Category: HTM Blog

  • Lead Generation Marketing: How Pay-Per-Call Marketing Benefits You

    Lead Generation Marketing: How Pay-Per-Call Marketing Benefits You

    lead generation marketing

    In order to maximize your organization’s revenue, you’ll need to invest in a solid lead generation marketing strategy. Not everybody knows which avenue they should take, though.

    Pay-per-call marketing is a reliable method your organization can use to acquire interested customers. For those who are unsure of how to get started, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide that details everything you need to know.

    Let’s dive in.

    What Exactly Is Pay Per Call Marketing?

    As the name suggests, pay-per-call marketing involves an advertiser allocating a specific amount of money to publishers. The publishers then generate customer calls on their behalf.

    In practice, this would look something like a business working with a specialized marketing firm in order to encourage prospective customers to reach out to them by phone.

    For each quality call that the publisher generates, they receive compensation.

    Calls must satisfy certain criteria in order to be considered valid. In general, a call will be logged by the publisher if the customer who reaches out then speaks with a representative from your sales team for a predetermined amount of time.

    This is known as the ‘call duration’ and is established before your pay-per-call marketing campaign begins.

    Similar to how you can closely monitor the performance of a pay-per-click digital marketing campaign, you can do the same with pay-per-call marketing. This allows you to double down on strategies that have proven to be effective while reworking those that aren’t quite meeting your standards.

    When configured correctly, this type of marketing can provide an exponential return on your initial investment. Keep this in mind if you’re on the fence about whether or not you should pursue it.

    What Benefits Can It Provide?

    Generating revenue isn’t the only benefit that pay-per-call marketing can offer. In fact, there’s a handful of attributes that make it a worthwhile choice for your marketing strategy.

    Let’s explore a few of the most notable.

    Avoiding Cold Calling

    Let’s face it — cold calls rarely provide the results that you desire. This method also carries the risk of potentially deterring a member of your target audience from interacting with your brand in the future.

    This is simply due to the fact that many people perceive cold sales calls as annoying and invasive.

    Unfortunately, even a single instance could sour their mood toward your brand. In contrast, inbound calls are far more effective.

    By the time somebody has taken the steps to reach out to your company by phone, they have likely made up their mind about whether or not they would like to make a purchase.

    In fact, many customers who get in touch with a particular brand often do so in order to learn a bit more information about the company, its products, etc.

    So, pay-per-call marketing is able to generate hundreds (and sometimes even thousands) of phone calls that have a significant chance of converting.

    Cost Efficiency

    Even if a marketing strategy is able to generate a large amount of revenue, it won’t mean much if you also have to allocate significant funds in order to do so. Small businesses, in particular, often find it difficult to leverage a marketing strategy that gives them enough of a return for the money they invest.

    In some cases, they may not have a budget large enough to reap the benefits.

    Pay-per-call marketing is one of the most reliable ways to get a solid return on your marketing strategy.

    Additionally, the overall cost that you will end up paying is highly predictable. Once you have established your call duration and the amount of compensation that your publisher receives per call, you can easily track the amount you spend by looking at your current metrics.

    This information provides detailed insight into the performance of your pay-per-call campaign.

    Since customers who contact you on their own by phone are already highly interested in what you offer, each call that you end up paying for is notably likely to convert. This means that even a relatively high amount of publisher compensation per call will still provide a significant amount of revenue for your company.

    High-Quality Lead Generation

    We’ve already discussed how ineffective cold calling can be. Not all leads are created equally, however.

    Through other methods of lead generation, you might find yourself in a situation where hundreds or thousands of people make it to your company’s website without intending to make a purchase. In this scenario, these are low-quality leads that are often unlikely to convert.

    This is similar to how it is much more beneficial to receive a high amount of engagement on a social media post, blog, etc. as opposed to solely garnering an extremely high number of impressions.

    Pay-per-call marketing is well known for its high-quality lead generation capabilities. This ensures that you never encounter a situation where you have an ‘inflated’ audience full of individuals who aren’t likely to make a purchase.

    Generating high-quality leads is also essential for building a community around your brand.

    Lead Generation Marketing Can Be Game-Changing

    With the above information in mind, you’ll be able to ensure that your lead generation marketing strategy is as effective as possible. From here, you’ll be able to hit metrics like never before.

    Want to learn more about what we at HyperTarget Marketing have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

  • What Is a Qualified Lead and How Do You Determine One?

    What Is a Qualified Lead and How Do You Determine One?

    qualified lead

    When marketers segment their email list, their emails receive a 39% higher open rate. This is just one example of the positive impact of targeting your audience based on data. Focusing your marketing and sales efforts on those most likely to respond can save your business time, money, and energy.

    But how do you do this? That’s where qualified leads come into play. Read on to learn all about what a qualified lead is, why it’s important to qualify your leads, and how you can do it. 

    What Is a Qualified Lead?

    First things first: what even is a qualified lead? Essentially, a qualified lead is an individual that fits your target customer profile and has the potential to become a customer.

    Qualified leads allow you to focus marketing and sales efforts on potential customers rather than those who will likely never buy. This saves your business resources like time, money, and energy. With a targeted strategy, you can hone in on your best prospects to lead them through your digital marketing funnel toward a sale.

