Does a toll free number help with a product launch and if so...

15 years ago

Look into Vonage for inexpensive, easy-to-use, toll-free solutions with reasonably rich feature sets (including simple call forwarding.) With regards to a toll-free numbers benefit, I think that it depends on the product and how many customers you believe you'll have. I know that in many cases, developing that sort of subliminal trust by displaying that phone number prominently can benefit. However, keep in mind that if the phone is ringing and no one is answering, those trust issues you're attempting to alleviate have instead been aggravated.

In my personal experience, phone numbers have been much more effective when selling something that might require the help of an experienced, guiding hand. Also, in terms of cost-effective solutions to bridge that trust gap, you might want to look into live chat applications as well. People are becoming quite comfortable engaging strangers in conversations via chat interfaces. While you won't have the advantage of the power of the human voice, it might be something to look into.

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Craig Fenton

15 years ago

Thank for such a quick reply!

A follow-up question can Vonage be used as a service without having to change my current provider? They have been sensational and I give them business for the phones/internet/television.

It is an interesting thought about having the 800 number but what if a customer doesn't receive an answer. Would voice mail and the ability to get back to them within a few hours be proper protocol?

Thanks again for any additional information!!!!

Thanks
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blackhatzen

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Craig Fenton

Thank for such a quick reply!

A follow-up question can Vonage be used as a service without having to change my current provider? They have been sensational and I give them business for the phones/internet/television.

It is an interesting thought about having the 800 number but what if a customer doesn't receive an answer. Would voice mail and the ability to get back to them within a few hours be proper protocol?

Thanks again for any additional information!!!!

It's no problem at all.

Vonage is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service. What that means is that you plug it into your preexisting internet connection. No need to change services. In fact, you don't even need to have a physical phone plugged into your Vonage router. They have a very easy-to-use control panel on their site that allows you to set call forwards, voicemail forwards, setup new 888 numbers, and many other features.

While there are long-term, expensive solutions that are probably better than Vonage, I've helped quite a few of my clients transition to Vonage to offer just the kind of customer service you're discussing. Setting up a voicemail box is very easy with Vonage. You can even set it to ring multiple phones before it hits voicemail. The voicemails can be delivered as audio file attachments to email even!

At the office, we use a private VoIP solution, but if you do pursue what you're discussing here, Vonage might be a great, cost-effective, and easy-to-use service for you.

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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Thank you again. It may be that Vonage is the very solution to use if I go that route.

Have a fantastic Tuesday!!
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Estheriffic

15 years ago

OT, but very relevant:

toll free numbers are a great way to cloak your phone number.

you can get a different 800 number for each business (no charge for the number, except per minute fees.)

keeps people from googling your number to find out what else you own.

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Maria Gudelis

15 years ago

You can also use a toll free to systemize your biz and even have order takers and great telesales folks who have a script to qualify a lead.

I've been using PatLive since 2004 for variety of businesses - great investment.

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Craig Fenton

15 years ago

Hi Maria:

Thank you for taking the time to answer the post could you be kind enough to tell me about PatLive and the other fine Warriors too?

Have a great Tuesday.

Thanks
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Maria Gudelis

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Craig Fenton

Hi Maria:

Thank you for taking the time to answer the post could you be kind enough to tell me about PatLive and the other fine Warriors too?

Have a great Tuesday.

Hi Craig! Sure -

PatLive is a live 24/7 answering service with powerful 'extras'

One - u can just use it as an answering service - a live person answers - non accented

with a 'script' you give then...

e.g - thank you for calling your company name here, how can we help you

to give off a sense of professionalism about your company.

They email you the call message right away (or text message)

Now the script can go deeper how u use them

They can also take appointments for you - so for instance - they can say

"Maria is not in right now...were you calling about your risk-free 15 minute consultation"?

And if they were from one of my sites, offline postcards, etc. marketing channels...

well then - now they have an appointment calendar (web based) for me they maintain - so for instance I tell them to book 15 minute increments every 1/2 hour ONLY on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am pst to 3 pm pst.

Powerfull full time assistant for you.

The other thing they can do is an entire script and credit card taking capability - so if someone (and your conversions to go up with this) can call your 1-800 number because they don't want to enter their info online - on your online order page you can say, we take phone orders too if you prefer...so they phone and your assistant takes the credit card order - another sale for you!

Whew - hope that explains - pat live dot com

I find it very useful when doing major marketing campaigns (like direct mail) and you can

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Craig Fenton

15 years ago

Hi Maria:

Thank you for such a detailed and thought provoking post. Your give superlative information.

Can you give an indication (give or take a few dollars) what the start up fee is for the service, monthly cost, and can somebody use them for as long or short as they desire without penalty?

Thanks again and have a great night!

Thanks
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Maria Gudelis

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Craig Fenton

Hi Maria:

Thank you for such a detailed and thought provoking post. Your give superlative information.

Can you give an indication (give or take a few dollars) what the start up fee is for the service, monthly cost, and can somebody use them for as long or short as they desire without penalty?

Thanks again and have a great night!

Sure Craig.

they have a variety of plans, best to check it out on their site as it ranges from 9/month to $100 /month -

You don't have to have live answering yet if u want just a toll free number with forwarding to your phone.

I use the $100/month plan - then you get charged $1/minute and avg. length of call is 2 minutes - seems alot but if they start to 'qualify' your lead..well saves you thousands in time!.

