Isn’t it funny how something so neat and new can become so troublesome! Well, maybe not. I think we were all blown away when e-mail first put in its appearance. Here was an elegant, simple and efficient way to stay in touch, conduct business, and work remotely. It was a panacea for so many troublesome business problems. And in a way I guess it is also testament that too much of anything is not a good thing.
All of the things that made e-mail so wonderful now seem to have conspired against it to a point were a once wonderful cure is now looked upon as a curse. Don’t get me wrong – e-mail is still a fundamental underpinning of good business practices. The problems have arisen over time with the misuse of this tool. SPAM is now almost an epidemic problem for anyone wishing to augment their marketing programs. What went wrong?
Not everyone out there is into businesses that many of us would consider above board. People are using e-mail blasts to sell sex, drugs and other items of nefarious roots. From my own experience I need both hands to count how many e-mails I get daily for Viagra or some derivative of it. Recently I have somehow been engaged by dating services. I mean, if they are coming after me I can only assume that normal membership is dropping and they are going to lower tiers than they might have previously considered. OK, a little joking is fun and I think we can all relate to these and other e-mail experiences. But there is a serious side to all of this that needs to be considered. Major e-mail managers are developing ever more stringent criteria for what constitutes SPAM so they can be proactive and try to contain the negative impact it has on their customers. The consequence of this is that many legitimate e-mails get caught up in the battle to block and do not get to their intended destination. What are legitimate businesses to do then?
Double Opt-ins are becoming more and more common to ensure that as an e-mail user you can get your message to it’s desired end point but there is an inherent danger when a company goes to update their business list to a double opt-in format. In their desire to obtain this permission they risk losing a significant number of their business base since people are tired of the abuse. “Please, don’t send me anything – I know who you are and when I need you I will call!” If the point of marketing is to stay top of mind with all of your prospects and customers, then not being able to send out e-mails is going to jeopardize that objective.
The other option of course is to vary your approach to doing business. Fortunately there are many different media types available that will allow you to accomplish this. One of the most effective is Voice Broadcasting. As a tool it is already sitting on your desk. In fact most people have surrendered to the phone as a sort of appendage and carry one with them all the time. But let’s consider some of the economic realities all marketers face today. We all know it costs more to attract a new prospect than to retain a customer. Another reality is that most people like to do business with someone they have a relationship with. It’s unlikely that anyone would consider a string of e-mails, no matter how well crafted, to be a relationship. The best relationships are the ones we can visualize a face. We need some element of humanity that allows us to build a picture of who we are dealing with. How many times have you been on the phone speaking with someone and fairly quickly built a mental image of what they look like? Whether your image is right or wrong, at least you have one and when you hear that voice that picture comes to mind. This is just one reason why Voice Broadcasting is considered the best relationship building tool next to a face-to-face meeting.
One of the best things you can do to maintain and nurture customer relationships is for them to hear your voice. Bad Fact! There is no way I can talk to everyone I need to with the frequency needed to maintain the relationship. This is why AMS’ Voice Broadcasting solution is so important to your marketing lineup. With Voice Broadcasting, you can record a personal message in your own voice and get it out to hundreds, even thousands of people. All you have done is recorded it once. The rest is managed by AMS. So, with AMS’ Voice Broadcasting or any of our other broadcasting technologies, there’s no reason to neglect existing clients and build bridges with new prospects. Here is another plus! Voice Broadcasting is cost effective. You can deliver a personal message to 200 of your clients for less than the cost of a decent bottle of wine. And because it is automated you will have time to enjoy that bottle of wine too! Nothing is better than a demonstration to prove a point so let me share with you everything involved with launching an AMS’ Voice Broadcast.
How about 2 Step simple? Would that get it done for you? Then here you go:
Record your message – you can call AMS’ automated launch line at 1-800-760-0028, enter your account number and follow the system to record your message. Make your script friendly and natural. Remember, people love to know that they’re being thought of.
Email AMS a list of your client names and phone numbers that you want to reach. You can email at broadcasts@automs.com.
Along with your list, e-mail us the date and time you want your message going out.
Here are some hints on the Do’s and Don’ts of Voice Broadcasting. Voice Broadcasting is not a sales or prospecting tool. It is a client retention and relationship building tool. It is not a lead generation device. Here are the rules. Once someone has called you and requested information, you have 90 days from that date to legally call them, even if they are on the “Do Not Call List”. Once someone has done business with you, you have 18 months after that date during which you can follow up with them.
Voice Broadcasting performs a very specific and key task; it builds the relationship with your prospects and existing clients. When it is used properly, it should serve as the centerpiece of your “Stay-In-Touch” campaign. Every month of the year has something to celebrate or acknowledge. Use Voice Broadcasting to call your list and wish them Happy Holidays; Happy Mother’s Day; Father’s Day or Thanksgiving. Remember, the focus is building and maintaining relationships. You’re calling attention to these important days and letting them know that you’ve taken the time to think of them adds a sense of intimacy and caring to that relationship.
Now if you really want to make your Voice Broadcasting powerful just combine it with AMS’ Lead Management System or LMS. LMS provides a powerful, systematic database capability managing all of your marketing technology across multiple media including Voice Broadcasting. You see, AMS’ Voice Broadcasting has been designed to work at an integrated level with AMS’ Lead Management System. As leads are captured you can predetermine how you want to manage them and design a marketing campaign that will build the relationship allowing conversion. And, as I have already commented, Voice Broadcasting is one sure fire way of bringing a voice and a face to the relationship.
We’ve talked about some of the problems with the more popular ways of communicating with our prospects and customers. We’ve highlighted why relationships are so important to the buying and retention process. We’ve demonstrated why intimacy can be easy to achieve with Voice Broadcasting and not just how it augments the other technologies in your Marketing Portfolio, but that there is no other solution to delivering the benefits Voice Broadcasting brings with it. And I’ve shown you that it can all be done in just 2 easy steps. In fact, if you have it as part of a prepared campaign, there are no steps. It just happens, like clockwork, because the automated robot we call Lead Management System does it all for you. You’ve read the article. You understand the benefits. Just give us a call!
You’ve read the article. You understand the benefits. Check out this video to see how Voice Broadcasting Works