    To consider a customer as a qualified lead, they must meet minimum criteria. The criteria are not standardized; you create them based on your business and sales funnel.

    It’s important to remember that people must opt-in to be considered a qualified lead. Cold prospects and purchased email lists don’t count. A potential customer must “raise their hand,” so to speak, to become a qualified lead. 

    In most businesses, there are two types of qualified leads: marketing qualified leads (MQL) and sales qualified leads (SQL). These distinctions help you determine where a potential customer is in your sales funnel.

    MQLs meet the minimum criteria to be considered worth marketing to. Your marketing efforts can then lead them toward becoming a sales qualified lead, who is then passed off to the sales department. SQLs have indicated an interest or need for your product or service.

    Why Qualified Leads Are Important

    The reality is that not everyone will be interested in your product or service. Qualified leads help you avoid wasting resources on those who cannot or will not turn into customers.

    Essentially, a qualified lead allows you to skip wasted efforts and hone in on those that will be most impactful. It is easier to convert warm prospects than cold prospects. Focusing efforts on qualified leads will make your business more effective and efficient. 

    Distinguishing marketing qualified leads from sales qualified leads is also helpful. It allows the marketing department to pass the lead off to the sales department at the exact right moment.

    How to Create Qualified Lead Criteria

    Clearly having criteria that qualify leads is important. But how do you create it?

    It’s important to remember that the criteria used to qualify leads differ between businesses. The following is an overview of the process you can use to create and use qualified lead criteria for your business.

    Lead Generation Strategy

    There are two main ways to generate leads which you can later qualify to determine how warm of a prospect they are. You’ll want to start by determining your lead generation strategy.

    The first method is sales prospecting. This is where you find individuals who match your target customer persona and gather their information.

    You’ll start by making a list of things like their name, job, email address, company, phone number, and any other helpful information. These are cold prospects who have not opted in for communications. Once you reach out, you can determine if they are qualified leads or not.

    The other method of lead generation focuses on finding warm prospects. With SEO content marketing or social media, you can get individuals to opt-in to your marketing funnel. The goal is to attract customers get them to share their information voluntarily, thus becoming a qualified lead. 

    Gather Info

    Once you know how you will generate leads, you need to figure out how you will qualify them. When you contact your prospects or get individuals to opt-in, you’ll want to gather some information that will help with this. 

    The information you collect will differ between businesses. Therefore, you’ll want to make a list of questions based on your own sales funnel. Make a list of questions that will determine:

    • Are they the right fit for your product/service?
    • Are they the key decision-maker?
    • Are they willing/able to make this purchase?
    • Do they need this product/service? Do they know they need it?
    • Are they currently looking to change/add this product/service?
    • Do they have a budget for this? What is it?

    You can ask these questions while cold calling or with forms you use for customer communications. You may also want to uncover specifics of their company with survey questions.

    Lead Scoring

    Once you have the information you need, you can score your leads to determine if they are worth focusing your marketing efforts on. The way you score leads will depend on your company. 

    Generally speaking, marketing qualified leads are more deeply engaged. You can identify them with the information they provide during your lead generation phase. You can also use other data, including:

    • web pages they’ve visited
    • their downloads (case studies, ebooks, etc.)
    • other engagement with your business’ content

    Sales qualified leads are individuals you deem worthy of a direct follow-up. These are individuals who indicate that they are close to a sale by doing things like requesting a quote or consultation or signing up for a free trial. Essentially, if leads do anything else that indicates they are close to a sale or ready to make a purchasing decision you should qualify them as SQL.

    Use Qualified Leads in Your Marketing Strategy

    Focusing your efforts on a qualified lead will make your marketing and sales communications much more effective. You can qualify leads by gathering information on those who opt-in and using it to score individuals based on the minimum criteria that you set. 

    Finding qualified leads can be a time-consuming process. Here at HyperTarget Marketing, we simplify the process by doing the work for you. Learn more today about how our pay-per-call service can help qualified leads start calling you. 

  • Inbound Marketing: Tips & Tactics for 2021

    Inbound Marketing: Tips & Tactics for 2021

    Are you looking to improve your inbound marketing strategy but aren’t quite sure how to do it? 

    Inbound marketing is a great way to grow your traffic without having to spend money on paid ads. If you tackle inbound marketing the right way, you’ll be able to create evergreen content that attracts more customers over time. 

    What do you need to do to create a great inbound marketing strategy for 2021? 

    Check out this guide to discover the top inbound marketing tips and tactics for the coming year. 

    What is Inbound Marketing? 

    Before the internet, businesses had to take out ads in newspapers and on billboards to get the word out about their business. Times have changed drastically, and now, businesses can attract customers to their products and services without the use of paid advertisements. 

    This, essentially, is what inbound marketing is. Inbound marketing is the process in which businesses organically attract people to their website. Inbound marketing also involves building relationships with customers by providing them with help, education, and value. 

    Inbound marketing relies on a variety of strategies and tactics to function, including content marketing, lead generation, chatbots, SEO, and web design. 

    The great thing about inbound marketing is that it’s more affordable than outbound marketing, and it allows you to build more meaningful relationships with your clients. However, inbound marketing is a bit more time-consuming and competitive. It can also be harder to track. 

