Voice broadcasting is likely to prove one of the most effective forms of marketing and customer contact this year. What best practices should companies and marketers follow to get the most out of it?
Voice Broadcasting Software
While many businesses and marketers are consumed with trying to figure out which email automation service they should switch to in order to close gaps in metrics, if they can find an alternative social platform to Facebook, or how they can afford some Super Bowl advertising next year, other savvy firms and marketing agencies are finding a sweet spot using voice broadcasting software. They are using it to:
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- Increase consumer and B2B reach and lists
- Enhance prospecting abilities and be heard among other marketing noise
- Streamline line the contact to close process
- Increase conversions
- Maximize upsells
- Improve client retention rates, repeat business and referrals
- Automate follow up
- Improve customer service experience
7 Best Practices for Voice Broadcasting Users
1. Just Say No to Spamming
Whether procuring new lead lists for marketing or using voice broadcasting software or ringless voicemail drops to reconnect with past customers, avoid spamming. Be sure new list members are interested and have opted in. Make sure you have permission to reach out through this medium to existing contacts and that they are aware of it. Don’t become the next Facebook-like branding fiasco because you squeezed it all into the tiny fine print.
2. Frequency of Voice Broadcasts
How often should you use voice broadcasts? The right frequency will vary widely depending on who is being contacted, why, what you have to offer, and your industry. As with blogging, social media posts, and email marketing, the short answer is as often as you can add real value, without turning off your audience. For some, this may be quarterly to keep up the wow factor of receiving a personal call or voicemail. It could be weekly during a long sales process. Or it may be multiple times a week or in a single day for urgent messages. If you are not sure, consult a voice broadcasting expert campaign manager for their advice.
3. Timing of Voice Broadcasts
When is the best time to send voice broadcasts? Even though ringless voicemail drops are a digital IT and not a regular telephony service, it is wise to stick to regular telephone etiquette and TCPA regulations and rules. This will avoid and miscommunications or friction with recipients and the law. For example; avoiding late night and early morning calls.
For maximum effectiveness, the simplest strategy is to put yourself in your prospects/contact’s shoes. When will it not be annoying or risky for them to receive the call or message? When will they have time to pay attention and take action?
For example: if you are working with a college crowd you might be wasting your time bombarding them during lecture hours. In the reverse, if you are trying to reach bankers, you need to reach them during banker’s hours. If you are trying to reach prospective homebuyers who are using their weekends to go look at property but have 9-5 jobs, you may want to cure your broadcasts for Friday evening before they make plans, or mid-morning Saturday, before they head off on their hunt.
4. Targeted Messaging
As will all methods of marketing, the more targeted the messaging, the more it will be appreciated, and the more you’ll achieve of the results you want. Not every message is right for your entire database. If it is off message or the timing doesn’t make sense in their relationship with you, it will just come across as spam. The most focused and better list segmentation you have, the better your campaigns will perform, without destroying your list size. For example; if someone just purchased a long-lasting, big-ticket item from you last month, they probably aren’t in the market for another. Don’t blast them with the same sales message as leads you are still nurturing. Instead, look for opportunities to offer timely upgrades.
5. Smart & Effective Funnels
A single voice broadcast is typically just a cog in the wheel of your system. What role should it play? What action should they take as a result? What about a secondary action if they don’t take your preferred course? How easy and attractive is it for them to use this interaction to move further along or up your funnel? What options do they have?
Instead of talking at them, do they have the ability to get live help on the spot? To instantly navigate to a relevant online resource? Or engage with your call center AI directly?
6. Strong Follow Up
If new prospects or messaged clients are not immediately engaged live as a result of your voice broadcast, how good is your follow-up?
The time it takes to follow up to inquiries is probably the single most important factor in conversion rates. Every minute counts. Just five minutes of lag time can trash conversion ratios. Close the gap. Use remote workers and outsourced call center help to cover all time zones, live transfers for eliminating losses, and smart lead management system alerts and delegation.
Even if one of your team members is able to connect on the spot, make sure they do what they say, and have an automated follow-up trigger or alert system so clients are not let down or lost.
Regular List Maintenance
Regular list maintenance and clean-up is important. Springtime is especially a good time to add extra filters and list segmentation tags, make sure those that have requested to unsubscribe are removed, contact details are up to date, and new contacts are in the system, or new databases are added to bulk up reach.
Summary
Good voice broadcasting software and experts are in high demand this year. They offer a variety of valuable applications. Though before diving in, making sure attention is given to incorporating these best practices can really make a difference in marketing ROI and net corporate profitability.
