Grasshopper can add a business line to your personal phone alongside your private number. The cloud-based phone system offers advanced calling features including voicemail transcription, VoIP + WiFi calling, call blasts (multiple ringing lines for customers), virtual receptionists, international calling, and more. Grasshopper charges extra for additional features.

• Free trial: Available
• Phone numbers: 1
• Local and toll-free numbers: Available
• Mobile app: Available
• Top features: call forwarding, business phone number, custom greetings, on-hold music
• Pricing: $29 a month 

The post 6 best virtual phone systems for small business in 2022 appeared first on WiseStamp.

Before we go any further, it’s a good idea to understand some of the terms and lingo we’ll be using.

• Nurture campaign – is a time-based series of emails sent to your mailing list to let your users know about special offers, eventually motivating them to take action.
• Email nurture sequence – is emails you send to your mailing list to deliver value and build trust in you and your brand.
• Lead nurturing emails – is emails that are sent in your nurture campaign that strengthen the relationship between your subscribers and your brand.

What is an email nurture campaign?

An email nurture campaign is a part of what’s called inbound marketing. Its objective is to convert leads on your email list into paying customers. By educating, building relationships, and spreading awareness using nurture campaigns, you can boost your sales conversion rate.

Think of nurture campaigns as investments in your audience. If you want loyal subscribers and to expand your customer base, you need to develop relationships. These need to benefit both your brand and audience.

A nurture campaign is an initiative that will be engaging with your audience organically. The emails you will be sending out to your mailing list subscribers should be inspiring, educational, and meaningful. Any information and messaging that helps your prospective customers on their buyer’s journey will be included in an email nurture campaign

Why do nurture campaigns?

Email nurturing is important because it will increase your sales. Since email still delivers one of the highest conversion rates out of any marketing method out there, you should take advantage of it.

The personalized email campaigns you run will make your audience feel valued and closer to your brand. That’s why most marketing campaigns personalize their lead nurturing emails. These campaigns will inform and educate your leads on who you are, what you do, and why you are the best in your niche.

In business, relationships mean everything. You should cultivate relationships with your leads just as much as with your existing customers. Prospective buyers will want to feel like they can trust your brand and feel connected to it.

The last thing they want is to feel pressured. That will create resistance to them buying anything from you. Instead of pressuring someone into a sale, you nurture them until they are ready to take action and buy something on their own terms.

Lead nurturing will help you engage with your email list’s subscribers in a meaningful way. You stand to gain respect from your audience as someone who is understanding of challenges and problems people face. You will organically offer solutions to those problems and get a monetary kickback for doing so in the form of sales.

When you run an effective nurture campaign, it’s not unusual to enjoy a whopping 50% increase in sales. Also, you get to spend, on average, about 33% less on advertising costs. Email marketing is completely free, so you will want to take advantage of email nurturing campaigns.

What is the buyer’s journey & how does it tie into a nurture campaign?

The buyer’s journey is the path your customers take to awareness, consideration, and evaluation of your products until they are ultimately making a purchase.

• Awareness – the part of the buyer’s journey, the users realize that they have a problem that needs a resolution.
• Consideration – the part of the buyer’s journey, they define their problem and look into potential ways it can be solved.
• Decision – the part of the buyer’s journey, they pick a solution to their problem.

Read more about optimizing your buyer’s journey in email marketing funnels.

Adapt your nurture campaign to each stage of your buyer’s journey

Awareness: At the awareness stage, you can help them realize that there may be a problem they face. They may not have even realized they had a problem in the first place until you told them through your email nurture campaign!

Consideration: At the consideration stage, you explain what that problem is and offer the solutions your product offers to them

Decision: At the decision stage, your nurture campaign seals the deal and gives them a compelling solution in an attractive way.

Essentially, your nurture campaign can guide potential customers on the buyer’s journey instead of them going at it on their own. You focus their awareness on your product being the answer, leading to more sales for you.

Use email nurturing to increase engagement rates

How can your lead nurturing emails increase engagement rates? For that, you will need to make sure your welcome onboard campaign includes campaign desire, content type, and structure.

1) Welcome Campaign

Welcome campaign emails are the first emails your new subscribers will receive. These are looked forward to, enjoy a high open rate, and are easy to automate. These emails are structured and crafted very differently from all of the other emails you will be sending in your nurture campaign.

These elements should be included in your welcome emails:

1. Campaign desire

The most essential component of an email nurturing campaign is the email newsletter you will be sending out to your email list subscribers. This newsletter should be personalized to each prospective customer. By doing so, you can treat them differently according to time frames.

2. Content-type

You can turn your email into a nurturing campaign by introducing something that is coming up down the road. This could be anything from new products and services to upcoming events. Build up hype and spread awareness about anything that will drive sales in the future.

3. Structure

Introduce your new prospect to your brand and products, but slowly at first. You want to avoid overloading them with information because this can turn them off. Remind your new subscribers why they joined your email list while starting an information drip that cultivates their interest.

2) Top-of-Mind Campaign

The purpose of a top-of-mind campaign is to engage with the subscribers of your email list in a way that isn’t so salesy. You’re going to want to churn out these emails regularly to avoid them. This leads to forgetting about your brand and getting poached by your competitors.

These elements should be included in your top-of-mind emails:

1. Campaign desire

Your email nurture sequence is intended to engage with the segment of your audience that is interested, but not ready to buy from you yet. Sending out emails as regular touchpoints is something you should do here, to make sure your prospective customers don’t forget about you. Lead nurturing emails will be sent out over a long period of time, and deliver content that is focused on the value of your prospects.

2. Content-type

Some of the kinds of content you should consider for a top-of-mind campaign include blog posts, white papers, videos, webinars, infographics, and any news relevant to your niche.

The aim here is to deliver value, consistently, to your prospects. The more value they receive from you, the most likely they are to end up as paying customers.

