Hi s,
I'm a brand new baby , my site is going to be up hopefully within the next month. Not sure if I'm in the right place to ask this question.
This is my 1st foray into Internet business and I was wondering if I could get some advice from anyone who has used a 1-800 number. I'd like to have one because it looks professional and it may help with people who are still wary of ordering online. Has anyone used those 1-800 numbers that are answered by a service that takes the order so we don't have to be stuck to the phone all day? (hopefully, we'd be getting that many calls, but I need the freedom to be creating product & I may be elbow deep in ingredients(nat'l beauty products)) Are these services super expensive?
Any info or insight would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance!
Maritza

Hi Maritz

Just my opinion, other posters may feel differently, but I don't think I would use an outside service to take my calls. Although most of our customers do order online, we get several calls a day. 90% of the time it's not just to place an order, but to ask for advice or a question about a product. My customer service rep has been here for 2 years and knows our products very well, but she still has to check with me from time to time. It took probably 6 months or so before she knew the ropes well enough to handle the calls. I just can't see that an outside agency would be able to provide that level of service.

Welcome to !

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. 90% of the time it's not just to place an order, but to ask for advice or a question about a product.

I just can't see that an outside agency would be able to provide that level of service.

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I agree, it's hard enough finding a good employee to handle the variety of calls you will receive This job is probably best handled in-house.

Good Luck!

I agree with the others.

Most of our calls are with questions, not to place orders. They are uncertain if they are ordering the right thing, or they want to make sure we have it in stock, or they want to check the status of an order, or they have a problem.

Those are calls that can't be answered by someone who doesn't have complete day-to-day knowledge of your business.

Patti

We use an 800 number and I'm pleased with their services. We've had customers call in the middle of the night so it's good to know we pay for a service 24:7. The customer also has the option of contacting us directly if there is an issue the answering service staff cannot handle. We're always here for them.

The price is a bit steep (ranges from $175.00 - $220.00 per month depending on the volume of calls), but -- for us -- worth every cent.

I tend to agree with the others. You can outsource many things, but the customer interface is something most e-tailers need to keep in their own control. (It's not like the prospect/customer is going to get the chance to walk-in and have a positive experience...if they call, that's the most intimate contact they will have with your business. If it's not a positive one, you've written off that customer.)

However, I will say that it depends on the products and store design at least to some extent. Some businesses/products may lend themselves to a "low touch" approach, which may well lend itself to outsourced call center operations.

Bottom line is, will the call center be providing service/advice/answers or just taking orders? The answer to that question will probably tell you whether you can afford to outsource this area.

Hope it helps.
Ed

Hey mhester.
Welcome to !

I recently contracted for a toll free with GotVmail.com.
The prices are reasonable and based upon call volume and features; and the administration panel is really good. Unlike many others, I don't actually get many calls, but the impression on a customer of having the toll free option is worth it.

I understand your consideration for a service, there are many that represent a business well, but everyone that has posted certainly has great points about this. The businesses that normally use these do so because they dont have the budget for an in house rep, or aren't always around to answer calls themselves (...day job?). It is a consideration as a stop gap measure.

Good luck!

We have really benefited from our 800 number, but agree that in-house is better - if you can do it. If not, then a service is better than no number at all.

It is annoying to call an 800 # and start asking questions only to realize this is a service and they dont know squat. It always bugs me and I try someone else.

Good point.

Thanks so much for all the advice and viewpoints. You've all given me a lot to think about!

This forum is great! I've already learned a ton just reading through past posts. I hope I can contribute in the future, after I've learned something. Thanks Again!
Maritza

I use Ring Central. http://www.ringcentral.com/ . For only $14.95/month, I get an 800 number and multiple mailboxes. The service will greet the caller in a pre-programmed voice or you can use your own. The service tells the person to hold while it trys to find me at home, work, cell, or any computer I set up. When it finds me, it asks if I want to take the call or send it to my personal mail box with a personal message. It also receives faxes at the same number.

All of my messages and/or faxes come to me by email where ever I am. You can read the text message or the actual voice recording right over your computer. To me, it's the next best thing to having an actual in-house setup. While the service is finding you, the people hear music on hold. To them, it seems as if you are in the office and the system is just transferring the phone.

