THINK ABOUT THIS:
1. Carriers and Dealers spend millions of dollars each year advertising to increase sales, but have no way of tracking and measuring the results of their advertising dollars. Tracking advertising response rates at the retail store level is nearly impossible. No one really knows which ads work and which ones don’t. As a result the same old advertising methods are used in the hopes that some how sales will increase. And many retailers simply try to spend their co-op dollars quickly so they don't lose it. Most agree, that they really don't have a handle of which mediums work best, and all agree that the industry has gotten ever more competitive.
2. The advertising is geared to drive & point callers to the retail stores, yet 95% of the Wireless Dealer market is not set up to capture a sale over the telephone. Most dealers simply don’t have the resources and technology to systematically walk through the credit check and order fulfillment/delivery process over the telephone. What we do know is that up to 20% of all calls from Advertising can be closed over the phone for delivery. So how do Dealers take advantage of this opportunity?
Which ads work best? How can we increase sales in this fiercely competitive industry? Are your stores any different? Most carriers and Dealers we speak to agree…..this is a major problem that needs to be addressed…..but what can you do about it?
1. Start with the basics and subscribe to a service that allows you to track your advertising response rates and capture caller information whether your reps do it or not. A service like 800-Co-op Response does all that and more…..for typically less than 4% of your coop advertising expense per store….All automated with viewable real time reports on the web. Whether your reps track the results or not, the system captures all your critical response rate data so you can cut and spend your co-op dollars on advertising that produces results. Click on the image below to see how it works.
2. Develop a script and have all your sales people answer the phone professionally every time. Teach them proper sales protocol, and how to invite the customer into your store. With the 800-Co-op Response program…..all calls into your stores are digitally voice recorded to insure that your reps are doing the job properly. (You can listen to the calls any time with your reps & use as a sales training tool) As pointed out in a a previous article, teach your reps how to do this 100 times and you will get an extra 20 sales.
3. Set up your business to run credit and process orders for delivery over the telephone. Why? Most, retail stores are not set up with ability to handle an inbound sales call and walk the customer through the process. They often have customers in front of them and do not have access to a screen & script to capture order data, and as a result they do not treat call ins as potential buyers. Consider a routing option on your 800# that allows for callers to hear a greeting like "Thankyou for calling ABC Wireless, to be connected to our closest retail store to you press 1, for information about our current promotion and next day delivery options press 2" Customers selecting option 2 can be forwarded directly to your back office where you can set up dedicated staff to take these calls and process orders. On average 1 in 5 callers will be closed for a 20% close rate vs 0% currently achieved with the retail stores. This will help provide your business with the incremental sales you need to grow.
In summary, you spend a significant dollars on advertising to increase sales. You need to know what works and what doesn’t, and be prepared to handle these inbound inquiries to maximize your results.