    This is why you need inbound marketing tactics in place before you get started so you can outsmart the competition and see quicker results. Let’s dive into the strategies you need to use next. 

    1. Do Your Research 

    Before you make any adjustments to your inbound marketing strategy, you first need to do some research. You need to make sure you understand three things: your industry, your business, and your customers. 

    Take some time to review your KPIs and metrics to gain a better understanding of the inbound marketing goals you’re trying to reach. Then, think about how you’re going to get there by looking at your conversion processes and ensuring they align with your overall strategy and metrics. 

    Next, take a look at your overall industry by studying your competitors. Then, do some research on your customers by looking into their pain points and what problems they have that you need to solve. 

    2. Develop a Strong Content Strategy 

    A strong content strategy is the foundation of a solid inbound marketing strategy. To define your content strategy, start by asking yourself these questions:

    • What type of content does my audience best respond to? Do they prefer blogs, white papers, infographics, or videos?
    • What platform does the best job at attracting customers? Is it Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc.? 
    • How much content can we consistently produce each week?

    By answering these questions, you’ll be able to set the framework for your content strategy. 

    3. Create Great Content 

    Once you have a content strategy in place, it’s time to start creating great content. You should offer your consumers a mix of regular content and premium content

    Regular content is content that can be accessed via your website and social media channels. Premium content, on the other hand, is content that’s exclusive to a select group of people. People will usually be happy to hand over their email addresses for access to quality premium content. 

    Your regular content and premium content should be a blend of funny, entertaining, informative, and inspiring. You also want to mix in some live and animated content with written content. 

    When creating content for your business, make sure to keep your overall objectives and content strategy in mind. 

    4. Master Technical SEO 

    Technical SEO is another major component of inbound marketing. Technical SEO involves analyzing how your site is performing on Google (or whatever search engine you’re using to drive the most traffic). 

    At least once a month, your company should run a site audit to ensure that your site is performing well and doesn’t have any outstanding issues. You can use a tool like SEMrush or Google Search console to conduct your site audits. 

    By tracking your technical SEO stats, you’ll be able to find ways to boost your results in the search engines. 

    5. Create Segmented Emails 

    People respond well to targeted emails. By segmenting your audience, you’ll be able to create more personalized emails that capture their attention. 

    You can segment your email audience by:

    • Purchase history
    • Demographics
    • Web activity
    • Open rates
    • Click-through rates

    By personalizing the emails you send your customers, you’ll be able to connect with them on a deeper level. This can help you increase your odds of turning one-time purchasers into loyal customers. 

    6. Revamp Your Website Layout 

    Users have very high expectations when it comes to websites. If your website layout isn’t clear, visually appealing, and intuitive, then you’re going to lose a lot of potential customers. 

    Even if you have the best inbound marketing strategies on the planet, they won’t mean anything if you’re sending leads to a site that doesn’t look good. Have someone take an objective look at your website to figure out where you need to make improvements. 

    Are You Ready to Step Up Your Inbound Marketing?

    Now that you’ve read this guide, it’s time for you to put these inbound marketing tips and tactics to use. With these tips, your business will be able to reach new heights in 2021. 

    If you’re looking for more help with your inbound marketing strategy, click here to learn how HyperTarget Marketing can help you. 

  • Cold Transfer vs. Warm Transfer Calls: A Call Marketing Guide

    Cold Transfer vs. Warm Transfer Calls: A Call Marketing Guide

    cold transfer vs warm transfer

    Keeping customers happy requires catering to their every need— all the way down to how your business answers phone calls. According to studies, a customer is four times more likely to purchase products from a competitor if they dislike the customer service at a particular company.

    Most people can agree that some of the main things that customers hate are rude representatives, long hold times, and being transferred from one department to the other. The best way to cut down on this type of headache is by implementing warm transfers.

    However, if your company is new to this concept, this guide has you covered. We’ll explain the difference between a cold transfer vs warm transfer, and its benefits. Keep reading to learn more.

    Cold Transfer vs Warm Transfer

    A very common feature for today’s telecommunications is transferring calls. Basically, it’s the capability to switch a call from one person to another.

    There are two ways in which a call transfers: cold (blind) and warm (attended). Essentially, the key distinction is whether or not the call is initiated or announced before the switch is actually made. 

    The distinction is primarily the contrast between a warm invite and a cold shoulder. The warm transfer option requires an introduction along with some basic background information. It also includes a friendly reminder that the call is getting transferred.   

    When no discussion or prior information is required, the cold transfer option is a quick and simple substitute. It’s called a cold/blind transfer because the call gets transferred without knowing if the other party is available to speak to the caller.

    Are Warm Transfer Calls Better?

    One of the most unpopular features of the modern call center is the traditional cold transfer. It’s the procedure of transferring an individual without filtering the call to determine the identity of the caller and the reason for the call. 

    Why would a company want to stay away from cold transfers?  Well, they make customers have to repeat themselves over and over again each time they are transferred to a different representative. This is exhausting, irritating, and time-consuming—especially when they have a difficult issue or a complicated concern.

    Warm transfers involve the gathering of pertinent information to ensure that the call is transferred to the correct person or department. Even if it’s just the caller’s name and the purpose of the call, getting information first helps to ensure that the transaction is handled correctly.

