Increase Customer Conversions With Phone Answering Services

What is the number one question asked when a company has to make the choice to continue letting phones ring off the hook or attempt to have help from others? Will using an answering service really increase my conversions or is my company going to fall flat on its face? Now how could extra hands, ears and a mind for your company be a bad thing? Really, it’s a simple question but many tend to juggle if it’s actually worth it or not.

How many times have you lost a prospect only to learn later they went to another company, a competitor for the lack of support your company is providing (or not providing)? People research before they purchase or even lease. On the web, by the phone, in person - they will test you. If you are willing to let your hard work slip away, continue missing calls & customers then please stop reading. But if you want to increase your sales, give 24/7 support and increasing the overall gain please read on.

Right now many companies have switched over to answering services and there are many reasons for this. One is that no one can ever be 24/7/365, people are humans not robots and we all need our down time. No one can work every hour of every day, so for those hours an answering service of fresh and upbeat staffers are available to take your calls (inbound) or give the calls you need (outbound) during the hours you cannot.

Another great reason is labor, not all companies have the same budget in mind for their employees working overtime. With a service though, you can be assured that there will always be someone on the other end of the phone in case a call comes in when an in-house employee is unable to do so. Why spend that extra money on over time when you really do not need to? Save the money, have guaranteed help when needed and not waste your budget at the same time!

Quick, simple and dependable – an answering service can save you time and money. Now do not forget, the service is only as good as the representative behind the line so when you are checking out possible services make sure they vet their reps otherwise you get what you pay for. Do you have a company behind you that will stand for exactly what your company will? Are they going to provide top notch service to your customers or prospects like you would? How about being professional? What are their average conversion rates for similar company needs like your own?

When you are looking for a company to help your own, make sure you are able to ask questions and get the answers you need to make the proper decision for your specific needs. It’s possible you may need an agent who can work with you to fine tune everything that they can offer to you and what you need, not just what you want or what they want for you.

Automated Voice Menus Can Save Your Business Time & Money

What exactly comes to mind when you hear “Automated Voice Menus”, even more what is this foreign language that you have just been asked about? Does it talk to you when you are bored, when you may need a listening ear or even to listen in while you practice an important speech? Of course not, but it can help to save you time and money when you break down exactly what its role is with you – company side or client side.

Automated Voice Menus have been around for years now and if you are not too sure exactly what we are talking about, call up the first large company you can think of. That little voice inside the phone that picks up to help you navigate through the system, that’s your AVM working hard to take care of you the client, to make sure your needs for that company are met and handled with ease, quick & simple.

Not all automate voice menus are built the same, and it’s true! You want to make sure the AVM that you are using for your company does exactly what it should; it needs to be able to recognize many voice types (even with accents) in a clear and precise manner in order to route the call to the proper department. There are many people who hate AVM systems for this reason alone, however doing it right the first time prevents you from having to back pedal later to fix a useless IVR.

Think of the time and money that you spend for your company or charity; whichever the case may be. How many man hours, the building rental fees (or mortgage) take up another chunk of funds, the electric bills, the furniture, and everything else you could add in cut into your bottom line? How much money are you spending on an entire staff to take care of the needs that an AVM can drastically cut?

What would you do if you were able to save those funds, put them to better use and still have the top shelf service that everyone expects from every company out there right now? Would it be worth it? Of course it would, but how can you start a slow trickle of change and focus it onto the larger picture over time? An automated voice menu allows just that, an auto attendant that lets you do the same job for more savings to better fund other areas of your business.

The options are almost endless. If you have high or low call volumes, need support help 24/7 or just part time, an AVM is a great asset to have. As a menu system that allows for the routing of calls to specific departments of your company to others which allow for line coming in which can be routed to another extension for support representative, something general like taking a voice mail or even a greeting after hours that can help to provide information for your company.

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.

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.

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.

The Benefits of Using Interactive Voice (IVR) System

If you've ever pressed 1 for English, entered your zip code at a phone prompt, or said "Yes." to reach an operator, you have used IVR. You may ask yourself "What is IVR?" IVR stands for 'Interactive Voice Response'. An interactive voice response system is a system that connects a consumer to a computer or vice versa to more efficiently mediate transactions.

