When someone hears about phones and marketing in the same breath, they immediately think of telemarketing. They picture annoying phone calls that are about some service or product they aren’t interested in and they imagine a person trying to convince them to spend money on that service or product. Because of this preexisting notion, it is difficult for many businesses to imagine their telephone as any positive form of marketing, but that’s a very limited and narrow perspective. If you own or manage a small business, your telephone is likely your biggest marketing tool and you don’t even know it. This post hopes to show just how important the telephone is as a marketing tool for businesses and to show how you can use your phone for this purpose even more.
Simply put, marketing is any form of communication between a company and clients, potential or otherwise, where the company is trying to sell its goods or services. With this definition in mind, it seems obvious that your telephone is your number one marketing tool. After all, other than face to face conversations, most businesses communicate with clients most, and in the most depth, on the device made solely to ease communication – the telephone. But how can a company get more out of their telephone as a marketing tool than they already are?
Firstly, just like in physical interactions with clients, it is imperative that clients have a positive experience and feel welcomed by the company. No one wants to buy anything from a person that seems uninterested in what they are selling. That being said, it’s important to always put forward a smile and welcoming demeanor towards clients even when they cannot see you. A receptionist, for example, offers a great first impression to a client calling a business, as the receptionist will, likely, make sure to greet the client warmly and professionally. A receptionist also presents a professional face to the client that can promptly answer any questions or direct them to appropriate parties at ease.
This professionalism is also an important element of marketing on other levels. Simply having a telephone, and answering it promptly, gives clients another avenue of reaching your business. It is vitally important for clients to be able to easily reach a company or business if they are trying to reach out. Whether it is to speak with a representative, inquire about a product, or just call to get information about the business, if a client is reaching out of his or her own accord to a business, then it is imperative that the business can be reached. Nothing is worse than wanting to contact a business and realizing they cannot be reached or that it is difficult to reach them. This immediately gives that potential client a bad impression, and could likely send them in the direction of another competitor. Imagine a store selling goods, but the store is invisible. Obviously, the store would not be able to operate because none of the clients would even know where the store is. In this day and age where customers are finding it easier to contact a business through many different means, it is important that all of those options are available. Furthermore, it is especially important that the number one mode of communication – the telephone – is easy, receptive, and accessible.
You can even take your marketing with the telephone a step further. It’s true, not many people enjoy being called out of nowhere to buy a product they are interested in. It’s important that, if you are calling clients, you aren’t disrupting them. People, however, also enjoy being apart of something and helping to create things. If you have phone numbers for clients and customers, consider giving them a call and following up with them after their recent experience with your business or company. Ask them how you can better serve them and what they would like to see changed or added. You should also consider compensating them for giving their time to help you and your business. Unlike stereotypical telemarketing, this kind of extremely personal calling can provide you with useful insight into what your clients want, and it can help you build a dedicated client base that feels like they have an input into the goods and services that they are buying.
There are many more ways to use your telephone as a marketing device but the most important thing is to start thinking about your telephone differently. It is not just a device for making and receiving calls but it is a great tool for expanding your business and taking it to the next level.