3. Structure

You can embed helpful resources and information directly into your email for maximum engagement. Alternatively, you can provide snippets of value and then direct your audience to head to an external website.

3) Re-engagement Campaign

Not everyone who signs up for your mailing list will end up buying something from you. In fact, many of them will become inactive and stop engaging with you. That’s where re-engagement campaign emails come in. These emails are specifically targeting your inactive leads.

Include the elements in your re-engagement campaign emails:

1. Campaign desire

Most of your prospects will not become paying customers. For whatever reason, they will not end up buying your product. However, these inactive leads can still be re-engaged through a re-engagement campaign.

2. Content-type

The key to effectively re-engaging inactive leads is to find the perfect moment to send a potential customer retention email. You should make this compelling and offer them a perfect opportunity to re-engage with your brand. When you send unique content, such as personalized moments, you can reignite a meaningful and long-lasting relationship with your inactive leads.

3. Structure

A prospective customer retention email could be a “We miss you!” email, delivering a casual message that shows you have been paying attention to them. You can also send a web flow email that informs them of the milestones your brand or product has reached. A time-triggered reactivation email is a third way to structure re-engagement emails that are time-triggered.

3 Tips to help you maximize the effect of your nurture campaigns

In each one of these types of nurturing campaigns, you can maximize their effectiveness by following a few additional tips.

A) Make personalized subject titles:

Your first touchpoint with a subscriber of your email list is the email subject title. Depending on how engaging, interesting, and intriguing it is, your open rate will either be higher or lower. That is why you should humanize your email subject lines and avoid coming across as being too salesy.

b) Perfect a clear and concise opening paragraph that quickly gets to the point:

Once your subscribers open the email, they will shift their attention to the opening line of your email. As with the email subject line, if this isn’t going to capture their attention, they’re going to exit out of the email. You should know how to write the best email opening lines to get your prospective leads to keep reading, letting you continue nurturing the relationship.

c) Don’t neglect a follow up email:

If you notice that your click-through or open rates are low on your initial emails, then you can consider sending a follow-up email in case they missed your previous email. Sometimes life gets in the way and your subscribers have simply never seen your email. That’s what makes a carefully-crafted follow-up email a great idea.

Final Thoughts

Email nurturing can be a powerful tool for increasing your conversion rate. Engaging with your email list subscribers using specific types of email campaigns will allow you to guide prospects on their buyer’s journey. You will also be delivering value and strengthening the relationship between your brand and your prospects.

From brand awareness all the way up to repeat customers, nurture campaigns should become an essential tactic of your overall digital marketing strategy.

The post Create nurture campaigns with outstanding engagement appeared first on WiseStamp.

The Corona has boosted this shift to video conferencing tools and now salespeople are meeting prospective clients, doctors are diagnosing patients and teachers are teaching students all through video meeting software.

If you’re looking to join the growing movement of hosting online meetings, workshops, or seminars, then the first thing you need to do is invest in reliable video conferencing software.

But while there are plenty of video conferencing tools on the market, not all of them are up to par when it comes to available features, pricing, and your online security. Read on to get this information and our review of the main tools available.

What is video conferencing software?

Video conferencing software is a tool used to conduct video meetings and share screens online between 2 or more individuals. Companies and professionals use video communication software as a cost-effective means to communicate in a visual and auditory environment from a distance. Video meetings can be conducted from anywhere in the world that has a solid internet connection. Some video conferencing software also allow you to share files, share screens, or remotely control someone else’s computer.

What do I need to use video conferencing software?

There are a few key things you will need to get started before you’re able to have a successful digital meeting:

• A laptop or desktop computer
• A strong internet connection
• A webcam
• Headphones
• Microphone

Many of these things have already come integrated into laptops, however, if you’re using a desktop computer, you might need to add a few things to get properly set up.

How to decide on the best video conferencing software?

1. Does it have all the features I need?

The features you’ll need in video conferencing software will really depend on your business’s needs. You might only require basic video conferencing if all you want to do is hold virtual meetings. However, if you want more robust features for a more interactive meeting, you’ll want some other features such as file-sharing or screen-sharing.

2. How many people can be hosted at one time?

A few other things to keep in mind when shopping for the best video conferencing software is the number of people you’ll want on one call. Some software may have a limit, so make sure the one you choose is right for the number of people you’ll have in your meetings.

3. What is the degree of security this tool provides?

Security is another important feature, especially if you’ll be sharing important files in your video conference. Make sure the software you choose has guaranteed security measures in place to ensure the safety of your digital data.

4. How easy is this tool to set up and use?

Lastly, the video conferencing software should be simple to set up and use. You definitely don’t want to be that person who calls a meeting only to be unable to figure out how to turn your volume or camera on when the meeting begins. 

How to use video conferencing software for small business

What you do with your video conference tool will obviously depend on what kind of business you have, but don’t disregard it as one-use software.

Things you can do with video conferencing software:

• Hold business meetings
• Conduct employee training
• Hold a webinar
• Host an online class or workshop
• Conduct video interviews
• Host a digital “event”

This list is not exhaustive, the sky’s the limit when it comes to video conferencing software. It’s also used for personal purposes, like getting the family together in one place, regardless of where everyone is located physically.

Our review of the best video conferencing software for business

The video conferencing software on this list are all great options for your business, so read on to decide which one is best for you.

DISCLAIMER: The plans and prices reflected in this article were accurate at the time of writing, however, please note that they can vary based on location and special promotions. All prices mentioned are in USD.

1. Zoom

Zoom is one of the more popular video-conferencing software out there, and with good reason.

With this program, you can conference with up to 1,000 people and view up to 49 screens at once. You can also host up to 10,000 viewers simultaneously. 

Zoom integrates with popular calendars like Outlook, Gmail, or iCal so you can instantly create meetings, send out an invitation, and join all from your inbox. 

