As Eclipse Consultants, we at Zerion are blessed and privileged to work with and engage distributors about what is working and what isn’t working. Recently I had the honor to spend a week with a heating and air distributor that employed texting successfully. When I say texting, their customers are sending orders daily via a text app named ZipWhip.
Studies indicate that 9 out of 10 people prefer texting to voice dialing. Why don’t customers answer our phone calls? What happens when distributors don’t answer customer phone calls? How is the omni channel changing? First let’s define the omnichannel.
Omnichannel -- also spelled omni-channel -- is a multi-channel approach to sales that seeks to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they're shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store.
How does traditional distribution convert orders?
1. We wait for our cell phones or office number to ring, then take the order from our customer
2. We wait for our customers to walk through the counter entrance then take the order from our customer.
3. Customers text their key contact.
4. Customers email their key contact.
The omni-channel is laptop (emailed orders), mobile device (emailed,text, or voice dial), telephone (voice dial). If 9 out of 10 people prefer texting to voice and 80% of ecommerce is happening on mobile devices, does your distribution business market a text number that is monitored and has immediate response?
Many Eclipse distributors are regional family owned 2nd and 3rd generation. They typically have 5-10 locations and have owned their land line numbers since the 1940s. Yet, the only way customers can text is by storing their own personal key contact. Why not text to the main land line?
I recently read Gary Venerchuk’s new book, Crushing It. I also listen to his podcast from time to time. This is one of his many messages concerning his book. “In this book I offer new lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands. Crushing It! is a state-of-the-art guide to building your own path to professional and financial success, but it’s not about getting rich. It’s a blueprint to living life on your own terms!”
In all of Gary’s podcasts he says this. “Text me , I’m putting all of my eggs in the text basket.” I’m worried about traditional brick and mortar distributors because they still follow the predicable and corporate path. Some innovations are so simple and inexpensive, yet they simply get omitted from the board room goals and strategy sessions. “Hey, lets give our customers the ability to text to our main land line!”
https://www.zipwhip.com/ and others create simple API’s that allow texting. Engage your customers faster with texting for business. Communicate with customers the way they prefer — texting. See how Zipwhip’s easy-to-use software helps improve customer responsiveness and satisfaction.
· Text enable your existing business phone number
· Send and receive texts on your computer or mobile devices
· Integrate with the applications you use daily
· Accomplish more work in less time with automation tools
Economy $35 monthly
· Unlimited Texts
· Unlimited Contacts
· 2 devices
· Contact Import
· Reports
· Apps
· MMS Picture Texting
Business $100 monthly
· Unlimited Texts
· Unlimited Contacts
· 10 devices
· Contact Import
· Reports
· Apps
· MMS Picture Texting
· Auto Reply
· Group Texting (up to 50 contacts)
· Custom Signature
· Scheduled Messages
· Templates
· Integrations
Let’s simplify the strategy in 2020. Find an application and price point and start allowing business to interact with customers via text messaging. Kelbob…. Out.