Inbound calls are an important component of any marketing strategy. And while you should be promoting inbound phone calls on your website and through other digital means, it is just as important to carefully consider what happens once a lead makes that call.
While training your team to handle inbound calls correctly is important, you also need to stop and consider what happens the moment a lead clicks call. Does the phone automatically ring in a salespersons office? Or does your front desk receive the call? Or perhaps it’s after hours so that phone call goes automatically to voice mail.
While all of these methods work, as your company expands and you have more and more salespeople and customer service representatives, the number of inbound calls can become quickly overwhelming. One solution is to automate inbound phone calls.
What is Inbound Call Automation?
Automating inbound calls refers to the system that answers the initial inbound phone call. A lead may call with a question for about your nearest location. When they call they would find several options to choose from. Depending on your business, this might include options based on the type of question they have: billing, products, locations, etc.
The caller would then choose the option that best reflects their need, and the phone would then either take them to another menu of options to narrow down the question further, or would route them to the correct person based on the item they wish to discuss.
Automation Pros
There are a couple of reasons you might choose to use automation to route your inbound calls. Here are just a few of the pros:
- Allows the caller to route their own call based on their needs, improving efficiency.
- Cuts down initial wait times or busy signals, because calls are being routed through the automation service and not an individual phone line.
- Removes the added cost of having an individual answer and route all inbound calls.
Automation Cons
But automation is not all sunshine and roses, and depending on your business and your inbound call goals, the cons may outweight the pros:
- Frustrates some callers who may not be able to find the option that applies to them.
- Complicated automation systems can cause inbound callers to hang up, losing your company valuable leads.
- Poorly designed systems can even lead to misdirected calls which ultimately leaves customers and employees frustrated.
Carefully weighting the pros and cons of inbound call automation for your business needs can help you make the right decision for your company. Inbound calls are only going to continue to increase in importance, so taking the time to ensure you use the right technology for your inbound calls will prove valuable in the long run.