Zoom works great with any amount of people connected to the platform at the same time. It performs well when running meetings, group classes, workshops, webinars, and more.

Zoom claims to have end-to-end encryption for your security, however, it has recently received some criticism over user privacy concerns.

There is a free plan that can be used for up to 100 participants for meetings of up to 40 minutes, and unlimited one-on-one meetings. The paid plans give you options for more participants, longer meetings, cloud recording, more admin powers, custom branding, and more.

Prerequisites for use

You and each one of your staff members must have your own Zoom account. You can add your staff members as users under your premium Zoom account, as long as they have their own login credentials. Consider upgrading to the Zoom business plan, if you would like to enable single sign-on for your entire company. You are restricted from sharing a single Zoom login between staff members. 

If you and your staff already have Zoom accounts, you may skip directly to Connecting your Zoom account below.

If you’re using Zoom for the first time, Sign In to Zoom and create an account. It only takes a few minutes.

Follow any on-screen prompts and Zoom will install in a matter of minutes. With help installing Zoom to your computer or device refer to Zoom’s installation guide. 

2. Google Hangouts

If you already use Google products like Gmail or Google Calendar, then adding Google Hangouts will be a breeze.

Effortlessly create a new meeting by setting up a calendar event and sharing the link with relevant participants. You don’t need to worry if the participants have the right software installed as long as they have the link to your Hangout.

You’ll enjoy the same reliable security you get from other Google products, as all audio and video are completely secure in Google Hangouts.

Since this is a Google product, there aren’t as many features like integrated file sharing, however, you can easily supplement this by sharing files via Gmail or Google Hangouts Chat.

Google Hangouts is part of the full G Suite, which gives you access to other great business apps. There is a free 14-day trial, but afterward, you’ll have to select a paid plan to continue.

3. Lifesize

This video conferencing software is popular amongst businesses for its 4K audio and video, making it great for meetings of all sizes.

Lifesize integrates well with the business tools you already use, like Outlook, Cisco, Slack, Microsoft, and more. 

Some of the great features you’ll find on Lifesize is the ability to share screens during meetings, record video conferences, set up virtual meeting rooms that can be monitored by an administrator, and more.

Lifesize encrypts the signal and any media you share on its platform, making it a secure experience for your business.

There are a few different plans depending on the size and needs of your business, but you can start with a 6-month free trial and host calls of up to 25 people. Other plans come with more advanced features, like a greater number of participants, premium customer support, cloud recording and storage, and unlimited US audio calling.

4. Skype

Skype has become a household name for video calling for both businesses and personal use.

Though you can download and use a Skype program on your computer, you no longer need this to conduct meetings. You can simply send participants a link and they can join in on a video conference. 

Skype is particularly helpful if your business involves international travel, as you can easily use it to make phone calls to landlines and mobile phones. You can also get a local phone number in a different region so that you can answer local calls and send SMS messages.

Other features you might find helpful are screen sharing, live subtitles, and call recording. Skype uses end-to-end encryption to make sure your calls stay private.

The pricing for Skype differs from its competition since it’s part of the Microsoft Office apps. There’s a free plan that allows you to video chat with up to 50 people for free. If you want other features like a phone number or an international calling plan, you’ll need an Office 365 Business subscription.

5. RingCentral Meetings app

RingCentral is a powerful and well-recognized tool for VoIP, so you can rest assured that you’re getting quality and value with their video conferencing software.

RingCentral Meetings is ideal if you need a powerful video conferencing tool that offers you professional features. With this software, you’ll get HD video, screen sharing, team messaging, and free conferencing capabilities for up to 100 participants. 

There are also extra add-ons such as RingCentral Webinar, which allows you to host up to 10,000 participants and 500 hosts, or RingCentral Rooms, which gives you greater IT options for easier setup and implementations.

You can use RingCentral Meetings for free for 40-minute calls of maximum 100 participants, or upgrade for more features like 24/7 customer support, desktop and application sharing, and advanced collaboration tools.

6. Webex

This easy-to-use software will have you video conferencing in no time.

Cisco Webex integrates with the business tools you already use, like Gmail and Google Drive, Outlook, Salesforce, Github, and Office 365. 

Create a meeting in your email inbox, share it with your participants, and they can attend through their computer or phone. Cisco Webex also allows you to seamlessly switch between devices while you’re in a meeting. If a meeting runs long, switch from your laptop to your phone to continue on the go.

This software is great for employee training as the screen will adapt based on files you share, for example, it will open a video link you share with your audience or slides from PowerPoint.

Cisco Webex has an events calendar that allows you to create a digital event for up to 3,000 participants. During your event, you can use features like screen sharing, polls, Q&A, and a chatbox.

If you only need minimal features, you can use the Free Plan for video calls of up to 100 people. Paid plans come with cloud storage space, more integrations, more call participants, 24/7 customer support, and more.

7. GoTo Meeting

GoTo Meeting is a great option for simple-to-use video conferencing software. GoToMeeting makes it easy to start or join a meeting with one click.

There are some great features here if you need a video conferencing tool with international capabilities as you’ll be able to use multi-national toll-free numbers. 

Some other features include personal meeting rooms, unlimited recording, screen sharing, drawing tools, a virtual whiteboard, and meeting transcriptions. Customers have also praised their great customer support, so you know you’ll be in good hands.

As for security, you can use a PIN system for your meetings, meaning participants need to have a secure PIN in order to log in to your video call. 

There is a free version of GoToMeeting that lets you video conference with up to 3 participants for 40-minute maximum calls. Paid plans come with a great participant allowance, cloud recording, more integrations, an admin center, and more.

8. Flock

Flock works more like a communication and collaboration hub for your team, so if you don’t have any other programs in place for this yet, then this is a great option to consider.

This tool allows you to connect with colleagues in a one-on-one chat, share all kinds of documents, and conduct video chats. Flock is a great tool to increase your team’s productivity and bring them together.

