The Power of the Phone Call: Making Decisions on Data, Not Perception

Preview:

DESCRIPTION

Phone calls are 3x more likely to convert than other types of leads, yet many businesses aren't paying attention to this valuable conversion. Many business owners are making important marketing and monetary decisions based on "perception" of where their leads come from, rather than data. Learn the most common problems happening on the phones at your business and how to manage them.

Citation preview

The Power of the Phone Call: Making Decisions on Data, Not Perception

Phone calls are 3x more likely to convert than other types of leads.

61% of searchers who place a call are ready to buy.

Calls from mobile sources are predicted to skyrocket.

Percentage of people who would be likely to call if the capability was available in a smartphone search result:

Local Services: 69%Auto: 60%Tech: 51%Travel: 49%Finance: 47%Restaurant: 44%Retail: 37%

The mean price point at which one would be more likely to call a business for a purchase/transaction:

Auto: $1,195 – Highest price thresholdFinance: $416Travel: $320Tech: $265Local: $170Retail: $119Restaurant: $33

66 percent of SMBs rate phone calls as a good or excellent source of leads – more than any category.

73% of searchers will call to place an appointment or reservation directly from a search for a local business.

The phone call is the most valuable conversion you’re not paying enough attention to.

Many business owners are making important marketing and monetary decisions based on the “perception” of where their leads are coming from.

But if you look at the hard data, you’ll learn that phone calls are 3x more likely to convert than other types of leads.

Converting more leads into customers starts when you take a closer look at your phones.

There are many tools available that make this process easier and more efficient.

What are the most common problems happening on the phone?

The Problem: “I don’t know why my callers are experiencing long holds or not getting through at all.”

Across all industries, the number one problem businesses have with the phone is connecting callers to someone who can help them.

Properly combating this problem starts with finding alternatives to route your calls to the right person at the right time.

The Solution: Call Scheduling, Call Routing, Staff Your Phones

1. Call Scheduling: 52% of callers will not call back if the initial call isn’t answered.

Call scheduling allows you to control the routing of calls based on time of day or day of the week.

Consider using call scheduling after hours to route phone calls to a call center or a cell phone.

If the employees aren’t in the office, the calls still need to be answered.

2. Call Routing/Bridge/IVR: Otherwise known as “menu routing” or “phone trees.”

A bridge is a routing tool used to route callers to different departments or locations.

It may start with a prerecorded greeting that sounds like, “Thank you for calling. Press 1 for scheduling, press 2 for billing…”

On average, calls coming into a bridge line are connected with their intended party sooner than those without a bridge.

3. Staffing Your Phones: The quickest fix to diminish long hold times.

You could make it easier for calls to get to the right person by utilizing a multi-ring.

Multi-ring allows you to ring multiple phones at the same time. The first person that answers is connected through the caller.

Now that you’re picking up every call, learn to tackle other aspects of phone management.

Recommended