Optimising your 1300 number experience

If someone is dialing your business phone number, chances are good that they have already done research on the internet and therefore have a pretty firm idea of what they want.

If someone is dialing your business phone number, chances are good that they have already done research on the internet and therefore have a pretty firm idea of what they want. Patience is in short supply these days: if you don’t handle your inbound calls with speed and efficiency, you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities to establish business relationships.

The phone is oftentimes the first point of contact with customers, which means you have to make a good impression. If you don’t, they’ll take their business to one of your competitors. Availability and responsiveness are the keys to bringing customers into your orbit and keeping them there.

And the best way to improve availability and responsiveness is by getting a 1300 number. But that’s only the beginning: you must then optimise your 1300 number to give your customers—and yourself—the best experience possible. Below are a few ways you can do that.

IVR menus

Just having a 1300 number is enough to let customers know that you mean business, so to speak. But you can confirm this impression by employing features like an interactive voice response (IVR) menu. That way, when a customer calls your 1300 number, they hear the same professional greeting every time; and they also get to choose the precise destination of their call.

In addition to signifying professionalism, IVR menus streamline your customers’ experience by preventing confusion and cutting down on hold times.

Customised routing

1300 numbers are exceptionally versatile. You can take advantage of this versatility by formulating a customised routing plan that divides call volume among your staff. By routing calls to various lines, you ensure that calls are always answered in a timely manner. For example, you can configure your routing plan so that calls are redirected to a second or third line if the first line is unavailable or slow to pick up.

You can also choose to route calls based on where they are coming from, or the time at which they are placed. And your routing strategy can always be quickly updated to reflect staff and schedule fluidity.

No staff? No problem. You can route calls to your mobile device whenever you’re out of the office. It might also be worthwhile to hire a live answering service for calls made outside normal business hours.

The options are limitless.

Know your data

Most small business owners don’t have the budget to hire outside consulting firms to analyse their various data sets. Nor do they have the time to manually compile and organize these data sets. 1300 numbers are a big help in this regard, as almost all of them come with some form of call reporting. These reports let you see all the essential data pertaining to your inbound calls including origin, duration, time and frequency. This data enables you to hone and refine your marketing strategy to make certain that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

Ready to boost your company’s marketshare? Don’t hesitate—get a 1300 number today.