Like other video conferencing tools, Flock lets you share screens on video chats, send files, and start a video call from a chat or group channel. The service is secure, too, so you don’t need to worry about the privacy of your data.

You can use Flock for free, but you’ll only get one-on-one video calls. There are plenty of other great features you get with a paid plan, but unfortunately, Flock doesn’t specify how many participants you can have in a group chat with their plans.

9. Zoho Cliq

Zoho Cliq is one of the many business tools offered by Zoho. Like Flock, it also works as a team collaboration tool where users can easily communicate with each other.

You can direct message another user, share files, and start an audio or video call from a chat or a channel. Once on a video call, you can also share screens, scribble down ideas on a whiteboard, have a group chat in the same window. Zoho Cliq keeps your files and calls secure with data encryption and secret chat features.

The PrimeTime feature allows you to broadcast company news or announcements in real-time to all users, while only giving a talking platform to 2 participants to ensure the call isn’t overcrowded.

Zoho Cliq boasts an impressive Free Plan that gives you video conferencing for up to 100 participants, 100GB of storage, searchable messages, screen-sharing features, and more. If you need more features like custom call domains, more channels, or company branding, you can select the Unlimited Plan.

10. Free Conference

Free Conference is exactly what it sounds like: a phone and video conferencing software with tons of free features.

You’ll be able to start video calls that include screen sharing and dial-in integration. International participants can also dial in, though you’ll need a paid plan for that. 

Other features include video conference recording, a chat feature with conference participants, and a unique video conferencing URL for your meeting, all for free.

With the free plan, you’ll be able to have a phone conference call with up to 100 participants, and a video call with up to 5. If you need to be able to have a video call with more people, you can upgrade to a paid plan.

Conclusion

Any of the video conferencing products on this list will be a great addition to your day-to-day business tools. While there are plenty of free plans you can use with the video conferencing tools I covered, it’s also worth considering a paid plan for more advanced features that may be helpful to your business. 

Recommendations based on specific business needs:

• If you’re looking for a simple, free, and powerful video conferencing program, go with RingCentral. 
• If you want to host online classes, workshops, or events with many participants, go with Zoom or Lifesize.
• If you’re looking for a video conferencing platform that’s also a communications tool, try out Flock.
• If your small business is already using multiple Google apps, then consider using Google Hangouts.

The post 10 Best Video Conferencing Software (updated 2022) appeared first on WiseStamp.

Customer service can be a harsh profession, and giving the best customer service all the time while keeping every customer happy may sometimes feel like a mission impossible. Below we will discuss the top customer service tips to make all your customers satisfied.

What’s in this article

• The Basics of Customer Service
• What to Avoid When Providing Customer Service
• Tips for Customer Service in Every Setting
• Hotel Customer Service Tips
• Retail Customer Service Tips
• Call Center Coaching Ideas
• Hospitality Customer Service Tips
• Stress Management Tips for Customer Service Professionals

There’s a little know truth that “happy service givers make happy customers”. So, the golden path to perfect customer service runs through your own sense of calm and enjoyment (or that of your workers if you’re an employer).

Good customer service tips can turn around your business, the same way that bad service can push your most devoted clients into your competition’s embrace. Unfortunately, client service is just one of those areas where the way you or your employees behave affects the entire brand image. Frustrate your clients at your own peril.

Want to find out how to keep your customers happy while enjoying your work (or at least maintaining your sanity)? Read on, to get our customer service tips and techniques.

No matter which niches your company falls in, providing trustworthy customer service is part of the whole customer experience. Getting to the point of reliably offering that service caliber can be tricky. At its heart, employees handling customer service need extensive understanding and empathy.

2. Courtesy makes everything better

Common courtesy is not always common, and it’s by no means universal. Assuming that courtesy is universal has created many customer service issues, so if you address it, you can soothe many problems before they happen.

For example, you hired a representative who was raised to treat elders in a certain way. However, that may not match up with the respect elders in the United States expect. You may find that this person has a higher-than-normal complaint rate because of this.

By providing education on what courtesies are expected in various situations, you can avoid this problem most of the time. Additionally, this training allows you to present a consistent image to your customers.

What to avoid when providing customer service

There are many ways to conduct customer service incorrectly. Unfortunately, they can occur at the corporate or individual level.

1. Taking things personally

When customers have complaints, it can be challenging to separate the complaint from the fact that a person is angry at you for the problem. This distinction can upset agents and lead to inappropriate responses as well as long-term burnout.

2. Lack of training

Even the most intuitive customer service agent needs training on the product’s specifics and the solutions to various complaints. Lack of training, preparation, and mentorship can significantly affect how well someone can represent your company.

3. Scripting everything

On the opposite end of the spectrum, requiring employees to use scripts for everything can be detrimental. While it provides a consistent experience, scripts also remove the human touch from your customer service experience.

4. Not keeping promises

Customers perceive that agents are making promises on behalf of the company. Therefore, not keeping promises can negatively impact the impression you leave. If a promise cannot be supported, updating the customer promptly goes a long way.

5. Making support difficult to access

Companies must have support channels wherever their customers hang out. Otherwise, customers start their tickets feeling frustrated at how hard the channel was to find. That’s a recipe for more bad feelings.

Generally, websites are the primary support channels, followed by social media. If you branch out, keep a list of where people can get support on your website. It allows customers to skip a step in the future.

6. Non-professionalism

While your company may have a more casual brand feel, that does not mean professionalism should slip during customer service. Non-professionalism can make people question the value of a product or service.

Retail customer service tips

Retail is one of the most competitive sectors and therefore requires exceptional customer service. In many cases, people think of teenagers working at stores in a mall when they think of retail. It’s important to demonstrate professionalism to overcome that image.

It’s vital to personalize the experience and celebrate the customer in all interactions, especially for repeat business.

