It’s 2022, gone are the days where the only form of contacting a business is via the telephone or sending a letter in the post. Consumers now have a plethora of mediums that they expect to be able to use to contact your business. The worst part, many consumers will skip right past you if they don’t feel comfortable lifting the phone. Again, it’s 2022, and it’s hard to believe, but many of us will actively go out of our way not to lift the phone.
Now let’s look at the communication methods our generation expects to use, and the ones that can inevitably increase your inbound leads.
WhatsApp for business:
No, not linking your personal phone number and all messages coming through to an individual app. Set up an official WhatsApp business account (free) using your landline number.
Once you have this, you can even integrate it with your business VoIP phone system so all relevant employees get notifications of inbound chats and can communicate through WhatsApp, via your phone system.
Being the number 1 messaging app in the world, this is a no-brainer.
Website Chatbot:
We live in a world where some people want an instant response, and email just isn’t cutting it. Chatbots are a great way to immediately Interact with a prospect while they are actively on your site, and interested. Even better, you can initiate the conversation.
There are numerous website plugins, CRM providers, and even VoIP providers that provide such chatbots for free and can even set them up.
We’re obviously biased, however, using your phone system keeps everything in one place and allows for detailed reporting on your conversations.
Skill-based calling:
You probably don’t know what this is, and for good reason. Not many phone systems offer it.
Let’s say you’re 10 people in your business whose phones all ring when a call comes in. It’s pot luck for the customer on who picks up the phone, and a roll of the dice for the business.
You can now assign skill-based metrics to each member of your team, and depending on the type of call, prioritise who the call is offered to first. Therefore increasing your chance of conversation.
Email:
Boring old email, but still a crucial part of communication with our customers.
We’re all famous for missing an email or two in a cluttered inbox. By utilising software, such as a reputable CRM such as HubSpot (free version available), Zoho, or Salesforce, you can instantly improve your email management.
By integrating with such tools, if a customer calls and a different college picks up the call, they will have full visibility of previous emails.
Also, many of these CRMS have built-in AI, to show things such as buying signals or unhappy customers to trigger a relevant response/notification.
Mobile / Desktop softphone Apps:
The drum has well and truly been hit over COVID for remote working and all the technology now available for workers not in the office. However, every business can seriously increase their customer experience by using applications as their phone, or even complementing their desk phone if they are not ready to give it up.
By using the apps, you can see when your business is under pressure through live stats. Instantly create conference calls with colleagues to help a customer. Or even change a voice call into a video call where you can share your screen.
In short, the right softphone app can offer so much more than a bit of plastic to make and receive a call.
There are many reasons to choose Smooth Comms. Above all, we truly care about the right solutions for our customers, because every single customer matters.
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