There are more ways to communicate with your clients than ever before, but it’d be a mistake to assume that talking to your clients on the phone is outmoded.
A study by Google found that 61% of mobile users will call a business when they’re ready to purchase. Consumers are even more likely to call when making a high-value purchase, according to the study.
Calls to businesses are only expected to increase, too. Advertising and marketing firm BIA/Kelsey estimates that calls to businesses will exceed 169 billion per year by 2020, and a report by the firm found that these calls are 10-15 times more likely to generate a sale or follow-up activity than a digital form.
Giving consumers options to contact you—email, chat, forms, etc.—is important to capture all potential leads. But don’t overlook the importance of providing your phone number and being responsive to in-bound calls.
I agree. Old fashion phone calls are a great way to reach out and of course, we should respond to consumer calls right away. The bad part is the bombardment of robot-calls or solicitor calls from social media, lead generation, and the local school directories all wanting your advertising dollar. I’ve stopped picking up when the call is from California (all the Facebooks, Googles, Zillow’s are out there) and simply let most out of state calls go to voice mail. Key is to check and return the call right away.