If your business is based around sales, which most businesses are these days in one way or another, you cannot afford to lose customers who try to contact you. Such calls should be valued by a business, and customers need to feel that they are important. But, with increased demand on your business, you might be finding it difficult to get to every single call straight away. Luckily there’s a way to fix that. Call management software programs can help you manage your inbound calls and secure more successful sales.
Follow these four tips to help ensure you get the most out of your call management software program.
1) Reserve the voice channel for those who need it most.
Some people prefer to call companies, while others like to use live chat or email.
For those who like to call, you’ll want to maintain a toll-free number so you can always be reached. But be strategic about where you place it. Putting the number at the top of your homepage widens how many incoming calls you receive and lowers their value, especially for mid-sized companies. Consider putting the number at the bottom of your product or pricing pages or right below your calls-to-action.
Furthermore, depending on where people are in the buying cycle, they may also be better served by website-based live help tools like live chat. This streamlines phone volume while ensuring clients receive one-on-one attention as needed.
2) Follow through with your promise to be available.
Once you’ve ensured that you’re only getting the most profitable kinds of phone calls, the next step is to guarantee there’s someone qualified on your end to pick up. Don’t let the call go to voicemail or to an administrative assistant; the person answering needs to immediately be the right one. Consider using a cloud-hosted communications system to route the calls to the right people based on the customer’s interest or profile. Additionally, you might want to consider establishing an on-call system for your company, especially if you have a small enough team that it’s reasonable for one team member to handle a shift alone
3) Track and analyse your inbound calls.
Consider providing different numbers for your business to track the performance of your call channel. Call analytics services allow you to categorise incoming calls based on their interest and quality. For example, you can provide one number for Yelp listings versus one for Yellow Pages or Google ads.
From here, you’ll be able to track the success of your advertising expenses while still being able to respond to individual customers. Personalise the numbers you put on your business cards and in your email signature so that you’re giving specific numbers to various types of potential clients.
4) Make your customer data work for you.
Getting calls is great, but knowing what to do once you have them is even better. Studies show that salespeople are 15% more productive if they have access to customer relationship management (CRM) data while on a call. Having access to all of this accumulated and recorded information on-the-go can make a huge difference in the performance of your inbound call channel, especially when routing calls to field or technical personnel.
Look into integrating your CRM with your phone system using Computer Telephony Integration (CTI). This ensures that the call is logged once the conversation is over and that the salesperson is prompted to update the record. Not only does this improve the performance of your inbound marketing efforts, it significantly reduces average handle times and increases customer satisfaction.
Every business should embrace and enforce an inbound call strategy to get an edge over competitors who rely on self-service and automation. Don’t be afraid to advertise your telephone number, either—it can only benefit your business, just as long as you put it in the right spot! Contact Arrow today to learn about our great inbound call management options.
