Getting an inbound call, text, or web chat is a great way to start a relationship with a future customer. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how to use elements on your WordPress site to encourage visitors to reach out. Learn about where to place your business phone number, how to provide them with reasons to reach out to you via text, the best ThemeREX themes for encouraging your customers to chat, the types of blog content that can drive customers to engage, and how some basic search engine optimization (SEO) skills can help you accomplish this goal.
Why Get a Customer to Call You?
By the time a customer or prospect initiates a conversation with your business, they likely have a very good reason. They need a specific piece of information, they’re a warm lead, or they have a concern.
If it’s a customer service call, encouraging the customer to route their concerns immediately to you might seem like a burden — but in fact, it saves you the frustration, time sink, and expense of having to deal with reputation management on review sites and your social media accounts.
No matter why the customer is reaching out, you want to be able to guide the conversation — and it’s much easier to do that if they come right to you, the authority on your product or service, first.
5 Strategies to Get Customers to Phone or Text
You can employ multiple strategies to get that inbound call or text message from your customer. The best part about planning these strategies is that you can choose to implement them all at once or one at a time, depending on your budget, available time, and level of proficiency in WordPress.
WordPress is naturally dynamic (as long as you use the right theme). Once installed, it’s considered very beginner-friendly. With a few simple improvements, you’ll see an increase in inbound texts and calls.
Strategy #1: Add Your Business Phone Number to Your WordPress Site
Adding your phone number to your website makes it easier for customers to reach out for several reasons. First, it signals Google that your business has a phone number. If someone Googles “[your business name] phone number,” and you own the .com associated with your business, Google will provide the correct result.
Secondly, the presence of a business phone number adds professionalism and legitimacy to your site. The more confidence customers have in the validity of your business, the more trust they have, and the more likely they are to reach out and buy.
Lastly, you can use a WordPress plugin or code your phone number to appear as a click-to-call. That means the user can click on it on their phone, and it will instantly call you. If they’re on their computer, it will open a program like Skype.
Make sure you get a dedicated number for your business, and ensure it receives texts. Just like personal numbers, business numbers sometimes get spam and other unwanted calls. However, especially if your business is small or you’re a solopreneur, you’ll want some separation between your personal and business numbers once your business number is out there on the internet.
Strategy #2: Encourage Inbound Texting
Some customers are reticent to text or might be viewing your website while they’re in a quiet place such as a library or on a train. They might not know whether they have time to chat on the phone. However, they know they can commit to a text conversation. For these reasons, you should choose to have a text-enabled business number and encourage your customers to text you.
Once they’re in a text conversation with you, you can also ask their permission to opt-in to text marketing. This is important for legal reasons, as they will need to agree to opt in and be able to opt out at any time. Staying in touch this way not only encourages more sales but also reminds them that they can reach out to you directly if they have a problem.
To aid with keeping track of text conversations as your business grows, you’ll want to use a customer relationship manager (CRM) that tracks all conversations with a customer, regardless of platform. That way, your calls, texts, and in-person interactions will all be recorded in one place, along with any other correspondence, such as email or snail mail.
Strategy #3: Choose the Right ThemeREX WordPress Theme
Having a theme that prominently features your business phone number is an obvious way to encourage customers to give you a call or text. ThemeREX premium themes allow you to add your phone number in the headers, footers, and menu pages as needed. Choose a theme that matches your business and provides the number with clarity and prominence.
If you have a business reliant on booking appointments, it’s important to have that first conversation with your customer, person-to-person, rather than have them interact with a piece of software. Make sure you let them know that you’d like to have a brief call to assess their needs to ensure you can meet their expectations. Your website is the first stage to nurturing that relationship.
Strategy #4: Blog for Engagement
Your company’s blog should encourage engagement. Let your customers know they can reach out to you when they have questions or concerns about relevant topics. Include CTAs (calls to action) that ask people to text or call with questions. The best way to make your customers feel included is to invite them; a strong and friendly CTA at the end of an informative blog post does just that.
Engagement also looks like sharing and commenting on blog posts, especially on social media. It can look like soliciting questions or encouraging your audience to answer polls. Whatever gets them involved and understanding that your business will support them is a tactic you want to take.
Strategy #5: Learn and Employ Basic SEO Skills
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the art and science of being ranked on search engine results pages (SERPs). If you sell coffee in Philadelphia, PA, you’d surely like to be ranked for a phrase like “best coffee in Philly.” But if a reporter wants to text your claim and provide you with some publicity as they rank cafes in Philadelphia, you’re going to have a hard time connecting with them if you don’t list your phone number.
In addition to being ranked for popular search terms, your site should be mobile-friendly and follow specific formatting. Above all, it should be useful to the reader – that’s what Google is looking for. Be your true self and deliver it all in a friendly, informative tone. If a customer finds you via an inbound search (like the example above), they’re more likely to call you. You have what they need or want… especially if you’re keeping them caffeinated! Best of all, WordPress has a lot of useful SEO-friendly features built in, and it tends to rank well compared to other content management platforms (CMSes).
While it might be most convenient for you to have your customer call, some prefer to text. And some might rather use a web platform to message. Ensuring your number accepts both calls and texts can widen the net of inbound contact you receive. To encourage the customer to reach out, remember this mantra: invite and delight!
