Voice Broadcasting - 15 Questions To Ask Your Voice Broadcasting Service Provider

There are different descriptions for live transfer calls. For example, Voice Broadcasting, Phone Broadcasting, Voice Mail / Message Broadcasting, or just automated calling. Here are some good questions you should consider asking before you choose your service provider.

1. What are the costs - Is there setup fees or not? Don't get the runaround or give in to any excuses. Find out exactly what you are getting for your money.

2. Self-Service or Middleman - Can you manage & schedule your own broadcasts, or will you need to rely on a middleman to do everything on your behalf? We strongly recommend the former. In either case, expect excellent customer service.

3. Transfer Fees & Double Billing - Some providers advertise one per minute rate, but double bill by charging you for each person on the line. Ask if they charge extra for a transfer, or if they double bill, to make sure you're not going to be charged twice the advertised rate.

4. Extra Fees - While you may need to pay for extra ports if you want to send out lots of simultaneous calls, you shouldn't have to pay for setup fees, unanswered calls, busy signals, disconnected numbers, or fees for transferred calls. Ask what extra fees may apply.

5. Per Minute Rates- How much are per minute rates? More than 10-12 cents per minute is pretty high, Where are the hidden fees? How is the sound & delivery quality? Ask these companies tough questions, and ask for references.

6. FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule Opt-Out compliance - In 2008 the FTC enacted the Telemarketing Sales Rule which requires voice broadcasters to offer an opt-out option in their voice broadcast messages. Much like the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of solicitation emails, certain voice broadcasts now require an "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" option. Ask what compliance tools your vendor offers.

7. Pausing Campaigns - Let's say you are voice broadcasting to generate leads. Your campaign does surprisingly well and all of your phones are ringing off the hook. If your agents are all busy, you'll want to temporarily pause your campaign so potential leads don't get a busy signal when they transfer back. Does the voice broadcasting provider offer a pausing capability?

8. Voice Mail Detection - Can your vendor detect whether a live person or voice mail answers your call? Just like you'd relay a message differently to a live person than to a voice mail, your voice broadcasting company should enable you to deliver an alternative message for voice mails.

9. Interactive Voice Response capabilities - Do you want an interactive voice broadcast, or are you just looking to send a recorded message? If you want interactive calls, ask your vendor about interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities. This can be especially useful in the lead generation business where you want to prequalify leads.

10. Transfer - Ask how you can route customers or prospects when they chose to transfer back to you. For example, many voice broadcasting companies will have you record a message and then tell the caller to press 1 to be transferred back to a single number. What if you want to route the caller based on their location to the nearest store? To an available sales agent? To your office, cell, & home phone simultaneously? To your virtual receptionist, an interactive voice response dialog, or voice mail? Figure out what you need, and find a voice broadcasting company that can route calls to fit your need.

11. Recording - When there is a transfer back to your sales agent, do you want to be able to record that conversation "for quality & training purposes"? Ask if that is possible.

12. Best Practices - Does your vendor truly care about your success? Ask for tips & best practices or assistance from a customer service rep who has experience setting up successful broadcasts.

13. Customer Service - Can you reach the provider over the phone? If you schedule a big broadcast will they monitor the calls? Are they nice, helpful & informative on the phone? Consider your voice broadcasting provider a partner, and demand outstanding customer service & support.

14. Open & Honest - Does the provider publish pricing on their website? Do they answer your questions in a straight forward manner? Do they get back to you quickly? Can you find their phone number, address, and management team on the website? Do they have convincing testimonials from real customers? Find a company you can trust.

15. Reporting - Do you get instant access to reports, or do you need to wait? Can you download them into multiple formats, or is it just some numbers in an email from your sales rep? Using reports to determine your ROI and to improve future broadcasts is crucial. Demand top-notch reporting.

Voice Broadcasting - CallFire Products Essential for Any Business

Imagine a world were you can reach potentially your business’ entire customer base in seconds. Think of the potential marketing plans! Now think about doing this as a SMB! With CallFire’s Voice Broadcasting, customers anywhere can be reached by your business. You can inform them about the latest sales, specials, or inventory!

A recent happy customer is Dave The Shoe Guy. Dave uses CallFire’s Voice Broadcast service to automatically relay his voice message to all of his clients, instantly. He routinely discusses new products, promotions and many of his celebrity endorsements. Clients who opt-into Dave’s voice broadcasts get first shot at buying the latest styles. CallFire even leaves a message on answering machines if nobody answers.

Dave recalls, "Recently we had our ‘Super Bowl Blowout Sale’ and I sent a CallFire message to my customers at 8:30 am on Super Bowl Sunday morning. Over 100 female shoe lovers were lined up in front of our shoe salon in 20 Degree weather! We sold over $150,000 that day, thanks to CallFire."

He continues, “CallFire has been a blessing during these tough times. My business continues to grow by leaps and bounds by around 20% annually as a direct result of me being able to quickly and easily get voice messages to my customers.”

Another example is when Dave wanted to promote his latest shipment of Jimmy Choos’ shoes, any woman’s dream, he sent out a blog-like message using CallFire’s Voice Broadcast saying limited quantities would be available and customers were encouraged to come in early. Adding, everyone in the market for a new pair of Jimmy Choos’, would indeed come in the next day.

Dave has been using CallFire for about a year and believes the calls are effective because they’re personalized. This dedication to customer service separates Dave from his competition.

For more information visit CallFire's Website or learn more on their Voice Broadcast channel on TMC (News - Alert). They also have an Auto Dialer channel which features a FriendCast video where you can send messages to up to ten friends!

Sign upfor CallFire’s free “Voice Broadcast for Business” Webinar.
Learn more about CallFire products and services or call 877.897.FIRE.

Jessica Kostek is a channel editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Jessica’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek