Using 0870, 0844, 0800, 0845 and other virtual numbers for advertising

The example mentioned in the last blog.

So you're ready for your next campaign and you've decided which locations your ad will apear in. For this example, let's assume you've chosen 1) local newspaper, 2) online network, 3) industry magazine and 4) email marketing.

For each of the above you allocate a different callback number for those who see those ads. However, each number routes back to the same switchboard.

This means for each incoming call the statistics on the allocated numbers can be examined to determine which ad location has created the most calls. If one location didn't generate any calls you know to either not use it again or change the ad message - this is the way to increase effectiveness of your marketing.

Olu Odeniyi

Reducing cost, removing pain with Professional Online Backup, Virtual Switchboards & Virtual Call Centres

Using 0845 virtual switchboards an 0870, 0845, 0800, 0207 Numbers for Targeted Advertising

Let's assume you are launching a strategic campaign in the next week or so. You have chosen two publications/newspapers to advertise in and had a few thousand leaflets printed which will be distributed in certain locations.

As the campaign proceeds, calls are generated and the conversions begin. Overall the campaign is deemed successful yet you are very interested in reviewing which advert locations were the most effective.

The above is not possible if all the locations advertised the same number for interested parties to call. However, if each location advertised a different number it would be possible, with the correct services, to show the number of incoming calls for each advert location.

We'll concluded this point with a simple illustration in the next blog.

Olu Odeniyi

Reducing cost, removing pain with Professional Online Backup, Virtual Switchboards & Virtual Call Centres

Using 0870, 0845, 0844, 0800 numbers for advertising

Many companies know their marketing "works", well at least half of it but they don't know which half (I'm sure you recognise who first stated this more elegantly than written here). Stop the marketing and adverts and the sales fall so how can you begin to home in and optimise your marketing strategies?

Given over half the response from a campaign will involve calls via the telephone it is a good place to start. Many companies use the same number for their campaign as their normal office number. This means it isn't easy to track which calls came from which adverts from the campaign.

Using 0870, 0845, 0844, 0871 and 0800 numbers - or even virtual land line number codes - can help here. Different numbers can be used for different advertisements even though they are routed to the same physical call centre. This enables stats to be analysed for each number used in the campaign.

We'll give some examples of this in the next blog.

Olu Odeniyi

Reducing cost, removing pain with Professional Online Backup, Virtual Switchboards & Virtual Call Centres

What do you mean you **don't** throw opportunities in the bin?

We now focus on business call handling strategies over the next few week given a company can grow organically by filling holes in their current state of play.

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At this point all the hard work has been done.....and proved successful.

An assessment of the market opportunities has been made and the key planning stages completed. The marketing approaches have been thought through and budgets agreed. Flyers, booklets and memorabilia have been designed, ordered and delivered. Phone calls have been made, partnerships agreed sales guys done a good job of creating opportunities and finally the calls come in.......

This is where many opportunities are lost, not due to bad telephone manner but rather because the phone isn't answered. Most callers won't leave a message on voice mail or answer machines and are likely to go elsewhere. I know some business people who feel the phone interface to a company they experience is representative to any subsequent service they may be offered. The worst thing of course is most companies who experience this don't even know it.

I recall showing a client of ours recently how to check for missed calls and he was alarmed to see the number of callers phone numbers he didn't recognise indicating new potential business. What a pity!

The most common reasons why calls are missed are know to us all:-

• too busy
  
• on another call
  
• not enough staff
  
• not enough office phone lines
  

Whatever reason above applies to your company, at least have a go at monitoring missed calls if at all possible. If you know your company isn't being represented in a professional manner on the phone, ask yourselves if you would buy from a company that has the same response a potential client receives from yours.

Either way, seriously ask yourselves if you are effectively throwing opportunities in the bin. Surely you owe this to yourselves given all the hard work you've done to solicit the call in the first place?

Olu Odeniyi

Reducing cost, removing pain with Online Backup, Virtual Switchboards & Virtual Call Centres

VoIP example for business continuity / disaster recovery

Imagine a 40 person company has a fully hosted VoIP system. All desks have phones on them and are plugged into the Local Area Network (LAN) - let's not worry about the details at this point.

Incoming calls are routed to individuals or to the main switchboard number and transferred internally. There will be no difference to a traditional PBX or Key System from a users point of view for basic telephony (although professional VoIP offers advanced productivity features).

Now imagine disaster strikes and no one can get into the office. Perhaps there was a flood, fire or a builder cut through the main facilities (all of which happen frequently). It's now time to pull out your business continuity plan and implement it accordingly.

In this case, some staff might move to a standby building while others work from home. In either location all telephony facilities will be available just as in the office! Calls can be made/recieved via softphones on the PC or via spare IP handsets - details in the business continuity plan.

No reconfiguration necessary, all features available in fact business as usual - the aim of any worthwhile business continuity plan.

Professional online data backup

Does VoIP mean I can receive calls from any location?

As mentioned in previous blogs, this can be the case depending on the type of VoIP account you have. Take Skype for example - you can indeed receive calls from the point at which you are logged onto the internet; assuming the PC you are using has the correct audio equipment attached.

However, a small company may have VoIP equipment on site with analogue and/or VoIP phones plugged into it. In this case, the VoIP box may have to be installed at another location to receive calls from the subscribed VoIP account(s).

It is also possible to have a VoIP box on site and access it remotely still enabling calls to be received from any location. Nonetheless, what would happen if the on site box experienced a problem or mal functioned?

For business continuity, VoIP accounts can combined with regular telephony to receive calls from any location. The type of VoIP account which would suffice would be "fully hosted". This means all the intelligence is on the providers switch rather than a VoIP box.

A larger company may have several VoIP boxes in their internal network thus providing additional redundancy. Such a configuration would not be fully hosted but rather a distributed setup.

In the next blog we will run through a test scenario to help you visualise how a fully hosted VoIP set up would work in a disaster situation.


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How VoIP differs from your "normal" phone line....

In the last blog I mentioned VoIP uses the internet to make / receive telephone calls. This has many interesting ramifications that make VoIP useful for business continuity.

It is becoming well known that making calls over the internet can be cheaper and indeed free if made from one PC to another. This is because the call doesn't need to route through a public telephony provider's network as with regular telephony.

However, if a call is routed to the a recipient who uses regular telephony, the call will have to "break out" of VoIP into the public telephony network.

Conversely, if a call is originated from the public network and destined to a VoIP user, the call needs to "break in" to the VoIP network.

Confused? It's like starting a journey by train and continuing it by road. Start on VoIP, end on the public network and visa versa.

Now here's the big difference - a user can login to a VoIP account where ever they have a suitable internet connection. Calls will be delivered to where they are logged in.

More on this in the next blog....

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