So you get an 800 number. answering service, with fax and find me service.

Anyways check it out .

Paul

I too was starting a business and researched more than 10 providers of toll free virtual phone numbers and ultimately selected www.FreedomOperator.com.

The caller waits on hold, while listening to music, until you are found, once found, the system announces who is calling and for what reason i.e. Sales, Support, etc. Great for when you're at your real job ;)

If you miss the call you can get the message via a browser or just dial in and get it.

It DOES increase sales as I can be reached at 2am which I've answered, just make sure you don't yawn ;)

Can't beat it for $9.95/mos

You all have such positive things to say about an 800 number. I have to throw in just a few negatives. I had an 877 number through one of those $9.95 a month companies, and for the most part, the service and features were just fine. I was a bit dismayed to learn that it wasn't just 5 cents per minute as advertised - it was 5 cents per minute plus 5 cents per minute for them to forward the number to another line or voicemail. I could even swallow that. ..

But I started getting sales call left and right on that toll free line. People trying to sell me all kinds of business services (SEO, advertising, etc.) ON MY DIME. I would run for the phone, only to end up being rude to someone who had the brass to call me on my own free line. (It's amazing how many of those calls stopped when I went back to my regular toll number).Then, most of the customer calls were from customers that seemed to have ridiculous questions about $5.00 items, and then didn't place an order after all. Or some old lady that just wanted to talk for some company.

I know I sound sort of cold, but I remember that my blood would boil at some of those calls. It got to the point that I was more concerned about rude to people who called my toll free number, than I was worried about what possible business I might lose from not having it.

I dropped the toll free and installed a dedicated phone line. I still get lots of calls - from real customers who have genuine questions or who actually want to place an order. And I am much more calm.

I like the idea of answering the calls myself, because it gives me a chance to "upsell" on many occasions. Plus, some customers are impressed and more comfortable when I choose to tell them they are speaking to the owner.

Jeanne

An 800 number is essential to conversion rate.

I read an article yesterday that said online transactions have trended down a bit but the 800 number sales from websites has trended WAY up.

Make it giant and paste it all over your site. I can't emphasize enough how important this is....probably even more so than a security certificate to prove that you are LEGIT

Steph


Also Kall8.com is pretty cool. Routes your 800 number to any phone number and you enter that phone number on the internet. We used to use it when MC was really small. So when i went to the grocery store, i could still do tech support

Steph, you wouldn't happen to have a link to the article?

It was refrenced in a long thread in Webmaster World in the top of the ecommerce category. I also saw it in a Jupiter research article a few months back.

Steph

Hey, how do I set up a "click here for a chat window to open to assist you"

thank you

Hey Cliff.
Unfortunately, this isnt just something that can be "set up" in the system.
The live support links that you often see are third party systems/services that some folks have employed here--but not a native feature of monkster.
I dont personally use one of these, but perhaps some others who do might suggest a good company to check out.
Good luck with it.

Anyone have any recent thought on toll free numbers?

I believe that they do help conversions. How much? I don't know but we do seem to get more phone calls with product questions. Some of them turn into phone orders, others turn into web orders, while a few of them don't convert. Seems like we get most of the phone calls about products that are clearly marked out of stock on the internet and people just want to call in and verify that the product is actually out of stock.

If you can afford it, I would do it, if not, just wait it out until you can.

I feel that our's helps us with technical questions as well as orders. Some of our customers aren't familiar with some of the terms used on our website (regarding product descriptions) so they call for questions which sometimes lead to phone or web orders.

Most of the calls I get (except regarding returns/mis-shipments/etc.) are people looking for items we don't have on our website but do have in stock (reasons are complicated).

Our number is part of our 1000 minute/month plan with AT&T (fax/phone/toll-free).

If you go with a toll-free number, ask about block minutes. Using this saves us at least $30/month over pay-per-minute long distance. I'd also advise against any number that isn't "800" (ie 866, 877, etc) as I think most people tend to wonder if it's a free call or not, and/or it makes it harder for them to remember your number - which is not what you want.