    This type of transfer dramatically increases call traffic flow, decreases average wait times, and substantially enhances the experience of customers.

    The Benefits of Warm Transfer Calls for Your Business

    When it comes to the contrast between a cold transfer vs warm transfer, the warm transfer option is the winner. What does a warm transfer in a call center do for your company? Other than preventing customers from being tossed from one line to the next?

    Well, it sends a direct message to your callers that your focus is on them. This is the most critical component of warm transfers. The way your business handles calls shows customers whether or not your company is taking their concerns seriously.   

    Sometimes, as corporations expand, they seem to lose sight of the intimate connections that make customers feel loved and appreciated. At least, that’s the impression most customers will get when they’re not treated nicely over the phone.

    A successful company never forgets the value of treating customers with care. Even if it’s something as simple as a warm transfer.

    Helping Your Employees Understand the Value in Warm Transfer

    If your call center has primarily used cold transfers in the past, that’s okay. You can train your staff on how to conduct warm transfers. Preparing your representatives to execute warm transfers is one of the first phases of ensuring that they’re done properly.

    Do the members of your customer contact team know how to direct calls the right way? Do they understand the necessary “small talk” needed to prevent the uncomfortable silence that makes a phone call awkward before a transfer? 

    Luckily, all of these things can be taught and discussed in call center training before the representatives ever make their first warm transfer.

     A crucial point to bear in mind is that today’s callers have limited attention spans and high demands for timely and proficient customer service. This is especially true for the Millenials being served in the market.

    It’s better to answer the phone and occupy them than to keep them hanging on the line. Teach your reps how to provide constant engagement to every customer.

    Essentially, when it comes to cold transfer vs warm transfer, cold transfers should never be an option. There may be certain circumstances where they’re needed, but it’s rare. When a person calls into your company, the goal should always be to help them as much as possible.

    This is definitely true if your business has a call center. Be sure to implement protocols that ensure that no customer is confused about what’s happening on a call.

    Get the Most Out of Warm Transfer Calls

    When it comes to a cold transfer vs warm transfer, you can never go wrong with warm transfer calls. It’s one of the best ways to ensure that your customers are happy and that their experience with your company is great.

    Speaking of phone calls, does your business need assistance? If so, HyperTarget marketing is here to help. We provide warm transfers, lead generation services, and more. 

    If you’re interested in getting started, call us at 213-973-9905 or contact us online for more information.

    We look forward to talking with you soon.

  • PPC Campaign Analysis: Converting PPC Metrics Into Success

    PPC Campaign Analysis: Converting PPC Metrics Into Success

    ppc metrics

    Over $10 billion was invested into PPC in 2017. PPC or pay per click has a lot of advantages to it. One of the biggest advantages is that you can have instant results. You don’t have to wait for organic traffic to do the work for you. If you have PPC ads, you may be experiencing some success with website visits and more leads. But there might be a lot you don’t know about when it comes to PPC metrics. 

    If you want to optimize your PPC success, you need to know everything about PPC campaign metrics. You need to know the most important PPC metrics. They can tell if you need to make some minor or major tweaks to your PPC campaign

    Here’s a guide on everything you need to know about PPC metrics and how they can give you more success in your business. 

    Clicks

    The first metric that can give you insight into your PPC campaign is clicks. While it may not show revenue or how much you are making from a specific campaign, you still need to know if your PPC ad is generating any interest. 

    Clicks are the most level of an ad. It’s the first metric you should be looking at to see if there is any interest in your promotion. 

    You want to see how many clicks you are getting per day with your ad or across a variety of PPC ads. 

    If you are producing very few clicks, it could mean you need to make a change. You need to change the ad copy, the CTA, and perhaps the offer. The goal is to generate a high number of clicks so you know the consumer’s interest is initially there when they first see your ad. 

    Cost Per Lead

    Another PPC metric to consider that can give you more success is the cost per lead.

    From clicks, you should now be looking at leads. You want to see how many people are clicking on your ad and becoming a lead. From there, you want to determine how much you are paying per lead. 

    You should compare that metric to your industry standard. You want to see if there’s a continued interest after people click on the ad. If a lot of them are becoming leads, you should have a low cost per lead. 

    Cost Per Conversion

    After cost per lead, you should consider looking at the cost per conversion. You are seeing how many leads you are converting to sales. 

    This is when you begin to look at revenue. Every conversion should point to how much you are making. Every conversion should give you a specific amount of dollars. 

    It’s basically telling you how much you are paying to convert someone into a paying customer. If you are paying $50 for conversion, but you only make $45 every time someone converts, then you are losing money. 

    Your goal should be to have a low cost per conversion, so you aren’t paying more for your PPC ads. 

    Quality Score

    Another metric to consider is the quality score. This is what Google evaluates and tells you about your PPC ad. 

    Your quality score tells you if your ad is relevant to your target market. It will also reflect if your landing page is any good and relevant. 

    What Google is telling you with the quality score is what you need improvement on. They are telling you if you need to either change your target market or if you need to change your ad so it’s more relevant. 

    Conversion Rate

    Conversion rate is different from cost per conversion. With cost per conversion, you are looking at revenue. However, with conversion rates, you are looking at percentages of how is converting after being a lead. 

