Virtual phone systems are transforming the e-commerce industry in more ways than we could ever imagine. With the e-commerce industry growing immensely, its revenues are expected to grow by 16.8% to $4.921 trillion in 2021 from $4.213 trillion in 2020.
With low barriers to entry in the game of e-commerce, thanks to widespread digitization, availability of online shop builders like Shopify, and modern form of retails like dropshipping, competition in e-commerce is increasing every day. While the competition is very stiff in the industry, you can still get an edge by investing in the preferred tools of customer care, such as a virtual phone number and toll free customer care number. As per the BrightLocal report titled “Local Business Websites and Google My Business Comparison Report,” 60% of customers prefer to connect with local businesses on the phone call. That’s why, besides enabling online chat or email support for your customers, you must have that option of being called in place.
So, now you know that call is still one of the most preferred mediums for customers to connect with businesses and talk to people who run your business. Next, let’s explore what virtual phone number can do for your business growth:
Why does your business need a virtual phone system?
So, you might be wondering why you may need a virtual phone system for your e-commerce business, to begin with.
Well, besides enabling your customers to reach you and your support team on call, a virtual number can bring in many other benefits to foster your business growth, including:
- Adding immediate trust;
- Providing a great user experience;
- Helping in business decisions with call analytics;
- Keeping business and personal affairs separate;
- Saving you money;
- Providing modern call management features;
- Enabling remote working and mobility;
- Ensuring 100% response rate;
- Improving call management with CRM integration;
- Sparking more calls from customers with toll-free service; and
- Helping with order management.
What’s more? Virtual phone systems increase your sales and support team efficiency and overall corporate productivity, resulting in a dramatic improvement in team efficiency, customer engagement and experience, and a loyal customer base.
With that said, here are 11 ways that your e-commerce business can benefit from a virtual phone system:
Adds immediate trust
To run a successful e-commerce business, having a good-looking online store is not enough anymore. Users have high demand these days and expect to get instant service and support before they can move to your well-optimized checkout process for buying. As an online business, you can’t go without a phone number in the contact section of your e-commerce website. In the hyper-connected world we live in, users expect you to have contact information on the fly. Else, they’ll give up on you before you can even say, “How can we help you today?”
In other words, you can’t expect customers to be asked to make a purchase, while you limit their ability to get in touch with you.
For example, if a customer wants to buy a new and exciting product that you’ve introduced to the market, they want to feel that you stand behind that product. Also, consider the shopper who wants to save money by going with you over more reputable online stores, you must stand behind your product, in that case too and ensure that your customers and prospects can reach you with ease.
Therefore, don’t settle for a generic email address or flimsy contact form and expect customers to give you money without any talking. Instead, provide a phone number on your e-commerce store, spark conversations from your customers, boost their confidence in you, and make more sales.
Provides a great user experience
According to recent studies, 51% of Americans (including millennials, who make up most of that percentage) say that they prefer to shop online. However, 78% of those respondents have also said that their purchasing experience is influenced by how sales associates have a deep knowledge of the product range.
Besides, you know well that all people prefer to talk to a human being for support rather than helping an online chatbot to figure out the problem.
By using a virtual phone system, you get your customer the human-support experience right on their phone. Therefore, having a virtual phone system helps you put a human-centric approach towards your online customers. In this way, you can secure better customer satisfaction and build better relations with your customers.
Helps in business decisions with call analytics
Apparently, all the data and analytics are just a bunch of numbers. However, those “bunch of numbers” can help you determine how you’re attracting customers and how you can gain more sales.
In recent years, data and analytics have gained much relevance in the modern marketplace, both offline and online. Thanks to modern call tracking and call reports solutions, you can now have full access to your phone system’s analytics. Call analytics in the modern call management dashboard can give you a full scope of how well your sales and support teams are performing and what needs to be done to improve your business processes.
Also, this data can show you who your effective employees are, what time and day your business gets the most customer traffic, and other helpful information that you can use to better connect with your audience and be better prepared for future sales.
Keeps business and personal affairs separate
One of the most significant errors that entrepreneurs make when first starting out is direct customers to call their personal numbers. Rule of thumb: Your personal contact info should always be separate from your business contact info.
Why?
Well, when your customers and prospects call you to enquire about a product or service, you probably don’t want them to hear an informal greeting on the other end of the line. Probably, you also don’t want to be taking care of business calls during your personal and family time.
Also, you don’t want a friend or family member to be chased away by a telemarketer-like response on the other end. Think for a moment: What a big mess that would cause!
