Ifbyphone Introduces MyLeadResponder to Address the Gap Between Web Inquiries and Sales Follow Up
Ifbyphone, a provider of voice-based marketing automation, has launched MyLeadResponder to solve the problem created when a prospect completes a Web form and then waits hours to receive a follow up. During that time gap, many consumers move on to competitors or lose interest, killing the sale.
According to Harvard Business Review, firms that contacted potential customers within an hour of receiving a query were nearly seven times more likely to qualify the lead as those that contacted the customer an hour later, and more than 60 times as likely as companies that waited 24 hours or longer. Despite these findings, 63 percent of companies failed to respond in that golden hour. Twenty-four percent waited more than a day, and 23 percent didn’t respond at all.
"In general, email is not a real-time communication tool," said Irv Shapiro, CEO of Ifbyphone. "It's a fine channel for many conversations, but when it comes to initial contact, rapid response is critical. We found that sales representatives were interested in these leads, but their attention was elsewhere: driving to a sales call, tackling a report, or even responding to other emails. They weren't prioritizing and many times weren't even aware of all the leads sitting in their inbox."
MyLeadResponder leverages Ifbyphone's advanced voice-based marketing automation platform to instantly find and connect a sales person with the lead. When a Web form is submitted or an email sent, the system immediately calls and alerts a specified sales team member. Ifbyphone's Find Me application can also be enabled to better route phone calls across a sales team and ensure that a live contact is reached. Once connected, MyLeadResponder relays the information from the form by reading it to the company representative. The sales person can then say, 'yes' into the phone to instantly connect with the prospect. In this way, the sales team member can be talking with a prospect moments after that person has expressed interest in a company's products or services.
Ifbyphone issues special email addresses to be placed on a company's Web forms. When the form is completed, the lead is still emailed to the company, but the advanced voice-interaction process is also triggered so sales staff can immediately follow-up on leads.
"We needed to make this is as easy as possible to implement, so we didn't want our customers to have to do any programming," Shapiro said. "Every company with a Web form understands how to route that information to an email address, so we chose to use this easy method. For businesses, it's as simple as adding an email address to their Web form."
This simple implementation also gives users new advanced metrics on their leads. MyLeadResponder generates reports not only on the form and email completions, but also on all the advanced call metrics created when the sales team connects with leads over the phone. Users gain insight into call duration, frequency, and even which sales representative is performing best. MyLeadResponder is integrated into the full Ifbyphone platform, giving marketers the global insights needed to assess campaign effectiveness across multiple channels.
"The sooner companies respond to their potential customers, the more likely they are to close a sale," Shapiro said. "MyLeadResponder is the tool that helps convert more leads into sales. It's simple to use, it works effectively, and users can show measureable results. We are very excited to launch."