Be More Competitive... Improve Your Communications
If your business has no competition, you probably don’t have much of a business. As much as we’d like to eliminate the competition, it’s actually quite necessary and consequential to our success. Competition is a driving force, pushing us to work harder, dig deeper, and aim higher. It's the catalyst for new ideas, advanced technologies and outside-the-box strategies.
Competition is not however, an excuse to for businesses to spend frivolously on the latest state of the art equipment or super-slick advertising to get a leg up. By focusing on gimmicks, splash and other external factors to drive their business, many companies overlook their most obvious and important area of growth potential: people who are already using or are interested in using their products and services. And it doesn’t take boatloads of cash or high priced engineers working around the clock to find a way to monetize this tremendous asset. Try this instead: communicate better.
The expectation for the modern consumer has become personalized and immediate customer service. If callers to your business are frustrated by long hold times or struggles to get basic information, they are most likely dropping off and heading straight to your competitors. A properly utilized Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system can not only help you satisfy the customers you already have but also boost new business opportunities by up to 20%, just by enabling better communication.
Now I’m not talking about your father’s IVR – the simple Press 1 for this, Press 2 for that model. Today’s advanced IVR solutions feature user-friendly options such as Speech Recognition, Virtual Hold, Bill Pay and Outbound Notification, just to name a few. They deliver the kind of real-time, customer focused service that builds relationships and optimizes your business’s potential. Implementing or updating your IVR system is a smart and cost-effective way to stay out ahead of the competition. And unlike the short shelf life of expensive advertising or the latest high-tech fad, excellent customer service never goes out of style.
Today’s intelligent IVR systems allow customers to interact with your business on their terms, at their convenience. They will thank you for the experience.
About the author:
Kirk Wormington is the EVP of Business Development at CenturionCARES. Kirk has a genuine passion for the communications technology industry, and is happy to share his thoughts through blog posts, webinars, interviews, or conference presentations. Pretty much anytime, anywhere… except for when the Packers game is on.