Business communication refers to the process of sharing information with people in or outside an organization. Effective business communication practices with the help of reliable software can provide essential benefits to startups, small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and large corporations. You should consider using communication software to gain these advantages, especially to increase your business’ engagement with customers. Continue reading to know how using communication apps can help enhance your engagement with potential and existing clients.
Use Different Communication Methods
Business communication software comes in different types. These apps can help promote engagement with leads and customers. However, you need to use the right program focusing on a particular communication channel to target a specific audience.
Remember, not all target markets will use a single communication portal. For example, some customers prefer engaging through e-mails, whereas other clients may want to communicate using live chat.
Here are a few communication platforms to help you select suitable software for your business:
Web Conferences
Business communication programs focusing on web conferencing feature text, audio, and video functionalities to exchange information among leads and customers. Web conferences are ideal for your representatives to talk with hot leads and existing customers using audio and video exchanges.
As a bonus, online conferences are also excellent for managing remote teams and long web mailing lists.
Live Chats
Software using live chat features is ideal for companies with 24/7 operations. Engage with customers and solve their concerns using text-based communication. Several companies can take advantage of live chats to convey information that may otherwise be challenging for clients to understand using voice-only engagements.
For example, an IT business can offer technical support using 24/7 live chat services for its customers. The individual requesting the troubleshooting assistance can follow through with the instructions without the need to ask for the representative to repeat the information repetitively.
Predictive Dialer
Businesses with in-house calling agents can use predictive dialing software to engage with potential customers. Predictive dialers allow sales and marketing representatives to contact targeted leads while removing specific risks from other advertising techniques.
For instance, cold calling using conventional lists and platforms runs the risk of your agents calling the same lead multiple times. Getting repetitive calls for the same reason can annoy potential customers. If your representatives make this mistake, then the potential lead might prefer to deal with your competitors instead.
Check out Call Cowboy for more information about the benefits of predictive dialing.
These three types of communication software are only a few of the many apps you can use to engage with potential and existing customers. Other examples include ringless voicemail, mass text messaging, and lead distribution platforms. Use the right application that coincides with your business goals to gain value from the use of the program.
Create An Effective Communication Channel
Businesses value effective communication with possible and existing clients to maintain and grow their profit margins. Reliable communication software, coupled with expert marketers, helps improve revenue gain significantly.
These characteristics can make your leads and customers feel valued and comfortable. Remember, telling your potential and existing clients about your goods and services shouldn’t make them feel like they don’t have a choice. Instead, the application and your representative should impart suggestions that will eventually lead to the individual buying your offerings.
Building long-term business relationships requires strong interpersonal skills with an active communication channel. Nurture leads to convert them into paying clientele with the help of the right engagement portal to make them feel valued for the business’ growth.
The communication application you choose should have above average stability to ensure the efficient delivery of messages. Perhaps the last thing you’d want is to hear your lead or customer say that they didn’t receive your news, even though you’re sure you sent the memo on time.
Features To Induce Efficient Communication Practices
You can use communication software with one primary feature if your business is operating within a strict budget. But, consider using customer engagement apps with different features to help streamline advertising, marketing, and overall communication with leads, customers, and in-house personnel.
Some of the features you can use to help your business increase engagement include:
Auto Dialer
An auto dialer is an excellent feature for organizations with in-house calling personnel. This functionality can help sales and marketing representatives to contact more targeted leads faster than using conventional telephone systems.
Manual dialing may only take a few seconds, but those precious seconds should be utilized for talking to potential customers.
For example, pressing numbers on the telephone takes about three seconds to complete. Now, if a representative can call three people in an hour, the agent wastes nine seconds per hour. That amount may seem insignificant, but the same employee spends about 72 seconds doing that in an 8-hour workday.
On the other hand, using reliable auto-dialing software in attempting to engage with potential customers should only take about a second before the agent can reach the person of interest. So, your sales and marketing representatives should waste only about 32 seconds in a typical workday.
Call Recording
Search for communication software with call recording features to capture audio, text, and video for future reference or use.
Use this feature to:
- Capture missed or forgotten details
- Personalize future engagements with leads and clients
- Enhance deliveries when advertising products or services
- Review feedback from customers
- Capture client stories to improve goods
Aside from recording voice calls to potential and existing clientele, you can record calls between employees to document their conversations. The communication channel helps staff members review content for projects to achieve desired results.
Voicemail
Another business communication feature you should use is voicemail. Like other features, using voicemail promotes different unique benefits for organizations of varying sizes.
These advantages include:
- Convenience in receiving messages at your preferred time
- Improve business efficiency by allowing customers to leave messages without the need to wait for a phone attendant
- Screen unwanted calls
Moreover, using voicemail can help promote customer retention. Leads and customers can drop voice messages without being put on hold and waiting for a representative to pick up the phone.
Some customers will also leave crucial details about the time they prefer your representative to call them back. Hence, the voice message helps assure your marketing campaign of receiving a high chance of gaining sales opportunities.