    If you had 100 leads and 25 of them converted, you would have a 25% conversion rate. While this rate will vary from industry to industry, you would a conversion rate that is higher than the industry standard. 

    One way to improve your conversion rate is to work on your sales funnel. You want to make sure people are converting after becoming a lead. You want to continue to grow their interest in your business. 

    Average Position

    Another metric that can help you understand how well your campaign is doing is the average position. 

    This is the position of your ad throughout any given day. Google might show your ad at no. 1 or no. 4 throughout the day. 

    You should look at your cost per conversion and see how well your ads do in a particular position. You might discover that some ads perform better when they aren’t ranked no. 1.

    Lifetime Value

    The final PPC metric to consider that can help with your campaign success is lifetime value. 

    With lifetime value, you are calculating the value you are receiving from a customer based on their actions. You are seeing if specific customers continue to shop after they have become a customer from your PPC campaign. 

    Now You Know Everything About PPC Metrics

    When it comes to PPC metrics, there’s a lot to understand and it can sometimes be overwhelming. The idea of looking and calculating metrics shouldn’t be daunting but rather helpful if you want more success in your business. 

    You need to look at these metrics to determine what you need to change in your business. You need to figure out what is working from the beginning customer state with the click to them becoming a lifetime customer. It gives you full insight into your marketing strategy. 

    If you want help with your marketing PPC strategy, you can see how we help businesses here

  • Calls Calls Calls Happy Hour!

    Are you attending Leadscon Las Vegas 2019?  If so, HyperTarget Marketing is the hosting annual Calls Calls Calls Happy Hour on March 4th from 5-7pm at the Parlor Lounge in the Mirage.  Sponsored by our friends at Ringba.

    Space is limited so RSVP HERE at Callscallscalls.com.

    Be sure to stop by our booth #908 and say hi or schedule a meeting before the show.  Look forward to seeing you there!

  • Savvy Marketers Shouldn’t Miss The Hottest Inbound Marketing Trends for 2019

    Savvy Marketers Shouldn’t Miss The Hottest Inbound Marketing Trends for 2019

    marketing trends

    Your content creator needs a day off. You probably can’t afford to give them one, since they have so much to do – but we bet they’re exhausted.

    Why? Because marketing trends in 2018 were all about quality and authenticity, which was a big change from the CONSTANT CONTENT!! push of 2017.

    Next year, 2019, will see the refinement of 2018 techniques. Videos will still hold importance, but they’d better be well thought out. Learn other marketing trends we’re predicting for 2019 below.

    Fewer Facebook Ads

    What we’re about to say might scare you. In 2019, Facebook ads as we know them will start to die. But, you say, that’s my main marketing plan!

    Well, for one, it shouldn’t be. But you don’t have to worry too much. Facebook ads won’t go away, they’ll just change to more “sponsored” posts.

    Instead of seeing a Facebook ad, like the kind you create in ad manager, businesses will make promoted posts. Using influencers – basically, influencers are going to do the Ad work for them.

    One company that does this well now, for example, is Fab Fit Fun. They’re a subscription box company that has a huge network of influencers.

    We’re talking huge. If someone has a following of a million plus on Facebook and Youtube, they’re probably promoting Fab Fit Fun. They’ve even dipped into the podcast market.

    Why? People love seeing the people they already watch unbox things. It has to do with how mystery processes in the brain.

    The influencers give their honest opinion about the product and the viewers trust them. They feel like they know this person, and 84% of people trust reviews by other people.

    So, how do you get in on this trend? Find an influencer in your niche.

    If you sold boats, for example, you could feature a local charter fisher captain. Or a Seafood company – anything to put a non-company face behind your goods.

    Be honest and open about how you compensate the influencer. Instagram cracked down on that last year.

    A Return to Humankind

    In our opinion, we’re at peak automation. Bots are everywhere. They read our search history and suggest products. They’re behind those little “chat now” buttons on websites.

    They text us scams or updates from organizations we don’t remember opting into. Alexa is technically a bot, as are her companions from other brands.

    When will the madness stop? Are we ever going to communicate human to human again? We think so.

    Automation and bots may not go away next year, or ever, but the excitement about them stall. That’s where humans come back into the picture.

    And thank goodness. No one’s opening emails anymore or clicking through sidebar ads. Automation can make getting leads feel impossible.

    So, what’s the solution? Calling people to get leads. Human to human, the way it’s always been. People are tired of picking up the phone just to hear a recording offering some sort of health insurance.

    When they hear a real human, it’s a breath of fresh air. Their happiness is good for you, too. They’re more likely to be kind and give out valuable information to our friendly lead callers.

    Longer Videos

    In 2018, everyone in digital marketing was pushing videos. Video, video, video! People would have a robot reading words over a screen with generic images, rather than not have video content at all.

    And the focus on video will still be there, but people expect more now. You’re not going to get away with reading your latest blog post word for word as video content.

    Get ready to hire a whole new video content creator or at least set aside a new meeting group for it. These 2019 videos need to be well planned and thought out.

    Lighting and sound are important too. But what if someone’s scrolling and can’t use sound? It’s worthwhile to take the time to create captions.

    Not only is it kinder for those with hearing issues, but it will increase the viewership of, you know, people at work or school. Just make sure you double check the captions if you let a service automate them.