Online

• Make the return policy and process easy to find
• Offer live chat features
• Don’t shy away from images (such as in emails)

Phone

• Avoid sounding like getting off the phone is a priority
• Provide easy to understand answers

Face to face

• Find a unique greeting
• Have a plan for stock outages
• Make encounters memorable with personalization

Call center coaching ideas

Call centers are ubiquitous across business niches, and many business owners are not as hands-on in the training process for these agents. However, there is an immense benefit to coaching agents to reach their full

Generally, coaches should use self-assessment where possible. Coaches may also want to make feedback more palatable using a positive-negative-positive structure.

Online

• Use specific examples
• Offer messaging for questions
• Use hard data

Phone

• Provide positive examples

Face to face

• Make a periodic schedule
• Keep things confidential
• Collaborate to fix problems

Hospitality customer service tips

Hospitality is interaction-based, and as such, dependable customer service skills are essential. There are many situations any staff member must be prepared for. Training and mentorship are crucial for maintaining composure throughout them.

Hospitality covers a wide variety of niches, from coffee shops to 5-star events. This broad spectrum means you will need to prepare your training to your specific situation, or the customer service will not come out correctly.

Online

• Personalize where possible
• Offer digital options for service

Phone

• Provide concise information
• Limit background noise

Face to Face

• Handle each complaint like it’s the most important one
• Be helpful and listen well
• Support teammates

Stress management tips for customer service professionals

1. Leave work at work

One of the things people tend to do with work, especially in the United States, is keeping it with them even after they clock out. This tendency is not a healthy habit for customer service representatives. While a little to a spouse about their workday is normal, letting it influence more than that is not.

Companies like yours can encourage employees to practice a healthy work-life balance through policy. Items like not being able to access systems outside of scheduled shifts or policies around when people can be called for work help them immensely.

2. Breathe

There are proven benefits for both short and long breathing exercises. Short exercises like breathing in a specific pattern or a few deep breaths can help you attain calm after complicated customer interactions and prevent transference of those feelings to the next customer.

Longer practices, like meditation, also help agents process their reactions to calls and restore their own balance mentally. Additionally, meditation has shown long-term benefits like improved resilience that customer service professionals may find useful.

3. Talk to someone

Talking to someone is highly beneficial for many people, especially about difficult calls. Suppose you establish a mentoring program within your customer service department. In that case, people have a safe person to talk to until they form their own network in the office.

The other option for people to talk about that is a trained therapist or counselor. This option provides a safe place for employees to learn alternative coping mechanisms and generally improve their mental resilience.

4. Move during breaks

Movement is one of the primary functions of humans, and being tied to a chair for eight hours straight has some unfortunate physiological side effects. Moving during breaks, even if it’s a flight of stairs or a couple of laps down the hall, can reduce overall stress.

Larger movements, like walking during lunch or hitting the gym after work, release more stress relief hormones. These are great for helping people balance the stress of quotas and customers. If you own a company, consider a health program or partnership with a local gym to help.

5. Take care of yourself

Customer service professionals need the same things every human need, and a lack anywhere can affect performance. Sleeping, eating, and drinking enough water are all vital. You can encourage this overall wellness through a physical health program and allowing a little flexibility in the office.

6. Find a positive hobby

Your customer service agents should also be encouraged to find a positive hobby to balance everything. Something as simple as a laugh journal can help them balance the angry customers with the positives in life.

Additionally, hobbies help immensely. Customer representatives should be encouraged to find new hobbies, enjoy old ones, and make time for themselves. This focus will make achieving work-life balance easier for many.

Conclusion

Customer service and presentation can break companies if performed incorrectly. Just like not using a professional email signature can leave the impression of sloppiness, improper customer service can drive customers away. Generate an email signature with WiseStamp.

In the interest of keeping companies going, it’s best to nail customer service for every encounter with every representative. Proper training and support can turn your customer service into a company feature.

The post 52 customer service tips to stay sane & make happy customers appeared first on WiseStamp.

This is the reason many online businesses invest more in customer retention than acquiring new ones. Moreover, a 5% surge in loyal clients can impact your bottom line by 25 to 125 percent. If you’re not measuring your Customer Retention Rate (CRR) then you may be hemorrhaging money and not even know it.

This article will lead you through the CRR formula and how you can measure your CRR using Google Analytics.

More than that, we’ll let you in on some strategies to enhance your customer loyalty get set you up with tactics for customer retention rate optimization.

There are two parts to this article:

• Part 1 – how to calculate and measure CRR using GA
• Part 2 – How to optimize your CRR

What is Customer Retention Rate (CRR)?

Customer Retention Rate (CRR) depicts the percentage of clients your business has retained over time. The retention rate is the opposite of the churn rate which indicates the percentage of clients your business has lost over time. The significance of retention rate as one of the critical metrics differs based on industry, for instance, companies offering services or selling applications. Customer retention is pivotal and it impacts the bottom line of any business directly.

The formula for calculating Customer Retention Rate (CRR):

• CRR = ((EC-NC)/SC) times 100, where:
  
• EC stands for the number of clients at the end of a given period.
  
• NC stands for the number of new clients during a given period.
  
• SC stands for the number of clients at the beginning of a given period.

Assuming you opened a Facebook page. On October 1st, you have 1000 followers with an additional 500 followers by October 31st; however, 200 people unfollow your page. So, at the end of a given period (in this case, one month), you had 1300 followers. Here’s the calculation for the retention rate:

{(1300-500)/1000} times 100= 80

Interestingly, you were able to retain 80% of your clients. The goal of every business is to retain a higher percentage of its clients within a given period.

Measuring Customer Retention Rate with Google Analytics

The CRR metric is not for show. It represents an important part of your business performance, with a significant contribution to your bottom line. The old truism by the management guru Chief Jack Welch “You get what you measure” is something any business should take to heart. If you don’t measure your CRR you most likely are not trying to improve it. With that point in mind, let’s see how CRR is measured.