A previous blog post discussed the pitfalls of using interactive voice response systems. However, when used properly and designed with care, IVR solutions offer numerous benefits to both customers and businesses alike.

An IVR system can increase convenience for the customer. This can be provided in the following forms: 1) extended hours for automated transactions, 2) more rapid transactions in cases where customers know what they wish to do (find locations, pay a bill) or 3) shortened wait times for customer service agents who, as a result, have a lightened consumer assistance load.

The experience for a consumer can also increase trust in a company. For example, information collected by consumer input can direct the customer to the agent or employee most able to assist with their needs. The same input can be used to cross reference data to make sure information provided to the customer is accurate. If the transaction contains sensitive information, pin recognition or information verification via keypad tones serves to let the customer know you protect their information.

Don't forget that IVR applications can be used beyond the business arena to increase customer trust. IVR surveys, clinical trials, and medical information can be retrieved or supplied by a client who may be too embarrassed to deal with a live person regarding these issues. There are even intra-organization IVR applications.

IVR services also increase consumer choice. When making contact, the consumer may prefer to talk with a consumer representative. In other cases, the consumer may prefer to quickly and efficiently complete a transaction without the hassle of dealing with the varying speed of other human beings. IVR systems that present these choices make for happy, repeat customers. Making your customers feel empowered gives you an edge in today's world.

Through IVR, companies and agencies benefit from savings in time and money. As we all know, in both the business and non-profit world, time is money. Fewer customers using service agents means more customers can be served at a higher profit margin or less agents are needed to provide the same level of service.

When more customer needs are met without the use of a customer agent, agents can more effectively address issues which require their attention. This makes for satisfied customers (which means repeat business and good word of mouth) and happy customer service representatives. Employee satisfaction helps you get the most out of your employees while retaining the best workers. IVR prompts that integrate information flow and company assets give agents the information they need to meet customer inquiries with minimal frustration. This is another bonus towards employee retention.

If you take only one thing from this post (and we hope you take many), remember: top notch IVR solutions lead companies to success.

Increasing Sales With Hot Transfer Leads

A lead is essentially a potential customer, a way that you get that person on the hook and reach out to them. Once the lead is contacted, you must talk to them as if they are a customer. And when your bottom line is suffering because of slow sales, you need new leads to get new customers. But you’re a business owner, not a salesperson, so you don’t know how to go about it. There are professionals who can do this for you, or you can take care of some of the basics yourself. Getting leads online will surely produce the volume you’re looking for, while acquiring target data will tell you where to look for the leads. Once you find them, call centers are a very effective way to get in contact with potential customers.

Getting to your target audience is priority number 1 in increasing your sales. This is where target data comes in at, and it’s something you can do yourself. You simply analyze your sales alongside with who bought the product and where they bought it. This will pinpoint where you should be looking for your leads. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time trying to contact people who won’t be interested in your product. Once you get your target audience and demographics in line, you can start with your marketing campaign.

E-mail marketing produces a significant amount of leads in a very short amount of time. It focuses on who is most likely to buy your products in the area where sales are needed the most. In the e-mails, you can include surveys instead of a sales pitch so as to get your leads interested in the company without telling them to buy, buy, buy. A soft, subtle approach such as this tends to work better then appearing to try to force people to try your products or services. Newsletters are also an effective way of catching peoples’ eye. They essentially tell people what the company is up to and if there’s any new products or services offered that may interest them.

And what is marketing without telemarketing. This method of gathering leads for businesses has been around for so long because, put quite simply, it works. Their methods of contacting people have advanced through the years to the point that they can gather almost, if not as many, leads for your company as the e-mail method. Their pre-recorded message technique is simply a soft sell approach that seems to be working. It is run by an automated calling system that can call up to 10,000 numbers per minute. That’s a lot of leads that can potentially help turn your business around. It would be well worth the investment.

So whether you try to garner the leads yourself, or have a professional do it for you, it is something you will need to work into your schedule ,and/or budget, from time to time to keep your sales brisk and to stay competitive. It is a small price to pay to keep your business afloat.