Philadelphia Answering Service: Add a Live Voice to Inbound Marketing

Posted January 22, 2014 in 24/7 answering service, philadelphia answering service by admin

The term Inbound marketing, coined less than ten years ago, has become one of the philadelphia answering service inbound marketing most popular strategies to build and grow new business development efforts in recent history. Although the concept of creating and sharing useful, findable content to aid in the sales process has been around for a while, it never really took off in force until the last decade because most of the communications channels and search tools it now thrives in, simply did not exist back then.

Being Found, and Engaged

Creating enough good and engaging content to be found by those in your local market(s) who would utilize your product or service is not an easy task, but one that is well worth it for the large majority of today’s businesses. Buyers don’t have to go through the uncomfortable process of being ‘sold to’ anymore; and many have learned to ignore the constant flow of paid/outbound marketing we are exposed to on a daily basis.

No matter what type of product or service they seek, people in ‘buy mode’ know that with just a few clicks, whether on their computer, phone or tablet, they can get some good information and even reviews or suggestions from colleagues and friends. This means that most of the people that engage you have already done some research on you and likely have formed an initial opinion or impression of you and your offerings based on their research.

Watch Out for the Disconnect – It Happens More Than You Think!

Like other major metropolitan areas, most businesses in the greater Philadelphia area have already embraced inbound marketing to some degree. If you’ve done your homework, you already have one or more channels where it is at least somewhat easy for your target audiences to find your content. However, the new issue arising for many is the disconnect that occurs when prospective buyers go from the on-line experience to live voice communications.

For example, let’s say you invested the time and money to build great content that has helped spark interest in your business. Then, when these buyers reach out to learn more and have the initial conversation, they get voicemail; or worse yet, they get your employees who are distracted by other priorities and unprepared to take the call. Not exactly the first impression you want to make.

Dissecting the Disconnect

Let’s take the voice-mail issue first. Your potential buyers have found your company and read your content which they perceived as a potential match for their needs. This was all done with a few searches and a few clicks where the response was nearly immediate. Then they pick up the phone to call… and get a company voice-mail menu. Are they a little frustrated that, to this point, everything was almost an immediate response, and now they have to wait for a return call? A few years ago, voice-mail was much more tolerated, but these days less and less people are leaving messages. If they reach voice-mail, they just move forward with their on-line search until they find a provider that can address their needs immediately. Why is voice-mail on the decline? 1. It doesn’t match the immediacy of the web, 2. It creates uncertainty for the buyers, 3. It greatly limits your ability to set expectations for next steps with the buyer.

Next is the unprepared employee. As your inbound marketing efforts develop, new content is created on a regular basis and you have multiple articles or scenarios in which buyers can find you. If the employees who answer your phones are not intimately familiar with your various content paths, they may be caught off guard by specific questions of buyers who have found you through certain pieces of content. Again, this creates a disconnect from the on-line experience of your buyers and can unintentionally chase away business that you otherwise would have secured.

A Good Answering Service Can Bridge the Gap

Inbound marketing is a 24/7/365 strategy. Once you have posted your content, it can be found by anyone at any time. A good answering service can work with you and your employees to build a custom program for overflow, after-hours or 24/7 inbound calls, ensuring that ALL of your prospective buyers speak to a live and helpful person regardless of when they choose to contact you. Answering services are not for every business, but if your offerings provide a significant amount of value to your clients and your inbound marketing efforts are working in your favor, it may be worth investigating. In many cases, the additional revenue and client satisfaction levels gained by utilizing these services far outweigh the cost.

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