1. Login to google analytics

Open any of your web browsers and log on to the Google Analytics website at analytics.google.com. Log in using your Google Analytics account details (username and password) allocated to the administrator user or company.

2. Track your sites

Click on the name of the site you intend to evaluate in case you track two or more sites using Google Analytics.

If otherwise, click on the ‘Home’ link. The Analytics’ My Dashboard page will show in your browser’s window.

Click on the ‘Standard Reporting’ link located at the top of the ‘My Dashboard’ page.

3. Monitor audience behavior

Click on the ‘Audience’ link located on the left pane of the Analytic Dashboard page. Select any of the period buttons located at the top.

The ‘Visitors Overview report’ pops up in your web browser and indicates the aggregate number of visits to your website for the present month, aggregate unique visitors, overall page views, bounce rate, page views per visit, as well as new visitors.

That circle graph on the report page shows the number as well as the percentage of aggregate unique visitors, new ones, as well as returning ones. You have the chance to click on different periods by clicking any of the buttons located at the upper-right corner of the Overview page for Visitors. The period options include Hourly, Daily, weekly and monthly.

4. Estimate the aggregate of new visitors

Estimate the aggregate new visitors to your site manually by the actual number of unique visitors who checked in for that given period {New Visitors/ Total Unique Visitors).

This number offers you a percentage of the aggregate number of new people who checked in to your website in the present month or a given period.

Meanwhile, the circle graph located on the report page indicates the percentage of new people, you may need to manually estimate the percentage if you are using an older browser or you have a disabled image display in your web browser.

5. Divide the estimate by the total of visitors

Divide the aggregate number of returning visitors by the total number of guests on the website for that given period {Returning Guests/Total Guests).
This number indicates the percentage of guests who checked into your website overtime in a given reporting period.

6. Understand the visitor’s behavior

Click on the ‘Behavior’ link located at the left navigation pane. This report shows the aggregate number of check-ins, pages viewed at every visit, bounce rate, and the percentage of new guests. Also, the report shows the average number of times each guest spent on the site.

To know the number of guests who visited your website more than one time during that period, minus the percentage number of ‘New Visitors’ from 100. The distinction between the percentages of guests who checked in is the percentage of guests who checked into your website more than one time.

7. Check the rate of returning users

Click on the ‘Frequency and Recency’ link located on the navigation pane. You will receive a new report in your web browser which shows the Count of Visits sections per guest to your website.

Higher percentages or numbers mean you have an excellent visitor retention rate for your website. Significant figures in the ‘1 visit’ category show that many guests don’t come back after visiting.

Measuring important engagement metrics that support your CRR

Google Analytics is free to use and it is a web-based tool with no subscription. It’s one of the cornerstone tools for anyone looking into digital marketing.

You can access several ranges of tracking statistics as well as analysis without paying a dime. You only need a Gmail account to get started. Here are some benefits of Google Analytics on your customer retention optimization.

1. Analyzes the traffic sources

You can know how guests are being drawn to your site. For instance, the number of visitors via a referral link from different sites, organic searches, or from search engines or paid ads.

This allows you to view the success of different means of traffic sources and be able to determine if they are increasing traffic. 

2. Analyse traffic by geographic location

Google Analytics offers detailed information concerning the visitors that check into your website.

You can see the towns and countries where they are accessing your website. This will help you to know if any keyword or localized marketing activities would be productive.

You can enhance the page views or sessions by tweaking the campaigns for that particular location to reach new users and retain old visitors.

It can assist you in customizing your content or marketing campaigns to secure a sizable portion of the traffic. 

3. Assess your Bounce Rates

The bounce rate is tracked when visitors only view one page of your site before they leave. If you have a higher bounce rate, the chance is high that you are not providing quality content that can make the users who stumbled on your site come back. You also need to verify your keywords if they are not misleading or check the sources of your traffic.

The bounce rate relies on the relevance as well as the quality of your web content, which shows your visitor’s satisfaction as they browse your website. This can as well assist you to know which pages are inspiring your visitors to stay longer on your site. It can also help you to optimize your landing pages to generate a higher bounce rate. 

4. Pinpoint strong or weak points in your website (Page Value)

Given that you have a conversion value set up on your Google Analytics, you analyze your website pages based on their contribution to sales. The Page Value metric gives a number to the unique contribution of a single page to sales. A low page value means that a page is not contributing to your bottom line. If a page you consider important in your sales funnel has low page value then it is likely underperforming and should be optimized.

Google Analytics also offers data about your specific popular pages or the ones frequently browsed. These allow you to know the pages of the site that are important to your visitors and enable you to enhance your content. 

Leveraging the data made available by analytics can optimize the pages of your websites to generate more income and customize your future content to make it a piece of sought-after information when next they visit. 

5. Analyze your traffic flow

You can track the traffic flow entering your website. You can also know the statistics of your guests viewing your site.

Another way is to search out traffic by desktop, tablet, or mobile, and how you can manage effectively. There are relevant data you can generate from this. 

You can know the responses of your visitors on your landing pages and can assess the bounce rates for all the pages. This can help you focus more on enhancing the pages that contribute to your sales funnel and boost retention leads.

You can also know the priority pages of your visitors while navigating your website. That way, you can modify your pages to optimize navigation while tweaking pages that are seldom visited. 

6. Review historical data

Google Analytics can depict the ways visitor traffic changes across periods. This can be relevant if some trends across different time frames are visible.

For instance, you can know which of your marketing campaigns has been generating results that can shape your future campaigns. 

You can also know and assess the services, pages, or products that create the greatest level of interest at some points in a given period. You can follow data daily, weekly, or every month.

Google Analytics also offers subdomain management, email reports, mobile statistics, outbound links, social reporting, and revenue tracking. These make it a latent marketing as well as a statistical tool that can improve the impact of your online presence without incurring a cost.

