June 12th, 2009
Not all responses to voice broadcasts will be positive. Some responses may cause a negative effect on those receiving the calls. Companies should also shield their personnel from “negative” calls. Scenarios of prospects shouting at the personnel are common. These people ask to be removed from the call list can be abusive and discourteous.
Companies resort to a live call screening person with a short answer script and this can eradicate negative calls before they are transferred to the customer service or sales personnel. But there are other ways to filter such calls.
Some voice broadcasters use an “automatic” call screening method. This uses an “intermittent” message. The voice broadcast message gives the recipient an option to press “1” for details or more information. This press “1” then results in another message instead of a live transfer.
There will be a 30-45 seconds “intermittent” message. This second message most often contains an invitation to press “2” and request to be included in the Do Not Call (DNC) list. If the recipient does not press “2” the recorded message can continue with details or benefits of the product or service. Another press “1” invitation will then be made.
The last press “1” action may transfer the call to a customer service or sales personnel. Another option for is a transfer to a voicemail system so the prospect can leave a message.
Going through the process, it is clear that those who do not want the call will press “2” during the “intermittent” message. If there will be a transfer this would be for people who want to talk to a live person or leave a message.
Using the method described above will reduce “negative” calls and spare the customer service or sales person from unnecessary efforts.
June 10th, 2009
Engaging in business is really about selling a product, a service, information or a little of everything. A sale usually begins with a lead. A good example is on insurance marketing. All insurance sales agents are asked to make a list of people they know – family, friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, etc. The list is used as a reference for calls or visits. Online business does not differ much. Every business website needs a steady flow of internet sales leads. The purpose of an online marketer’s work is to develop the leads that will convert to sales. Such a highly competitive online business world, a business selling to other businesses will need a constant supply of new internet leads to get business going.
Making business with internet marketers is not an easy thing. Fresh products and services are being developed at super fast rates. These products and services are driven by new technology and they change fast too depending on the market environment. These products and services are sometimes created to capture internet leads.
Internet sales leads can be attained through many means. One of them is through email marketing. Though spamming is illegal and some filters are now in place to prevent them, it does not indicate that legal email efforts will not be effective. Including an incentive in the email will get the recipient’s attention. If the recipient signs up then give a free report or e-book download; a product sample; etc. This email marketing can be part of the first blast of getting leads for the business.
Some other lead generation methods are pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, incorporating site or product description to an email signature, replying to questions in product or service forums or posting in related sites, forums or blogs. When a product or service is exposed to other similar businesses, people will notice and it will stir interest.
Having targeted internet leads is very important and whatever lead generation method is used this should be foremost in the mind of marketers. Having too general leads may be a waste of time and effort. The more targeted the lead is the better chances of converting to sales.
The online business world is very competitive and for the business to grow it has to be ahead of the competition. Obtaining a targeted list coupled with a sound marketing strategy should be planned carefully and implemented.
Lastly, there are hundreds of internet lead vendors that can provide fresh and targeted lists. This can be the best strategy to do for the business with the least effort.
May 19th, 2009
One of the most important considerations in doing business is on costs. Every business owner will always look into this aspect. This article provides introduction to the costs of voice broadcasting and how it can it an advantage to your business.
Pay Per Minute
In terms of costs, this is a very unpredictable method and is not advisable unless you can go around the problems that it can cause.
Here are some problem areas:
- What increments will be used to time each call?
- Number of digits to manipulate the billed cost.
- Provision for the rounding up of each call cost. This can be a problem area if not established between you and the voice broadcast vendor.
- Will the call time include dial and ringing time or just when the call is answered?
Unless the variables stated above are cleared then there is no point resorting to this type of payment determination scheme with your voice broadcast provider.
Pay Per Live Transfer
An amount or fee is charged to you by the broadcast vendor for every call that is transferred to you as a result of the client pressing “1” in response to the recorded message. It does not matter if the call is transferred immediately or if response will be a bit delayed. The length of time with the client is not also a variable. This cost is the most practical and is the one resorted to by most business owners.