Thankfully, with a virtual number for your e-commerce business, you can keep business and personal calls separate, giving you better productivity during your working hours, and peace of mind and time to relax during your off-hours.
Saves you money
Are you still spending money to buy landlines? If you’re, you can save a ton of money with a virtual phone number.
Virtual phone numbers are hosted on the cloud and need no hardware setup. To get started, you can map the official mobile numbers of yourself and your team members on one virtual number and route all incoming calls right on mobile phones.
With its cloud-based setup and 100% online functionality, virtual phone numbers can save a big chunk of money that would have otherwise been spent to buy costly landlines and wire-based connections.
Provides modern call management features
Virtual phone number providers like MyOperator a leading call center software offer many value-added features along with the virtual phone number itself. So, you can better manage incoming calls for your business. These unique features include:
- Virtual receptionist;
- IVR solution and call routing;
- Individual extensions (for you and employees);
- Welcome greetings and customizable hold music;
- CRM and WhatsApp API integration;
- Voicemail and follow-up facility;
- Call tracking and recording;
- Remote team management; and
- Other cloud call center features.
All the above features can add value to your business communication. Whether you go with the basics or add other features for free or additional fees, that all depends on the needs of your business as you continue to grow.
Enables remote working and mobility
Lately, remote working has been on the rise. The Corona outbreak has pushed the boundaries of remote working for companies worldwide, and an increasing number of organizations are adapting remote-first culture.
If you want to have remote sales and support teams working with you, you need a set up to empower your team to take care of business calls from customers and prospects while working remotely.
Let’s face it: It can be a real pain to set up call routing with routers, wires, software, and the likes cluttering up your business space and hard drives. And, like an e-commerce business owner, who has the time to figure out all the kinks in your call routing?
Well, it takes only minutes to map the mobile numbers of your team members on a virtual phone number. Then, a virtual number distributes all incoming calls to your agents who can attend those calls right on their phones, enabling them to take care of incoming business calls from any location. No more sticking to landline desks!
Ensures 100% response rate
Tired of missed phone calls? Understood. You’re busy, and you’ve only 24 hours in a day. Yet, the chances are that those missed calls might have been important, especially when dealing with customers. What’s worse is that if you happen to lose or ruin your phone, or if your office routing system crashes. Then you’ll be missing a lot of calls.
With a virtual phone system, incoming calls are logged and even recorded (if desired). It even lets you work on different devices such as tablets, laptops, and PCs and ring other mobiles mapped on the virtual number.
Besides, all missed calls are logged in the call management panel, making it easy to follow-up.
Improves call management with CRM integration
Since sales are considered the lifeblood of any successful e-commerce business, a virtual phone number is the best way to manage customer relations effectively.
Whether you invest in dedicated CRM modules or using a standard CRM, you can integrate your virtual phone number with it. Integration of CRM with virtual phone numbers can help your sales team to see concerning customer data on their screen for every call. It can save them the significant time they would have otherwise spent juggling through multiple screens and handle calls more efficiently.
Sparks more calls from customers with toll-free service
Sometimes, customers can come from a different state (or even country); out-of-state and or international calls can cost, especially if your customer has a burning question to ask you about your brand or service.
By integrating your virtual numbers with a toll-free service, you let your customers call you for free without worrying about the charges. This is especially beneficial for people who might not have an unlimited calling plan on their phone.
Besides, a toll-free virtual number can also help you make the most out of your ads and sell more. Research suggests that advertisements with a toll-free number bring about 30% more orders than ads without a toll-free number. How to buy toll-free number for your business, you can easily reach out to leading service providers like MyOperator, who offer cost-effective solutions to enhance your communication strategies.
Helps with order management
In the e-commerce business, a virtual phone number can be a useful tool to manage customers’ orders and keep them posted with order updates. For instance, virtual phone numbers can be used to confirm the customer orders and handle any queries or problems the customer might have.
Virtual phone numbers can also be used to update the customer on the location of their order and to tell them when it is arriving. This helps the customer to feel informed and makes them trust your business more.
Virtual phone number for e-commerce: Conclusion
Since you rely on your customers to make purchases, they have to be able to trust you first. A virtual phone number can help you spark new conversations from your customers, answer their queries on time, be there for them 24*7. So, you can earn their trust by investing in a virtual phone system, and it can be beneficial for both; you and your customers. Once you enable a virtual phone system for your business, you can reap all the above-outlined benefits and take your customer relations and business growth to new heights.
About the author: Ashley Halsey writes and edits at Liverpool Writing Service and GumEssays. As a professional writer, she has been involved in many projects nationwide. In her spare time, she likes to give talks in various business training courses and spend time with her two children.