The booking of appointments is an extra $30 month...

one can 'grow ' with them - they even have 'voice broadcasting' service too

anyway - I have used them since 2004 and have been happy with them- there are other competitors too that probably offer same service ...so you could just call each one, see who you are comfortable with...

cheers, m

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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Hi Maria:

Thanks again for the complete information. It is an option if not next month maybe down the road. Since you are a satisfied customer it makes it easier if I need this type of service.

Have a fantastic Wednesday!
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mywebwork

15 years ago

Hi Craig

Perhaps you could just use a Skype account, one you setup specifically for your product. You can get a Skype-In number so people could dial you from a standard phone.

A service that integrates Skype with 1-800 calling is Skype 1800 Call Center , you may want to check it out.

Personally I think the 1-800 number is a nice touch, but are you actually going to be there to answer the phone?

Best of luck with your launch!

Bill

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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Hi Bill:

Thank you for taking the time to answer the post and wish me luck on the launch. This is where I am vacillating with regards to a phone number on the site for the product.

On the one side of the coin is the idea that any person that goes to the URL will be able to immediately see my name, phone, email. On the other side while I work from the house and am always responsive to emails/calls would somebody be upset if they had to wait for me to get back to them in 60 minutes or 2 hours?

That is where the debate starts. How long in time would a potential customer think it is okay before they get the return call?

It is possible that I am better off with the email address. I would have name recognition to some with the books I have written and the lectures.

Please everyone keep the great thoughts coming. They help tremendously because I want to look back on the launch and never think "What if." The second I give the okay to have the website ready, the product for sale, the Warrior Special Offer, the marketing, etc. I must be in the frame of mind that these were great decisions and I am ready to win.

Thanks again and everyone have a great day!!
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mywebwork

15 years ago

Hi Craig

I think that a lot of this depends upon how you're trying to represent yourself. Are you trying to give the impression that you are a large company and thus have a toil-free number to handle all your customer inquiries? If so then you will need to hire an answering service as your customers will expect someone at the end of the line 24 hours a day (unless you specify specific hours).

But perhaps you're trying to tell your customers "I'm a solo entrepreneur who stands behind the quality of my work and I am passionate about customer satisfaction. I've provided my toll-free number as a convenience for my valued customers". In this case you could also explain that by calling the number they will actually get to speak to the product creator in person, and that they may have to leave a message. I think most people would understand this and would appreciate the extra step you took to insure their satisfaction.

If your audience is other Internet Marketers you could also leave the Skype contact information, I suspect that the majority of us have Skype accounts and would find them convenient to use as we're always at our computers anyways!

Aloha

Bill

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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Hi Bill:

Thank you for the information you are affording me. I want the people on the Warrior Forum and those past and present that have purchased my books, paid to hear me lecture, and so on to be aware I am not a corporation. It is always Craig that is behind the product and out front as well. If you send an email it will be answered by Craig and if a phone number is included the call will be from Craig.

The point to ponder (thank you for the advice thus far) is does the 800 number create more trust or would a track record of books on the market, former radio personality, and public speaker as well as the new product itself give the credibility.

The tough call Bill is that I don't want any margin of error here. As a successful person you can fully understand the time and effort and pride that is going into the new product. All choices about web hosts, blogs, promotion, sales copy, postings, Warrior Special Offers, email and or phone number, etc have to be correct.

What is interesting to me is a number of folks went to one of the websites and emailed me off the site and suggested that the phone number may not be that paramount.

Any further thoughts please advise, your articulation is appreciated!

All Warriors have a great day.
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DougBarger

15 years ago

Here are 2 I've used:

Power Net Global

Toll Free Forwarding

Doug

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DeadGuy 15 years ago

I only used a toll free number once during a launch, so I can only pass on my experience. The lion's share of the calls received fell into two categories... "Did you get my order?", and/or "Did you receive the question I emailed?". There's a certain amount of built-up anxiety before and after a launch and it just seems like people are very inclined to pick up the phone to ask these questions instead of waiting 15 seconds for the autoresponder or a personal reply. Human nature, I guess.

800 numbers seem to work great, if you use them as added incentive to buy your product or sign up for your service. "Buy Product X and get exclusive access to our private hotline" has been pretty effective.

Since product launches are quite different from any other forms of advertising, it would be really tough to try an A/B experiment to get a handle on the effectiveness of the 800 number. Trial and error, in this case, is probably the best teacher.

We would all be interested to learn your thoughts and impressions of using the 800 number after your launch. Post something to let us know how it goes... and good luck with the launch!
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- Craig Fenton 15 years ago
  
  Hi Dead Guy:
  
  Thank you for not only posting but being interested in my results.
  
  With the myriad of responses via my websites/blogs, most of the marketers are voting no in regards to the 800 phone line and it wasn't even based on a cost factor.
  
  The general consensus is to have a great product, excellent value, have a name the customer can Google search, give an email address for contact, and be there before and after the sale.
  
  I am leaning right now toward no phone but it can change as the fine Warriors provide information.
  
  Thanks again!!!
  
  Thanks
  
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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Hi Doug:

Thank you for the info.

Have a great night.
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Maria Gudelis

15 years ago

Thanks Craig! Good luck to you and you have a great week! cheers, m

Thanks
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Craig Fenton 15 years ago

Hi Maria:

Thank you for the good luck wish!

Enjoy the day.
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Does a toll free number help with a product launch and if so...

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