The Merits of Advanced Click-to-Call Technology

Article excerpts...

...............

While the dot-com industry as a whole has taken a beating in the markets and the press in the last year, the advantages and possibilities of e-business continue to attract more companies to the Web. Armed with the bitter lessons suffered by many of the pioneering pure plays, traditional brick-and-mortar firms flock to launch online initiatives as an additional touch point for customers and partners. In a recent poll by Forrester Research, Inc., 59 percent of more than 700 senior business executives said they are maintaining or heightening their Internet efforts, despite the slowing economy.

Unlike the early model of self-educate and self-serve Web sites, these companies know that personalized sales and service can make the difference between a visitor and a real buying customer. In their offline world, they have developed solid processes for greeting customers, educating and serving them, and closing a sale. With Web conversion rates generally less than 3 percent as compared to an average brick-and-mortar rate of about 50 percent, the current challenge-and opportunity-is in getting online customers connected to these successful offline processes. In March 2001, $3.5 million was spent online (Forrester Research, 2001). Just imagine the revenues generated by an incremental increase in turning online leads into actual sales.

To bridge the yawning gap between online and offline, a variety of methods have emerged to give sales support and service to online visitors. From text chat to click-to-call, Voice over IP (VoIP) to toll-free numbers, each have their own set of strengths and weaknesses for companies and their customers.

A popular choice is text chat. Customers open up a dialog box and type their conversation with a sales representative who is often conducting several "conversations" at once. The interface is immediate, but awkward. The clues contained in the human voice are lost, and most customers are not going to type as complete a conversation as they would speak. Plus, the effectiveness of this method requires a staff ready and waiting at computers to field requests.

Further along the technology curve are Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions. Essentially a phone call is carried out over the computer. Once again an immediate contact occurs, but the quality of connection is often poor-there are echoes, voices can be muffled, and the conversation can stutter along as some voice packets are dropped. This method is also currently burdened with a host of technological challenges for customers who need multimedia hardware along with a good understanding of computers so they can troubleshoot the technical difficulties. And like text chat, there are staffing issues to consider.

Today, perhaps the most effective way of connecting online sales leads with offline sales and service revolves around a tried-and-true technology-the telephone. With basic click-to-call, Web site visitors who need sales assistance click on an icon. They are asked for their name and phone number, and a phone call is connected between the customer and the company.

Beyond basic click-to-call is a new breed of service that enhances and enriches the process. Our company, application service provider (ASP) Callbutton (www.callbutton.com), employs this advanced click-to-call approach to give online companies the ability to interact one-to-one with their online customers as well as manage and track that process. Every call request from a prospect is logged and reported to the client, whether an actual call was connected or not. These leads can then be followed up by qualified sales reps. Instead of sending all calls to one central location, advanced click-to-call lets companies define how their calls should be routed. For instance call requests from specific products pages can be directed to the sales expert for those products, or calls can be routed to the retail location nearest the caller.

The mobility of advanced click-to-call is a powerful feature for many small companies and independent sales reps. They can't afford a staff to wait and field sales requests, and they certainly can't afford to stay in the office and sit by their phone or computer to talk to prospects and customers. With this tool, customer phone calls can be connected to their cell phone. So even when they're in the field, they can talk with sales prospects who appreciate the immediate service.

Consider the mobility requirements of a realtor. Glenn Loper (www.GlennLoper.com) is a happy reference for enhanced click-to-call service. A Callbutton client, he includes a click-to-call icon in the home listings on his Web site. When a prospect sees a home that interests them they click the icon, enter their name and phone number, and within seconds are talking to Glenn. He likes the ease of contact and his clients like the quick and easy response. Even if Glenn isn't available to accept the call - he's writing a contract or it's late at night - he still gets the prospect's name and number and can follow up with them at his convenience.

Glenn also distributes a regular e-mail newsletter to a target list of users who follow real estate values and seek realtor tips and tricks. He has added a Callbutton to this e-mail, so when a reader's attention is piqued, he or she only has to click the icon and is immediately talking to Glenn. This has resulted in increased sales contacts and strengthened relationships.

So if the telephone is so great, why not just list a toll-free phone number for prospects to call you? That's an option, but consider all that's lost. First of all, the prospect may never decide to call. When a call does come in, you have no idea if it was motivated by a Web site visit or not. If no one at the company can take the call, you have no record of who was calling or why. With enhanced click-to-call, you know what calls are being generated by your Web site, even which pages are the most productive. And all call requests are logged and reported for easy follow-up at your convenience.

...............

Guest Columnist - (2001, May 23) The Merits of Advanced Click-to-Call Technology - Digitrends.net