    There’ve been some bad fails that at automated captions that can change a video completely.

    Micro-Moments

    Think about the last time you searched on Google maps. Did you see business names, etc around your destination?

    That’s still marketing, even though you probably ignore it. Now you know it’s there.

    These are called micro-moments. They can be almost subliminal, in the way our brains record them.

    For example, maybe you’re driving your kids to soccer practice at a new field. You don’t stop on the way there, but the kids are whiny and you remember seeing something about a sub shop around your location.

    That sub shop that’s only a block or two from the field got in your head when the name popped up on Google maps.

    To use this trick, if you have an in-person location, make sure you have a strong Google Business profile. Google is a narcissist. It loves promoting businesses that choose to use Google products and services.

    2019 Marketing Trends

    As we move into 2019, the digital marketing trends aren’t going to change overnight. You’re not going to wake up and see 10+ minute videos on 1/1 all over Facebook.

    These changes will happen gradually, but the ones who are the first to use them will have more success. By this time next year, we’ll have an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

    What trends will last into the roaring 2020’s? Hard to tell, but we’ll do our best to keep you informed.

  • Morale Boosting Ideas for Your Inbound Call Center Workers

    Morale Boosting Ideas for Your Inbound Call Center Workers

    morale boosting ideas

    Are you killing your employees?

    Workplace stress is harmful to the physical and mental health of your employees. Coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, panic attacks, and headaches can all come from chronic levels of stress.

    Do you have a toxic workplace environment? If your workers have low levels of energy and can barely wait to leave at the end of the day, your business will suffer. Luckily for you, there is a way to get rid of negative attitudes in the office.

    You have to foster an atmosphere of happiness and joy if you want your employees to love coming to work. Happiness is a powerful force that can improve employee relationships and increase sales. On average, happy employees are 12% more productive than sad ones.

    Read on to learn about morale boosting ideas that will help your employees- convert more calls into sales.

    Benefits of Having Happy Workers

    Before you can create happy employees you should know why you’re doing it. Employees who love what they do will be better assets to your company. Here are a few benefits you’ll enjoy from having happier employees:

    • Fewer health problems
    • Better sale conversions
    • Improved productivity
    • Critical thinking and problem solving
    • Desire to grow
    • High retention rates
    • Ability to recruit quality talent

    Does your company use digital marketing tools or lead generation services?

    Make sure your employees understand the time and money that goes into generating their leads. It’s common for workers to slow down in production as the day reaches an end.

    However, your workers should treat every call with the same level of determination and enthusiasm no matter what time of day it is. You can get the most out of your digital marketing efforts when your employees have medium to high levels of energy all day long.

    Problems with Unhappy Workers

    Disgruntled, unhappy workers can spread their bad mojo through the office faster than a cold. Toxic work environments can create employees that will cost you more money than they make you. Here are a few problems unhappy workers can cause:

    • Toxic work environment
    • Negative attitudes
    • Waste time and money
    • Low sales conversions
    • Repel new talent

    Many inbound call center workers rely on commission for their pay. When workers don’t believe they can make the sales they need, they’ll stop trying. If you do pay an hourly wage, you’ll be wasting your company’s money on workers who aren’t even trying.

    Top salespeople may lose their momentum if everyone around them is constantly complaining. Instead of being happy with their sales, top salespeople will feel the need to hide their success.

    Your call center will be a dangerous blend of envy and fear. With these two emotions running the show open collaboration and exchanging of helpful ideas becomes nearly impossible.

    Let’s look at what you can do if you believe your workplace needs a positivity makeover.

    What Are Morale Boosting Ideas?

    Recognizing your call center’s missing something is the first step towards finding a solution. There are 3 main reasons people will hate their job position.

    Anonymity

    Do your workers know how much you value what they do? If not, they may feel like an invisible, entity that doesn’t have any level of significance within your business.

    It’s important to not only notice the work your employees do but to also acknowledge the existence of their personal lives. As a manager, it’s important for you to express interest in what goes on when the work day is over.

    Congratulating a worker on their new car or house can go a long way in showing you care about them as a human being.

    Irrelevance

    Have you ever felt like your employees are just going through the motions? They might feel like there isn’t any point to the work they complete. It’s important to let employees know how their work affects the entire company as a whole.

    Immeasurement

    In sales, it’s critical for your workers to know how they’re doing. If employees can’t measure their level of success they won’t have any motivation to improve. Friendly competition in the workplace is important if you want your sales team to care about what they do.

    Morale boosting ideas will help you address problems with anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurability. First, let’s look at an idea that will help your employees know you value them not just as workers but as individuals too.

    Personalized Cubicles

    Plan a day where your employees can spend an hour customizing their cubicles. Encourage workers to put up pictures of things they want that motivate them. Having a visual goal to work towards or for can be a tremendous source of encouragement. Here are a few ideas you can suggest when your workers are designing their cubicles:

    • Use bright cheery colors like yellow or orange
    • Zen Garden
    • Inspirational quotes
    • Use calming colors like blue or green
    • Photos of family and friends
    • Magazine cutouts of dream vacations
    • Picture of a new car they want to buy

    If your workers don’t have a cubicle you can still help them customize their workspace. A desktop calendar is a great tool for visually stating and tracking sales goals.

