Many business owners may be on the fence about increasing their marketing budget, especially if the business is small and does not have as much capital to invest in such ventures. To this end, many of these businesses pose questions like “does marketing increase sales” and “is it worth investing in marketing” before investing. Research has shown that inbound marketing (marketing that directs customers to your business) produces 54% more leads than traditional ‘outbound’ marketing, and of course, even more than companies who do little marketing at all. While not all of these leads will result in business for your company, the increased call volume that results from new marketing efforts will surely increase sales for your business.
Is your Business Ready for a Steady Increase in Inbound Calls?
As your business increases marketing efforts, there will surely be an increase in potential customers that call your business to learn more about what the business can offer. When combined with a strong marketing plan, this increase in call volume can often lead to businesses being unable to handle the call volume, which in turn leads to a loss of potential new clients and sales when they are needed most. Having a live answering service like Anserve can help you with managing high call volume, and then focus resources on the leads and new clients that will allow your business to keep growing.
Strategies for Managing High Call Volume In Your Marketing Plan
- One essential first step for any strong marketing strategy is to ensure that your phone number is updated and included in any form of marketing, whether online, on social media and business listings, or in traditional advertisements.
- In addition, using tools that help direct clients through your phone system can help reduce the impact on employees that answer these calls.
- Set up queues for inbound calls rather than letting the calls go to voicemail, giving you a better chance of interacting with as many leads as possible.
- Prioritize first-time callers over returning callers, which allows your business the chance to quickly target new leads.
- Lastly, put a plan in place to have an answering service like Anserve answer your overflow call volume during the day, and keep on answering the phones and taking leads after hours. That way every call is answered!
- Hire a live answering service with agents who are professionally trained so that they can handle customers effectively.
- Chat can be another effective way of communication. Transfer some of your customer communication to chat during high-demand times.
- Use call scheduling during peak hours.
- Utilize tools that can save your agents time by providing quick access to clients’ information to help them to interact with customers more efficiently on high-call volume days.
- Chatbots can be used on your business website so that your customers can get general questions answered before calling you.
- Create a FAQ section on your website so that your customers can get common questions answered, so agents don’t have to answer the same questions again and again.
- Create blogs on your website to demonstrate your business services and products. Create tutorials and how-to videos and posts to answer customer problems or queries. Link the blogs with your help center or FAQ section so that it can be easily accessible to customers.
Unanswered Calls Are Not Good For Business
When calls go unanswered, this can have a negative effect on the success of your business. Each incoming call is a potential lead, a returning client, a vendor, or someone else that likely has an impact on your business’ success. If there is no one around to answer those calls, these other parties may start to have serious concerns about the rest of your business. After all, if you are unable to pick up the phone when they call, or even return the call due to overwhelming call volume, they may feel that you do not value their time and find a competitor to do business with. On the other hand, when these parties’ calls are professionally answered by an answering service no matter the time of day, they will feel that your company does value their time and queries, and because of the good reputation you have built, they will be more likely to recommend your services to others.
How A Live Answering Service Can Help You in Managing High Call Volume
Live answering services like those provided by Anserve are an essential part of managing increased call volume resulting from an effective marketing campaign. Anserve has over 130 multilingual agents and dedicated to answering your business’ calls, regardless of time or day. Anserve offers 24/7 answering services so even when you are unable to answer calls for your business, an agent familiar with your business can. Live agents at Anserve follow customized scripts so they answer the phone like you do. Rest assured that clients will receive the best and most up-to-date information about your business and its services. In addition, your clients and potential leads will receive good customer service, with their concerns heard in a timely manner. With any luck, it’ll be the start of a good working relationship!
