Do you leave a message each time you call…OR do you not?!
Which is the right approach?
Some recommend leaving a voice message each and every time you call a potential customer. While others recommend you do not.
This is the conversation we’re having right now over on the DealerRefresh forums. This are the type of conversations we have each day – so if you’re still lurking and have yet to join, what are you waiting for?
I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong . I would even bet it fluctuates across regions AND the demographics of the customer.
Myself – I don’t return phone calls from a number I don’t know, especially if it isn’t followed by a voice message. But that’s me and I’m not sure how I compare to the average.
Throughout this conversation, several other topics and opinions come about. Like…
- Should you call from different number and/or your cell phone? Switch it up and see if you can’t sway the customer to answer.
- When leaving a voice message, what do you say?
- What contact information should you leave in your voice message?
No matter what you believe to be the right answer, the CHALLENGE is getting the customer on the phone. Even more so, convincing a customer to actually return your voice message. So, what do you do to convince that customer to call you back? Because the perceived conclusion is – the consumer never returns your call.
Too often we base our opinions or build our practices on short, incomplete data. Let’s use this one as an example.
[highlight color=”#CAE2FE” font=”black”]On average, 40% of phone calls into your dealership hit a brick wall!! – 40% that’s not a number one can ignore. [/highlight]
As we converse and share our opinions and practices on how to get the customer to call you back, what if they ARE calling you back, but you’re not aware of it.
On average, 40% of phone calls into your dealership hit a brick wall!! – 40% that’s not a number one can ignore.
Here’s some supporting data from Mike at Century Interactive.:
* Connecting calls 60% of the time is better than the current national average. That means 40% of inbound calls don’t reach someone who can help the caller.
Why aren’t calls being connected?
38% Hung up while on hold.
How many of the 38% that hung up was a potential customer returning your voice message? This is what I mean by basing our opinions and building processes on short, incomplete data.
This conversation is priceless for several reasons more than original topic (Megan, thanks for posting it). As you read through the thread, it’s so much more than when to or when NOT to leave a voice mail.
Just one of the takeaways from this thread but I believe to be the most vital – are you giving potential customers your DIRECT contact information, making it as easy as possible for them to communicate with you?
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