    Create Teams

    If you want to transform the way your coworkers view each other put them on teams. Workplace teams are a phenomenal way to foster friendly competition with daily and weekly sales goals.

    You can give the teams their names or allow them the opportunity to name themselves. Have the teams meet with each other every day before getting on the phones.

    During the meetings, a team leader can guide the group in a conversation about sales goals. Team members will be able to express things that they’re having trouble with. It’s also a great opportunity for team members to share success stories and offer teammates helpful advice.

    Perhaps some of your employees are having trouble mastering the art of a warm transfer. Instead of worrying about it your employees will know they have a safe space during the team meeting to discuss what they’re struggling with.

    Remote Call Center Jobs

    Remote call center jobs can have a  difficult time making employees feel good. Not being able to physically see employees can make it hard to boost workplace morale.

    However, it isn’t impossible to create a welcoming environment for employees who work from home. If you’re employees telecommute you can foster workplace communication through telephone conferences, facetime calls, and online communities.

    Drive In More Calls

    Morale boosting ideas can help transform your company’s work environment.

    Hypertarget Marketing wants to help you grow your business. We are a performance marketing agency that can increase your daily call volume. When you hire us you’re paying to speak with customers who are genuinely interested in your product or service.

    Our process allows us to drive inbound calls to your center using mobile-optimized websites. Recent advances in technology have given us the ability to combine call metrics and paid traffic. Our marketing platform generates quality leads for you to convert into sales.

    Look at our past and ongoing projects to get an idea of what we’re capable of. In the bottom corner of the page, you’ll see our contact us button. Click on our contact button and let us know how we can help.  We look forward to hearing from you.

  • How to Create an Effective Inbound Calling Strategy

    How to Create an Effective Inbound Calling Strategy

    inbound calling

    Does your company have an inbound calling strategy? You’ve invested time, energy and resources to make your phones ring. You’ve worked hard to acquire every lead and customer.

    What happens when the phone rings? If you don’t know, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

    Customers who call you are more likely place an order with your company. When they do, they spend more than the average customer.

    When you have a strategy in place for those inbound calls, you can increase those numbers even more.

    Keep reading to learn how you can leverage the power of inbound calls by creating a solid inbound call strategy.

    Why Do Customers Call?

    The main question you need to answer when you create your inbound call strategy is why are they calling?

    Is it to feel like your company can be trusted before they buy? Do they have questions before committing? Might they need a little reassurance before taking the next step?

    Your potential customers exist in different stages of the buying lifecycle. The typical lifecycle is made up of 4 steps before a customer makes a purchase.

    Awareness: The point where someone becomes aware of your company, product, or services. This is usually through marketing, direct outreach, or social media.

    Interest: Once a prospect knows about your company, they will be interested in what you have to offer. They’ll start to look at your product offerings, and keep that information on the back burner.

    Desire: They know they have an immediate need for your company’s offerings. They do more research into pricing and start to compare your company to others.

    Action: They’re ready to take action and make a purchase. At this stage, they know they have a need. They need to be convinced that your company offers the best solutions to solve their problems.

    An important point to note is that customers want to be in control of every step of the process. They don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to. Nor do they want to be called. Think about today’s world; no one wants to be called anymore, not even by their friends. People want to make calls when it’s best for them.

    That’s among the biggest differences between outbound and inbound calls.

    When you understand why your potential customers call, it’s easier to manage those calls. You can put the right people on the phone to give the customer exactly what they want before buying.

    Set Up Systems for Each Stage of the Buying Process

    There’s a big difference between a prospect who’s ready to buy and someone who just wants to kick the tires.

    You want to make sure that you have systems in place to handle people who are just curious and people who are ready to commit.

    You want to be sure that each one gets a high level of service, but no so high that your customer acquisition costs increase. It costs more money to have a phone rep than it is to have someone answer an email or live chat.

    Your system should have a live chat and email options for people who are interested but don’t have the desire or want to take action.

    If someone calls in, how can you tell where they are in the product lifecycle? That’s where a cloud-based phone service comes in.

    They can route those calls to the appropriate person, so your staff time isn’t wasted routing calls. Prospects also feel like you have it together because they’re not being passed from person to person.

    Have the Right People Available

    The worst impression someone can leave on a call with a potential customer is ineptitude. You want to make sure that the people you put on the phone are confident, knowledgeable and ready to assist prospects.

    It’s important to have your top sales reps available when a prospect is ready to buy. You can have customer service reps ready to answer questions for those

    Use a CRM System

    You’re going to need to have a record of all of the calls that are taken. It’s not enough to rely on memory or notes scribbled down everywhere.

    Sales reps are productive when they have access to a CRM. Your entire team can have access to customer notes that show when they called, the issue at hand, and how it was resolved.

    That can make your entire team more effective, especially if the original contact person is unavailable.

    The good news is that a CRM doesn’t have to be an expensive solution. There are plenty of cloud-based tools that are priced according to the number of users and contacts.

    These cloud-based tools often have an app that sales reps can use to access data anywhere. That’s convenient in case they need to follow up with a prospect while they’re out of the office.