7. Reporting tools

There are also times when you manage multiple Google Analytics accounts to gauge web analytics and analyze performance. Not to mention that CRO happens not only through your web page that is tracked by Google Analytics. 

When you have a variety of CRO tools working for you, being able to perform cross-channel assessments to see what platforms are performing the best is incredibly beneficial. This allows you to allocate your resources efficiently to those platforms that bring in the greatest rewards. 

With the help of Google Analytics reporting tools such as Whatagraph, for example, you have the option to accurately and quickly perform these cross-channel campaign assessments and delegate resources accordingly.

How to optimize your Customer Retention Rate

The answer is to provide a better product or service. If that sounds ambiguous, you can consider these specific ways to enhance your customer retention endeavor and improve your business profitability.

Here are the top strategies for optimizing your customer retention:

1. Manage expectations (never under-deliver)

Everything boils down to expectations. If your clients expect exceptional results and they only get fair results, they may be disappointed. If they want you to deliver decent results and they get outstanding result, they will be excited. Therefore, if you establish low expectations, they won’t subscribe to your service initially. Thus, establish moderate and realistic expectations concerning your long-term performance.

2. Deliver beyond your promise (always try to over-deliver)

Deliver beyond what you offer! This means going above the board to give your customers what they don’t expect. For instance, you could provide freebies such as a product, value-add, or a product. Also, you can anticipate the requirements of your customers and meet those needs proactively.

Prove to your customers that you add more value than what they are paying for. That way, they will lack logical reasons to leave. Always prioritize measurable outcomes when reporting. This will provide you an edge over others and improve your bottom line significantly.

3. Biuld unique value through customer research

Encourage loyal customers by providing your clients a reason to stay with you instead of going to your competitor. This demands a bit of creativity. You can discover the unique selling point that sets your brand apart. It could be providing value add that makes your clients feel they are getting more value for what they pay for. You can get hints into unique value for your users by conducting user research.

4. Remain transparent

If your clients begin to lose trust in your brand, they may leave. The best approach is to build and sustain trust, which you can achieve by becoming transparent as much as you can. Supply them with the data they need. This incorporates communicating with them regularly via updates and meetings. Also, address their issues proactively before they degenerate.

5. Personalize your communication to build relationships

While most of your customer relationships will be fashioned after a B2B partnership, there will be one individual at the core of that relationship. Therefore, inject personal touches into those interactions. You can share hand-written notes, personal exchanges, and small gifts.

6. Accept feedback and imbrace change

Since you don’t know what your customers’ requirement is, you can conduct a survey and ask your clients to provide feedback. That way, you can know what you are missing and which aspects need improvement.

Good enterprises don’t maintain the status quo when faced with clear feedback that change is needed. They update, transform, patch, and evolve with changing times. They continuously search for ways to provide the best experience for their customers. Changing your business processes and offerings can communicate that you offer value and you intend to retain your customers for a longer time.

Conclusion

Customer retention is not a one-time switch, which you can strike as a one-off effort. It is a series of activities that you will need to work and enhance over time. With the help of Google Analytics, you can maximize your ability to optimize your customer retention rates.

The post Customer Retention Rate: calculate measure & optimize appeared first on WiseStamp.

The post Best Customer Success management tools 2022 appeared first on WiseStamp.

Don’t underestimate the impact of gathering and promoting customer reviews for your small business. A whopping 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions, so if you’re not already using customer reviews to grow your business, you’re missing out on a chunk of profits.

Consumers are becoming more critical of traditional advertising and therefore are less influenced by it. On the other hand, real honest reviews are way more likely to get a client to purchase your products or request your services. If you are struggling to understand the tone of voice that should be used when dealing with customer support, check this article out.

In order to get the most out of your customer reviews, you need to know which platforms to use, how to get more clients to leave you favorable reviews, and how to deal with any type of reviews that come your way. Read on to learn more about how to use customer reviews for your small business.

Why are customer reviews helpful?

Customer reviews can help your business in more ways than one. Aside from influencing conversion, there are a few other ways customer reviews can work in your favor.

1) Brand strengthening:

online reviews make your brand appear more credible, reliable, and professional to prospective clients. Furthermore, positive reviews turn your clients into brand ambassadors who vocally vouch for your business.

2) Establishes trust:

It’s a no-brainer that consumers will trust brands that have more positive online reviews. Having regular honest and good reviews online will make shoppers trust your business more and be more inclined to purchase.

3) Learn about your customers:

Aside from leaving positive or negative feedback, customers also use reviews to provide recommendations on how your business, product, or service can be improved. Don’t ignore the value in this, as suggestions from people who have used your products or services can be extremely useful.

4) Creates customer loyalty:

If customers see that your business is getting consistently positive reviews and that you’re properly using feedback, then clients will be loyal to your brand as your business goes through any future changes. 

How to get more reviews and better reviews

Getting customers to actually leave you reviews is obviously easier said than done. For many business owners, asking someone to take a few minutes out of their day to provide some feedback is akin to pulling teeth. But, there are a few tried-and-true strategies you can use to get more customer reviews. Then, you could use your reviews to increase leads.

Timing is everything

Since you’ll likely be reaching out to clients by email to ask for a review, make sure that the email lands in their inbox at the right time. Aside from basic email marketing timing strategies, you also want to consider if enough time has elapsed since your client used your product or service. 

If it’s something like an article of clothing or a one-off service, then don’t wait too long to ask for feedback. A couple of days is a good idea.

But if your service was something that requires long-term use, like a book that might take a few weeks to read or a hair product that takes time to see results, be sure to time your review request accordingly. That way, you’ll make sure you’re getting the most accurate review instead of an initial reaction that may not be positive.

Offer an incentive

Give your customers a reason to want to leave a review. Aside from giving them great service, some people just aren’t inclined to leave positive or negative reviews for businesses. 