The disadvantage of this pay per transfer method is it cannot be utilized for the delivery of messages to an answering machine. This voice broadcast method is only for messages delivered to a live number only.
Pay Per Delivery
Like the Pay Per Transfer cost, a set amount is charged for each message delivered. This can work both for live answered calls and answer machine delivered voice broadcasts. If you plan to have an answering machine too especially during after office hours then this is the plan for you.
The downside of this payment method is that some voice broadcast vendors charge on a “per dial” or “per connect”. You should watch out for this in your terms of service. You should not pay for calls that do not result in actual delivery of messages.
It is best to keep the agreement simple with your voice broadcast vendor and charge you for every delivered message.
The best way to assess which one is most economical for your need is to do a test campaign. Always ask for a report, a simple one, from the voice broadcast provider so you can check and do calculations yourself. Do not fall for complicated statistical reports that you do not really need. Let the voice broadcast provider submit one that you can understand immediately. Also see to it that the provider agrees that you can change your payment option or plan without any penalty or lock in period.
May 8th, 2009
All mailing list vendors want to get your business and will have all sorts of enticing descriptions of what type of mailing lists they have. Some will give information on what method they do to obtain their data and build the list. Most will guarantee that the information you are buying is from legitimate and reliable sources. Whatever the sales pitch these mailing list vendors have, you should have some criteria to determine what type of mailing list you need for your business.
Here are some tips to help you on your mailing list decision:
1. Get a list that has people who show interest in your product or service. Your product or service may not appeal to everyone. The more targeted your list is the fewer rejections you will have.
2. It is common knowledge in direct marketing that the closer your message is delivered to the customer’s last purchase, the more likely they will be responsive to the offer. So it is important that you buy an updated list or one that is updated regularly. The “fresher” your list is, the better response you will have.
3. Be sure to buy from reliable mailing list vendors. A good index for this if the company is a member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) then they can be trusted for good business practices.
4. Define your audience before starting on your campaign and buying a mailing list. Who are you selling your product or service to? The more targeted your list is, the better it will be for your business.
5. Buy a list that is suited to your budget. Direct mail leads have to be tested first. Do a trial run to save on costs before plunging into the more expensive listings.
6. Do not hesitate to contact mailing list companies and ask the questions. Being experts in this field they can offer recommendations on what is suitable for your needs.
The biggest mistake you can fall into is not being discerning enough when speaking with mailing list companies. Do not commit until you have done thorough evaluation and testing.
May 7th, 2009
The mindset of many marketers when doing a voice broadcasting campaign is the expectation that majority of calls will become good prospects. This may over-optimistic, as in reality only a minority of leads are quality ones. However, with a well thought approach and an established business metrics, voice broadcasting can be profitable, particularly because of the low cost to generate such leads.
Let us look at some business metrics. Successful campaigns for messages delivered to live-answered phone calls, where the caller presses 1 to reach the company, is only a 15%-25% “long call rate.” Long call rate is a call where both parties stay on the line for 1 ½ minutes. Not all long calls result in good leads. It has been noted that only ½ of long calls turn to be good leads.
An established business metric should be studied before making a voice broadcast campaign. Going back to the example above, if an effective long call would cost $25, and only 50% are good leads and only 25% get to sales conversion then the cost of a sale is $200. If profit for such sale is $350 then the business owner is going to have an effective voice broadcasting campaign.
Companies wanting to do voice broadcasting should consider the mode of the campaign. Most industries have a response rate for live delivery between 0.6% to 1.0%. This means that for every 1000 calls only 10 would result in a live lead.
For a voicemail campaign, the numbers will be much lower. This type of campaign requires a good message that will make the recipient interested to note callback number or the website URL. Live messages are more efficient because what the recipient has to do is press “1” and talk to a live person. Though answer voicemail campaigns are harder to track, it is estimated that 25-33% is the call back ratio for this type of campaign.
For voice broadcasting to be used as a lead generation system, the message is crucial as well as the call list. But before anything else, basic business metrics should be studied first during the planning phase of the campaign.
