Accessibility is vital in today’s smartphone rich world.
Voice-based marketing automation allows marketing departments to be flexible in a mobilized world.
Businesses that decide not to use voice-based marketing automation, are essentially operating in the dark when it comes to inbound marketing. According to BIA/Kelsey, 30 billion inbound sales calls were made to businesses in 2013, with that number expecting to rise year-after-year.
Business New Daily’s Ned Smith explains that voice-based marketing automation gives you the ability to automate phone messages (voice broadcast to confirm appointments or deliveries, process payments, conduct satisfaction surveys, etc).
Here’s are three reasons to consider utilizing voice-based marketing automation.
Phone Leads
Currently, marketing departments will send emails to potential leads through marketing automation. However, when a prospective lead has a question regarding the product or service being offered, the answer from the marketing department may not be timely enough for the potential customer.
Using voice-based marketing automation allows marketing departments the opportunity to receive inbound phone calls from the potential leads. This allows the department to address any concerns the lead may have regarding the product, service or offer. Some consumers simply won’t make a purchase without having a phone conversation.
Voice-based marketing automation also streamlines the inbound marketing process by tracking those calls.
According to Irv Shapiro of Maketingprofs.com, “Voice-based marketing automation enables you to measure marketing effectiveness and optimize ROI by not only tracking inbound calls (and the revenue they generate) back to the specific online, mobile, or offline source that originated them, but also by routing calls automatically based on customizable criteria to the right sales agent, no matter where they are or what phone device they use.”
Smartphones
Smartphones have made it easier than ever for consumers to find the information they are looking for right at their fingertips. The ability to perform a search on Google with a smartphone gives customers all the information they expect on a PC, with all the accessibility of the mobile phone product. For example, if you’re looking for the closest movie theater in Orlando, Fla., you can simply say “movie theater” using the voice-to-text option on most smartphones. Not only will Google show the list of theaters, but it will also sort the list by the closest distance, provide directions from your location and a phone number if you want to find the price of concession stand food. The price of food at the movie theater is usually not something the theater will post on its website.
The beauty of smartphones is the click to call option, which the negates the need to retype the phone number, by allowing the caller to simply click on the number.  According to a study by Google, “The results showed that 70 percent of mobile searchers use click to call and that calls are an important channel for consumers.”
Voice-based marketing automation makes it easy to receive and track phone calls from mobile users.
Cost-efficient
Cloud-based software makes voice-based marketing automation a cost-efficient marketing platform.
Using cloud-based software, mitigates the need for additional IT employees, because the software itself has its own IT department and does not need to be maintained by the business using the software.
Since it’s licensed as a subscription service, the cloud-based powered voice-based marketing automation software can be charged to a company’s discretionary operating budget, instead of a capital investment.
Voice-based marketing automation provides a cost-efficient way to track inbound marketing leads, while also giving potential leads the mobile access they need in this smartphone world. CMOs who include voice-based marketing automation to their marketing strategy will add a more personalized touch with potential leads.
