Leaving a message after the tone is something consumers have become accustomed to doing when calling a friend or loved one who isn’t available at the time of the call. Even then it’s not uncommon to try the cell phone when the landline goes directly to voicemail. If that attempt comes back fruitless, Skype (News - Alert) may be the next step.
Such a scenario would be appropriate if the individual has news to share or is an emergency situation. It also seems to apply to the consumer who wants an immediate answer. It’s not uncommon for a business phone service to send its phone lines to voicemail once the workday is done or if the available lines are already occupied. The question is – will today’s consumer simply wait for the return call?
This question was at the core of a recent 8x8 (News - Alert) blog. The hosted PBX and call center software solutions provider suggests that voicemail could be costing businesses money. A large number of potential customers aren’t satisfied with leaving a message – they want action at the time of the call. If the first business they contact isn’t available, they will simply move on to the next one and the next one until they make a live connection.
The most painful element in such a scenario is that the business may never know that they missed an opportunity to sell a product or service. Missing a chance to talk to a customer at the exact time they are ready to buy is painful, but it doesn’t have to be reality. Fly-by customers offer great profit potential and with the right tools, they can be engaged every time they call.
Companies often don’t realize the potential they are missing until they offer the opportunity for engagement at all hours. 8x8 clients often find increases in sales and time spent on the phone once they implement a call center or business VoIP solution simply because they are more available. Too many consumers want immediate attention to ignore the revenue and profit potential possible with intelligent communications.
Consider how quickly a customer can receive a call back if their initial call is routed to the exact person skilled to handle their request and the voicemail message is sent to that individual’s email account. That individual can return the call immediately, or forward the message on to an equally skilled employee to make contact. Such a response will immediately find favor with the customer and win more business.
This type of response is also critical for engaging the customer willing to wait for the return call. Customers who want to do business with a particular company will often demonstrate patience – to a point. A company that is too busy to return a call for days isn’t likely to secure the business, even with the most patient of consumers. The response time is critical as it demonstrates whether or not the company cares about the consumer and the potential transaction.
If a customer only has a few minutes to find you and make a connection, you may want to consider contact center software or business VoIP options from 8x8. The company’s Virtual Contact Center and Virtual Office offerings are designed for the busy environment as it’s easy to configure, deploy, integrate and use. All 8x8 communications services leverage the public Internet so that all employees can remain connected all the time. After all, that fly by customer may be your next success story – you want to be sure you take the call.
Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli