To survive in a highly competitive market, you have to constantly update yourself. Learning and implementing new marketing strategies is crucial. However, no matter how well-planned the strategy is, without the right marketing tools, you will not achieve the desired results. A marketing tool that can help you plan, organize, track and follow up on your leads can take you a long way.
Marketing tools come in different forms. They help you optimize your work processes. Digital marketing tools help you promote products, generate leads, drive sales, and improve brand image. They can help you get more work done with much lesser effort. This is achieved by automating repetitive processes and thereby reducing human intervention. Let your staff focus on important tasks and not waste time managing spreadsheets and inboxes.
With the ever-increasing popularity of tele and email marketing, your telecommunications system often acts as your marketing tool. They help you track, record, and analyze customer behavior and provide personalized solutions.
Countless marketing tools are available in the market these days. It sure is a tough task to zero in on the right one for you. Each new tool seems to possess more interesting features. While some of these can be very effective, others can be a total waste of time. An understanding of the kind of features that can really help your business is important. Listed below are a few must-haves of telecommunications tools to boost your marketing efforts.
1. Have an easy-to-use interface
An important feature of any digital tool is an easy-to-use interface. If your tool has a high learning curve and each person using it needs to be specially trained, then it’s a failure. Look for business-friendly features in your app. Features like quick filters help you refine the data displayed on the page. Data will be displayed based on the criteria that you specify. Quick response is another desirable feature.
2. Ability to view and organize all customer interactions
Manually writing down information has become a thing of the past. Managing separate spreadsheets with details takes up a lot of time and energy. With digitalization and the advent of cloud-based systems, you can record information and access them through any device like your desktop, tab, or mobile phone, from anywhere in the world. Keep all your information organized in a secure centralized location and access it anytime.
3. Track and record interactions
Tracking and recording interactions with customers are crucial. This helps you in many ways. You can make sure that the messages are not repeated. Also, make sure that you are conveying consistent messages to your customers. Understand customer preferences and plan further interactions by analyzing the recorded data. The analysis will also help you improve your agent performance.
4. Conduct drip campaigns and send recurring text messages
Drip campaigns are a great time saver. Once you have planned a series of messages, you needn’t spend time separately on individual customers. Digital marketing tools that let you schedule recurring messages at regular intervals also help you save a lot of time and effort.
5. Generate reports on campaigns
Digital marketing tools should be equipped to generate reports regularly. This will help gauge the performance of different campaigns. Revise and update marketing strategies regularly based on campaign reports.
6. Flexibility
Cloud-based telecoms software that uses virtual phone numbers offers great flexibility. It can be accessed from any location. Make/receive calls, send messages from your desktop or mobile phone. Different numbers can be assigned for different marketing campaigns. Once the campaign’s end, the same numbers can be reassigned for new campaigns. Always stay connected and never miss out on any important call. Cloud-based systems are ideal for remote workforce. Huge infrastructure investments are not required here. Since virtual numbers are not device-bound, any number of new connections can be taken, at a minimal cost. Businesses can choose numbers with different geographical area codes. Local numbers tend to increase your credibility.
7. Scalability
Scalability is another important attribute. The software should be equipped to handle the increase in the number of users or contact numbers used by them. For seasonal businesses, the increase or decrease in the number of users depends on seasonal demands.
8. Expert support service
Since technical glitches are part of any digital system, you have to make sure that timely assistance is at hand. Expert round-the-clock assistance is a must-have feature of any marketing software that you choose for your business.
9. Affordable pricing plans
Affordability is another key factor to be considered. Most software providers have a wide range of flexible pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes. Businesses should be provided the option to choose a pricing plan and scale up or down according to their needs.
In short, the ideal telecommunications tool should bring all your customer interactions to a single platform and manage them with ease. It should generate reports regularly to get a wholesome view of customer interactions. It should be equipped to send bulk emails and text messages on festivals and other special occasions. It should help you track, record, and manage your calls, messages, and the emails sent.