Define Business Communication Objectives
Many business owners and marketers fail to accomplish sales and marketing goals because they don’t clarify the primary goals of their campaigns. Using communication software can help define marketing objectives for your business.
For example, you can use reliable customer engagement software for two main reasons:
- Create and maintain demand for products and services, and
- Streamline the sales funnel
Take note that the first objective isn’t a sprint but a marathon. Remember, your business isn’t the only company in the industry. Some business sectors tend to have more competition than others. Nonetheless, you need to secure a significant and lasting demand for your products and services to produce long-term sales.
Short-term customer engagements are valuable, but long-lasting client relationships may matter more than one-time sales transactions. You can achieve this goal with the help of a trustworthy communication app.
Engaging with leads and customers through appropriate communication channels promotes long-term efforts and resources that aid your business in putting your products and services in high demand. In turn, you’ll build a brand that many people will know and think about immediately once someone mentions a particular product or service category.
However, it takes dedication and perseverance to achieve and maintain a constant demand for your goods and services. But, using communication software will help bridge the gap between your company and loyal customers.
Tackle Different Elements In Marketing
The different elements that help build a marketing empire are the following: advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, and sales promotion.
Accomplishing a successful marketing campaign may need all these elements to work efficiently. Communication software can help establish the connection between these factors to promote greater chances of success for your marketing efforts.
Dive deeper into the different marketing elements below to learn how using communication programs can help develop successful campaigns:
Advertising
This process is a marketing method to communicate with potential customers and provide exposure to existing and new audiences. Different advertising methods use mass media to promote a business’ products and services. But, mass media may not provide highly-accurate targeting to acquire new leads and customers for the organization.
Combine mass media channels with communication software to promote accuracy for advertising campaigns. For instance, you can start by creating a TV commercial to promote your brand. Then, advertise that customers can leave a voicemail using a number flashed on their TV screens. Following that, let your representatives call the interested buyer in an attempt to close a deal.
Public Relations
Like its name, public relations refers to how you or your marketing agents handle business relationships. Use communication software to share essential information with consumers, shareholders, employees, and business partners.
The right communication app helps solidify marketing engagement as the business grows larger. Proper marketing communication is also integral for startup companies and small firms. Use software to deliver advertising and marketing material like newsletters, white papers, and other reports to potential and existing customers.
This way you can build long-term business relationships in today’s connected world with the help of communication software.
Personal Selling
Out of all the marketing techniques, most marketers dread personal selling. Despite its challenges, you as a business owner or marketer, need to know that the selling process starts and ends with the customer.
Thus, you need to search for potential buyers of your goods. Then, entice that lead to gain enough interest to warrant a possible sale. Continue to follow-up and nurture the lead to convert that person or business entity into a long-term client of your company. But, the sales process doesn’t stop there because you still need to create a constant demand for repeat sales.
It’s in personal selling that marketers find, nurture, and maintain the interests of customers. Reliable customer engagement programs help you reach out to target audiences at the beginning of the sales funnel. It’s also with the assistance of these applications that you can manage and nurture leads to become long-term clients.
Direct Marketing
This marketing element enables companies to reach out to potential and existing consumers directly. Direct marketing may not require the use of intermediary or “middle man” channels to engage with target audiences.
Choose to use trustworthy communication software and use marketing techniques like direct mail, cold calling, and e-mail marketing. When done correctly, direct marketing practices are useful for achieving actionable long-term business objectives.
However, it should be in your best interest to maintain a watchful eye on the direct marketing practices of your team. Methods classified as direct marketing might be invasive approaches for branding.
Failure to follow specific rules and regulations may cause your company to receive costly fines. These unwanted charges might also make your business receive negative feedback from potential leads and customers.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion refers to the incentives you add to purchases for your customers. For example, you can offer free goods and services when a consumer purchases a set of items and reaches a specific amount in a single receipt.
Announce these promotions using marketing channels with the help of communication software. These broadcasts can help gather new customers from different markets for your business. Your advertisements may also entice existing customers to make repeat purchases and this will aid in business growth.
All of these marketing elements need the assistance of reliable consumer engagement software. Marketing communication needs a stable channel to deliver messages from sender to receiver. Use these applications to help you achieve the primary goal of making your business grow by acquiring more long-term customer relationships.
The success of your company can get a boost with the use of communication software. Failure to give importance to using proper consumer engagement channels might lead to the downfall of your business. You can use different communication channels, define business objectives, and tackle different marketing elements using the right app. However, it is in your best interest to take time to research reliable software to ensure that you gain value for money.
Laverne Urdaneta is a business consultant who focuses on improving her client’s customer services. Laverne works by assessing the current customer service plan of her clients and then creating strategies that can enhance these plans. Depending on the needs of her clients, Laverne also provides hands-on training to the front liners of her clients’ businesses.
By Laverne Urdaneta
Bio: Laverne Urdaneta is a business consultant who focuses on improving her client’s customer services. Laverne