vital role in Bell Atlantic's mission to care for our customers, anticipate their needs and provide them with outstanding service," said Dana Ainge. "FMI's customer service representatives have consistently met or exceeded our standard for call answering, and the Supplier Excellence Awards program enables us to recognize such companies for their hard work and dedication to excellence."
    In addition to working with Bell Atlantic to handle the on-going management of the program, FMI also designs all member communications and manages a database of more than 500,000 Business Link customers.
    "Bell Atlantic is a very progressive company in the area of customer relationship management," said Barlow. "They've embraced a customer-focused approach to recognizing and rewarding customers which will translate into increased loyalty and market share gains."
    FMI is one of only nine suppliers, out of Bell Atlantic's 6,500 suppliers, to earn the Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award. The suppliers were judged on key performance attributes, including quality, responsiveness, delivery and customer satisfaction, for the products and services they provided to Bell Atlantic.
    The annual Supplier Excellence Awards program enables Bell Atlantic to thank the winners publicly for their hard work and dedication to excellence, which help Bell Atlantic maintain its position as a market leader. In addition, the award encourages other suppliers to raise their level of performance.
    The other winners of the Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award are:

Ameriphone, Inc., Garden Grove, Calif.

Avanti/Case-Hoyt Corp., Miami, Fla.

Central Pennsylvania Transportation Inc., Lancaster, Penn.

Fraser Paper, Inc., Stamford, Conn.

Hartling Communications, Inc., of Burlington, Mass.

Moore North America, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.

Siecor Corp., Hickory, N.C.

Transportation Displays Inc., New York, N.Y.

    Editors note: Reporters interested in attending the awards celebration should call Jill McBride at 513-231-5115 or Sharon Beadle at 212-395-1802.

    Frequency Marketing Inc. is a specialized marketing services company providing complete resources for the design, implementation and management of frequency-marketing programs which recognize and reward customers by tracking their purchase behavior. For nearly two decades, FMI has worked with such notable clients as AutoNation USA, Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Bell Atlantic, General Electric, American Express, Prudential, General Motors and ITT Sheraton. Additionally, FMI publishes COLLOQUY, The Quarterly Frequency-Marketing Newsletter, and its webzine counterpart, COLLOQUY.COM, which report exclusively on frequency-marketing programs across all industries.
    Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.

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