    Analyze Data

    You’re going to need to track the effectiveness of your inbound calling strategy. The way to do that is to use detailed reporting and analyze data regularly.

    You can track the number of calls, how they’re generated, and sales performance. You can also measure custom satisfaction after the fact.

    The metrics will let you guide your marketing strategy. You can learn what is working, where adjustments need to be made, and where the greatest opportunities are.

    An Inbound Calling Strategy That Gets Results

    If you’re on the fence about having an inbound calling strategy, you need to hop off of it. There are great reasons why a plan of action around inbound sales. They come down to time and money. Yes, it’s an investment to have salespeople work the phone.

    However, you’re leaving money on the table because you don’t have the staff in place to handle customer calls when they’re ready to buy.

    When you do that, selling becomes easy. If you need help getting people to call your company, don’t hesitate to contact us today at 213-973-9905. You can also review our process to see how we get things done.

  • Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer: What’s the Difference?

    Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer: What’s the Difference?

    Is your phone ringing with all sorts of inbound calls and you have no idea who these people are or why they are calling? Having pertinent information and background about prospective clients when they call helps you to provide better service.

    We’re going to take a look at the major differences between a warm transfer and a blind, or cold, transfer. Let’s dive into the advantages and disadvantages of both.

    The Difference: Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer

    We’ve all received those phone calls that have outside information prior to answering them. Then, when we answer, we’re either confused or not up to speed on the reason they are calling.

    For business productivity, it’s helpful to have the most information you can before picking up a call. That’s exactly what a warm transfer provides.

    What’s a Cold Transfer?

    A cold transfer transfers to you without any information about who it is or why they are calling. If your business tends to receive a lot of sales or telemarketing calls, cold transfers don’t do your business any favors.

    They occur a lot more frequently when your company doesn’t have a receptionist or anyone answering phones. They happen also if your business has a receptionist but they transfer calls without notifying the receiving party. The receiving party can either answer the phone right away or let it go to voicemail and hope they leave their information there.

    Disadvantages of a Blind Transfer

    Even if your company is on a do not call list, it’s possible there are certain times of the year more calls come in. These involve some clients, some leads, and often a lot of solicitors. With blind transfers, the call might not get to where they need to go.

    Some calls might pass to someone, when another employee may have already spoken with them, or there is a position that is more appropriate to handle the request. This wastes important company time and causes unnecessary phone tag and transferring.

    These blind transfers happen if you have an employee who doesn’t want to take the call, has a disgruntled customer, or doesn’t think it’s for them. If the conversation had prior to transferring was important, a cold transfer could make for an angrier client when they are asked again of their calling purpose.

    It’s a good business objective to provide good customer service over the phone as this could be a prospective client’s first impression of the company.

    What is Warm Transferring?

    Warm transfers work best when a receptionist is answering the phones. They allow for enhanced call screening and employees are more efficient on a call. They receive the background information they need prior to answering the call.

    Some businesses have a receptionist who informs an employee they have a call via instant messaging. Some, a receptionist walks to their desk to inform them. And others may receive a direct call from the receptionist who then explains and informs of the intent of the call and the caller.

    Advantages of Warm Transferring

    Employees are able to choose whether or not they have the time or want to answer the call or have it sent straight to voicemail. With a receptionist providing valuable information to the recipient, the call recipient provides better customer service for the caller.

    With warm transfers, a receptionist alerts the caller if they will go to a person’s voicemail or that the caller is currently busy. If they are just automatically transferred to a person’s voicemail, it’s frustrating for the customer and they may end up hanging up.

    A receptionist is able to gather all the information they need, ask great questions about the caller and the reason they are calling, and pass it on to the receiving party so they are well informed. This friendly customer service approach will keep callers happy and help to maintain a high customer retention rate.

    Call Transferring

    Businesses that are using VoIP business phone service (voice over internet protocol) are able to transfer callers quickly and efficiently. VoIP services make it easier for both the receptionist and the call recipient to view customer data in real time in the business CRM database.

    There are also apps that allow for smooth call forwarding so no calls get lost in the process of transferring. If your business doesn’t have VoIP services, it’s important that you put expectations and guidelines in place for the receptionist.

    Receptionist Guidelines

    What types of things do you need to know about the caller and why they are calling? What other questions do you need to ask so the call recipient is as informed as possible?

    Examples of questions to ask include:

    • What is your name?
    • What business are you with?
    • What is your title?
    • Who are you calling for?
    • What is your reason for calling?
    • Is this a tight deadline or an urgent matter?
    • When do you expect to hear back from them?
    • Is there any other important information you’d like to share?

    Having a procedure outlined will ensure call transfers, warm or cold, go smoothly and no calls are dropped. Customer service will be better and customers will be happier.

    Other things to think about putting in place for your receptionist is a general greeting. This could ring something like, “Thanks for calling (insert business name), this is (insert employee name), how may I direct your call?”

    The more informed employees are, the most empowered they are to make appropriate and helpful decisions to better the company.

    Warm Transfers are The Way to Go!

    Now you know the difference between a warm transfer and a blind transfer, it’s safe to safe if you’re hoping to improve your business customer service, warm transferring is a great step in the right direction.

    Are you interested in learning more about how to improve your customer service and client satisfaction through new marketing campaigns? Check out this blog now!

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