Why Bad Caller Experiences Cost You More Than You Think!

You want your customer to have a great experience. That’s a given.  But, marketers are dropping the ball in one key area of the customer experience: “the phone call” – and as a result, revenues are suffering. In fact, when you consider that according to call intelligence provider Invoca, calls convert at 10 times the rate of clicks, it should be clear that there’s an enormous opportunity to increase revenues by  improving the caller experience, and if you’re not investing in a positive caller experience, well then know that bad caller experiences are costing you – and BIG!

Digital Is Driving LOTS of Calls

Marketers everywhere are touting the importance of the customer experience. They’re rushing to try and optimize and streamline virtually every step of it, but few are paying attention to the caller experience.  If you’re not paying attention to the caller experience, then here are some reasons why you should be! Since the rise of mobile, there has been a huge increase of consumer phone calls coming from digital marketing channels.

In fact:

• 57% of inbound calls come from customers who went to the website first. (Source: Harvard Business Review)
• 59% of people call a business at least a few times a month. (source: Invoca)
• mobile searches alone will drive 169 billion calls to businesses by 2020. (source: BIA/Kelsey)

Marketers are losing conversions and sales with a bad caller experience and their marketing ROI is paying the price.

Poor Caller Experiences Costs Businesses Billions

Poor customer service is costing companies over $62 billion per year in new business. And if that’s not bleak enough for you, American Express reports that 55% of consumers who intended to make a purchase have backed out because of poor customer service.

• 53% of consumers are irritated if they don’t speak to a real person right away. (source: NewVoiceMedia)
• 60% of callers placed on hold with silence for longer than 40 seconds hang up, and  34% of those callers will not call back. (source: Voice Response Magazine)
• After a negative experience over the phone, 74% of consumers are likely or very likely to choose another business. (source: Invoca)
• After a negative experience over the phone, 70% are likely or very likely to complain about it online and through social media. (source: Comscore)

At this point, I hope you’re thinking about how this problem applies to your company. Ask yourself: How many calls are my digital campaigns currently driving? What is the conversion rate on those calls? What is the value of those converted calls?

If you don’t know the answer to those questions, that’s your first problem. You have to quantify the problem to understand the potential gain.

How a Positive Caller Experience Wins Customers

By optimizing the caller experience, you’re able to both increase conversions and your customer acquisition rates. A good caller experience also promotes customer loyalty and a greater CLV (customer lifetime value).

• After a positive phone experience, 80% of consumers are likely or very likely to become a repeat customer (source: Invoca)
• After a positive phone experience, 60% are likely or very likely to spend more money on current or future purchases (source: eMarketer)
• After a positive customer experience, 60% of customers are likely or very likely to refer others (source: JD Powers)

This is what we’re talking about! If you’re able to provide your customers with a great caller experience, they’re going to love you, they’re willing to spend more, and they’re going to make all their friends love you too.

On Hold Messaging Is a Proven Solution For A Better Caller Experience

Now that you hopefully understand the huge potential of providing a great caller experience, and if you’re looking for ways to improve your caller experience, then you need to look no further than custom on hold messages.

• 25% of callers actually made a purchase based on an offer they heard on hold (source: Maxi-Marketing)
• An 18% increase in requests specifically for products mentioned on hold (source: U.S West Communications)
• Callers who hear information while on hold will stay on the line up to three times longer than with silence (source: North American Telecom)
• 88% of callers prefer on hold messaging versus silence, radio or canned music (source: Call Center Technologies)
• Callers stay on hold up to three times longer, they’re more likely to exhibit interest in the product advertised, they’re were more likely to retain information, and they were less agitated (source: Jefferson Deandrus)

The Bottom Line

The bottom line:  Don’t ignore your callers! According to CX Inc. companies spend 94% of their marketing budgets to induce the customer to call… but only 6% is spent on when the call is received. Hopefully you now realize that a bad caller experience costs you wasted marketing spend, lost customers and lost revenues. While those businesses that ensure they’re giving phone calls the attention they deserve are capitalizing on huge opportunities while creating happy, loyal customers.