We are in the age of mobile apps, social media, responsive web experiences and interactive engagement. However, despite all the fancy tools up marketers’ sleeves, the phone remains a key marketing tool.
It may seem old-fashioned, but speaking on the phone with prospective customers has one of the best returns on investment of any contact method.
The benefits of phone marketing
Nearly every business can benefit from incorporating phone calls in its marketing mix. Of course, the advantages are significantly greater for companies that have sales teams working qualified leads. Even with all the impressive and modern alternatives, the humble telephone will continue to be a business essential for the foreseeable future.
These are a few of the reasons why:
- Personal Connection: It’s simple: People buy from other people. Having a personal connection with a lead significantly increases the chance of closing the sale. Furthermore, that customer is more likely to keep coming back when he or she has a personal relationship with one of your salespeople. Establishing that relationship is easier over the phone than by email, messaging or other forms of digital communication.
- Deeper Interaction: When was the last time you glossed over an email? For most people, it was probably today, even in the last hour. Phone calls demand more attention from the participants, especially one-on-one. This helps make the connection deeper and more meaningful. It also helps increase the chances of converting a sale.
- Faster Turnarounds: Sometimes getting on the phone is the right way to get things done. Phone calls typically produce greater results in a shorter amount of time than asynchronous communication like email and messaging. Time kills deals. The more you let a lead wait around, the lower the chance of making the sale. Moving faster helps your salespeople get more done and close more deals.
- Clearer Communication: Everyone learns a little differently. Salespeople on the phone can adjust their message to match the needs and personality of the listener. This isn’t possible (at least not to the same extent) on other media. The many nuances of human conversation can be lost in digital communication.
- Better Lead Scoring: If your team isn’t scoring leads, they should be. Lead scoring is the process of determining how likely a lead is to convert. Leads that don’t meet a certain threshold are not worth the time to pursue. Talking on the phone is a much easier way to gauge interest than over email.
- Less Tedium: Your sales team is trying to sell the same products and services every day. Even for the most dedicated and enthusiastic individuals, that can get tedious and lead to complacency. This problem is compounded by the monotony of emails. Phone calls are always unique. This helps to reduce tedium compared to sending out templated emails.
- Empowering Everyone: Buyers like to know that they are heard by sellers. Representatives like to know they are helping their customers find the right products. Interaction on the phone helps everyone feel empowered and motivated.
Phone calls are a better way for your salespeople to communicate. They allow for superior lead scoring and qualification, which are important for successful sales teams. If you have the right qualification system, you can ensure that your team is spending more time talking with high-priority leads. That is always good news for your sales productivity.
Preferring the phone
You may not think that phone marketing makes all that much difference despite the above benefits. However, the numbers suggest that it truly is superior.
For example, according to Google, 70% of mobile searchers have used the call button in search results without clicking through to the website. That’s a lot of people who are calling you without ever reaching your website.
Additional research suggests that people hate not getting to speak with a real person. Having a simple system that makes it easier to get help from a live person is the key to successful marketing.
While the world of digital marketing has created some exciting experiences, many consumers simply want human interaction. If you’ve ever been stuck in a phone system trying to get a clear answer by speaking to a person, you know this experience. The same happens on email back-and-forth all the time. Many would-be customers give up because they aren’t getting the kind of interactions they want.
Incorporating phone calls in Your marketing strategy
When many people think about phone marketing, they think about cold calling. However, this does not have to be the case. In fact, much of the above advice works best with inbound calls.
To generate more inbound phone calls, try to optimize your landing pages, social messages, and paid ads to encourage calls. This can be as simple as adding calls to action that initiate a call with you.
In some cases, you can make this as easy as clicking a button. More people are browsing the internet on their phones than ever before. Give them a one-tap way to start a phone call with a representative from your team.
Of course, handling all those inbound calls can be challenging, even for the most efficient teams. Having the right call-answering service that will pick up 24/7 and deliver qualified leads to your salespeople is the optimal solution.
You can also give your leads an option to request a call back. Have them fill out a form with their contact information. This is not as effective as getting them to call you directly, however, it can be an effective way to generate qualified leads for your team.
Make sure that your search and social listings are up to date with your phone details. As mentioned above, searchers are calling directly from SERPs. You want that phone number to be the right one.
Fill your sales pipeline with HelloSells
Your business needs the right phone service to fill your sales pipeline and to make the most of every lead you generate. With HelloSells, you can leverage services such as 24/7 live lead response, appointment scheduling and live lead transfer.This could be the best way to integrate phone calls more thoroughly into your marketing mix.
Call us at 800-550-4955 today to learn more.