If you're new to eLocal or have been partnering with us for some time, you may have noticed at some point either by requesting a credit or by taking a look at our list of valid vs invalid leads that we consider a missed call from a potential customer or a voicemail left by a potential customer to be a valid lead.
A missed phone call or a voicemail means a customer was interested enough to take the next step and while they may have missed you, there are still plenty of ways you can turn this prospect into a customer for your business.
- Follow up immediately. While it's not always possible to do so, you should try to call back as quickly as possible. The longer you wait, the less likely it becomes you'll book the job. If you find yourself unable to return calls to customers because you're short staffed or in your busy season, you can always pause your account as needed.
- Be persistent. If your first callback goes unanswered, keep trying them. We recommend calling them back 2-3 times the first day you receive the voicemail or missed call. If you don't hear anything back, switch to 1-2 calls per week. Even after some time has gone by you can periodically reach out as a reminder of the services you offer.
- Consider alternative contact options. Text messages have a near 98% open rate. Rather than playing phone tag with a potential customer, you can employ an automated text message campaign to follow up on missed calls so long as you get TCPA compliant permission from potential customers. There are plenty of tools out there that can walk you through this option.
If you want to explore in more detail the best approach to turning missed calls into customers, we suggest taking a look at our advice for managing leads. As always you can feel free to reach out at any time with further questions to our Customer Success team.