By providing them with an incentive, you’re making it more appealing to leave a review. To create a sense of urgency, you can also add an expiry date to the incentive offer to encourage customers not to delay. Here are a few ideas of incentives you can offer:

• Does your business have a points system? Offer additional points for each product review.
• Offer a store credit, discount on a future purchase, or gift card.
• If your business provides specific services that a client is unlikely to use again in the near future, offer a gift card to a popular local or online retailer, like Amazon, Starbucks, or Walmart.
• An entry in a draw to win a grand prize.
• Give clients an on-the-spot discount when you can. For example, you can give diners in your restaurant 10% off their bill if they show you that they posted a review on Facebook or Yelp.

Ask for feedback from your email signature

Adding a feedback request in your email signature is a great way to generate reviews. 

For example, a client reaches out to your customer service team with a question or issue. There’s an email exchange going back and forth, and every email has a signature with links to your review pages on Tripadvisor, Yelp, Google, or Facebook. When the customer’s issue is resolved and they’re satisfied, they’re more likely to click on one of those icons to leave a good review after having a positive experience with your business.

Wisestamp’s email signature generator lets you easily set up a signature with any call to action, including a feedback request.

To

Subject

Make it yours

Keep it simple

You want to make it very easy and very clear for clients to leave you reviews. If they need to sign up for an account just to leave some feedback, they’ll probably be less inclined to do so. 

There are features on popular customer review websites, like Tripadvisor, where you can send your client an email with a direct link to leave a review. This makes it easy to provide feedback directly from your client’s inbox.

Similarly, if you’re sending your own email to a client to ask for feedback, make it very clear and be sure to make your email specific:

• Use the customer’s name.
• Mention the product or service they purchased.
• Add an image of the item, if relevant.
• Highlight any incentive you’re offering in exchange for a review.
• Suggest things to talk about in their review, like the level of professionalism, customer service, price, quality, speed of delivery or service, etc.
• Add a CTA or a direct link to where clients can leave their feedback.

Dealing with the good, the bad, and the ugly customer reviews

How you handle reviews says a lot about your business, and potential customers will take note. While there’s a lot of effort that goes into gathering new customer reviews, it’s also important to be proactive in handling and responding to them.

How to handle negative reviews

Getting a negative review can be demotivating, but you can turn it into an opportunity. Since all customers will be able to see your negative review, you’ll need to respond quickly and responsibly. Here are a few pointers on what to do and what not to do when you get a negative review:

Even though sometimes clients can be out of line, their reviews not entirely accurate, or their requests outlandish, ask yourself if being “right” is worth it. You might need to take a hit to rectify the situation, but the benefit of maintaining your image as a responsible and accommodating business owner is invaluable.

Don’t Ignore the positive reviews

It may seem obvious that negative reviews need more immediate attention, but that doesn’t mean you should skip over the positive ones. 

As a best practice, it’s best to respond to all reviews, even if it’s just a simple “thank you” or a small message of gratitude to your client for taking the time to leave a review.

If you get a rave review from a client that’s more than just a couple of words, consider using it to your advantage. You can ask the client if it’s ok to use their review as a testimonial on your business’s website. 

Another way to highlight it is by sharing it on social media to reinforce your brand’s image. You can get really detailed and create a marketing campaign around this positive review. When customers see an authentic story of how your product or service really helped or impacted someone else, they’ll be more likely to remember you and trust your brand.

Best customer review platforms

There are so many different places where clients can leave reviews for your small business online. The truth is, you might not always get to choose where and when clients leave reviews, so it’s important to monitor each one regularly. You might also want to consider promoting one platform over another depending on your industry.

Google

Although it wasn’t always popular for this specific purpose, Google is now the place to go for honest and reliable customer reviews since so many people rely on this search engine regularly. If you’re already investing in ranking on Google, then you should go the extra step and make sure your business appears on Google and that clients can leave reviews there. Google reviews are suitable for all types of businesses, so this is now a necessity for any company.

Facebook

Many consumers prefer leaving reviews on social media channels since it’s a platform they’re familiar with and it’s easy. Most people already have a Facebook account, so they aren’t required to sign up for a new review site to leave a comment. Like Google, Facebook should be used by any business. If you have a Facebook page for your business, you can start facebook marketing and collecting reviews.

Yelp

This is a great tool for small businesses that rely on local recommendations. Users can post reviews about local businesses, and Yelp will help you learn how to respond to those reviews and gather even more. This review site is ideal if your company deals locally and especially if you have a service-based business.

Better Business Bureau

The BBB’s goal is to help people find businesses they can trust. Being ranked on the BBB’s website often has a negative connotation since the bureau also aims to protect consumers from fraudulent business or scams. However, if you can gather positive reviews here, it can really help any business establish a baseline of trust with consumers.

Angie’s List

Do you offer local services like plumbing, house painting, or electrical repairs? Typically, businesses that offer services like these gain new clients by word of mouth, but Angie’s List has made it easy for clients to review and recommend local service providers. Since users need to pay to access the list of service providers in their area, you can be assured that reviews will be real and not spam.

Tripadvisor was initially meant to help people make choose things like hotels, tour companies, and restaurants while traveling. While this is still its main use, many people will consult Tripadvisor for local restaurant reviews as well as to book tables or accommodation directly on the site. That means that positive and negative reviews can have an immediate impact on your profits.

Bottom line: customer reviews are essential

Customer reviews are a necessary part of your business plan, and you’ll need them if you want to improve and reach a broader audience.

Don’t shy away from asking clients to leave you feedback. At worst, they ignore your email, and at best, they leave you an amazing online review for the world to see. Aside from being helpful for prospective clients, reviews can be personally rewarding to a business owner since you can truly see how your company is having a positive impact on your customers and your community.

The post How to generate reviews online 2024 appeared first on WiseStamp.