Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Sending SMS Messages Can Increase Revenue

To stay relevant in the world for personal or business, you have to stay up to date in regards to the technology used to send and share information. Mobile phone applications have increased tenfold in the past decade, and there’s no telling if or when the advancements are going to slow down any time soon. And the savvy business person will take advantage of those many applications and turn them into ways of increasing their revenue. There’s more truth now to the old saying “Time is money” then there ever was. SMS messaging is another term for instant messaging, and this is the perfect communications medium in this high tech business environment.

Even locally based businesses have global ties these days, so the fact that that SMS messages can be sent or read at any time is a big help in staying in touch with business associates around the world. If your competition is working around the clock, so should you. Whether you’re checking on the status of a sale, trying to pinpoint exactly where an order is right now, or simply touching base with a sales lead, SMS messaging is slowly becoming the medium of choice for on the spot communicating.

Communicating in this fashion is not restricted to the usual conversation type of talking either. Communicating with a sales lead can mean sending an advertisement, or a survey of what products and services they need and pointing out that you have what they need. A soft sell approach such as this works very well with SMS messaging. Advertising in this manner is very cost effective also, in that you are not paying for this advertisement aside from any standard messaging fees that may apply. And keeping a low overhead will help ensure increased revenue.

And you don’t even have to worry if the message you’re sending is on the same network as the person or company you’re sending the message to. SMS messages are supported by 100% GSM [Global Mobile Systems] phones and can be exchanged between any and all wireless carriers.

All GSM mobile phones support this. So whether you’re local, statewide, nationwide, or worldwide, you should be seeing an increase of revenue by using SMS messaging in that you are getting your sales, shipments, and payments expedited regardless of when or where you are doing your communicating.

This method of communication has so many applications, from ad sales, to ring tone sales, to binary data exchange, that it may take the novice awhile to make use of them all. But once you’ve adjusted your level of expertise to your business needs, you will see a definite rise in revenue because you are now on the cutting edge of technology. This technology is vital in today’s business world in that it helps you keep pace with your competitors. And the more competitive your business is, the more important it is to keep your revenue high. This not only keeps you relevant in the business world, but respected as well.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Add Live Chat Support & Increase Your Website's Conversion Rate

Wouldn’t it be great if every visitor to your website became a paying customer? Of course it would, but it just doesn’t turn out that way. The average conversion rate is roughly 2.3%. Adding live chat support can significantly increase that upwards of 20%. The why is obvious, you want more business. The how can be a bit more elusive. This article will hopefully shed some light on the subject for you, and help your online business become more successful. Let’s turn a casual visitor into a paying customer. There are three strategies we’ll focus on: Human interaction how cost saving measures can increase conversion, and keeping customers in the buying cycle.

Live chat support puts a human interaction into a website visit, and most visitors are still used to that aspect of the shopping experience. It makes them more comfortable, and that in turn leads to more sales. A highly trained staff will help give them confidence not only in the product that they’re buying, but the company that they’re buying from. A website visitor who is comfortable with a product and it’s seller, turns into a customer. And a highly trained staff will also provide instant answers to help ensure that conversion. You want a first time customer to become a repeat customer, so it’s important that their live chat experience is a pleasant one.

You want a higher conversion rate to increase your profit margin. And live chat support is a cost effective way of doing that. On average, it costs about 25% less than your typical call center. The main reason is that for every 4 staff members in a call center, only 1 is needed as a live chat support agent. It is also an easy system to implement. While most systems are hosted, there are a few that you can run from your own server. If you are just starting out, then a hosted live chat is probably going to be the most cost effective for you.

You want your live chat support team to be proficient in keeping your visitors in their buying cycle while online. This is key in converting them from a visitor to a buyer. With live chat support, you can track your visitors and provide them with a chat box that is pro-active. That way, if they have any questions, you can give them instant answers. This is excellent customer service, and they are 15% more likely to complete their purchase if you are able to give them that.

Most visitors to your website, upwards of 75%, would rather find all the information that they need at their fingertips while they’re there. Convenience is a big selling point, and live chat support is a big part of that. There are plenty of deals out there that can help get you started in live chat support, so you can test the waters cost effectively. You will find that adding this option to your sales arsenal can help your business grow faster, and it can continue to meet your needs as it does.

Monday, August 9, 2010

How to Dramatically Reduce Shipping & Fulfillment with TeleDirect

This is a fast paced business world we are working in these days. If you want to keep a leg up on the competition in the shipping business, you will want to make sure your response times are competitive. In this article, we will discuss how TeleDirect will help you in this regard. Organization is the key here. And this includes being able to streamline your entire process. No process is perfect, but you can work on reducing your errors, and the right call center will help you do just that.

TeleDirect has been a leader in the industry for 39 years, and in that time has streamlined the process to meet any and all of your needs. Their order fulfillment software and 24/7 live support call center work seamlessly with each other to keep your needs flowing in real time. 2 shipping bays that store product as well as perform same day shipping services work with web-based software to give you a seamless view of your customer requests and the fulfillment of those requests. Their up to date web based software is what makes it all happen.

Their live support call center is highly trained in every aspect of the business. Not only will they keep you informed of your highly maintained inventory levels, but they can also help you stay on top of what moves the fastest. In addition, automated voice menus are used to separate customer service calls from order calls, essentially pre-qualifying leads before sending them back to TeleDirect. Interactive voice response, or IVR direct, works together with their call center software providing you with real time oversight of your customer’s experience. This is all part of the process that helps you dramatically reduce the response time between you and your customer.

Getting in front of your customers is also a good business practice that TeleDirect is expert at. E-Mail and SMS messages that automatically go to your leads and customers will keep your communications on top of the game. They will also keep on top of your internet leads. An online request for services that is handled promptly and professionally will not only help greatly in acquiring a new customer, but it will give the customer a good idea of how quick and efficient your services are. If your response time to their initial request is an indicator as to how expedient your shipping and fulfillment services are, you’re as good as gold.

So if reducing your shipping and fulfillment response times are a main concern to your business right now, they shouldn’t be. With TeleDirect you have a leader in the industry with all the latest software, and the most highly trained call center staff at your disposal 24/7. Whatever it is that you need for them to do, they are not only up to date in the methods by which they need to get done, but they are highly trained to implement them. Their response time to your needs, translates into the response times to you customers’ needs.