Got mobile? Your customers do. An increasing number of consumers tap into their mobile phones to do everything from surf the web to pay for transactions. In fact, experts predicted that shoppers would enjoy Thanksgiving Day dinner—and then proceed directly to the couch with their smartphone or tablet to shop early Black Friday deals. The juicy new term for this mode of shopping is couch commerce.

But whether consumers are buying on mobile while lounging in front of the game or they’re buying through their tablet over lunch break, the fact is that digital merchants need to start making it as easy as possible for customers to complete these transactions. Here are a few stats to jumpstart your journey into the world of m-commerce:

• 12% of American adults have paid for a transaction with a mobile device; however Forrester analysts expect that number to rise. (Forrester, via Mobile Commerce Daily)
• 60% of consumers who buy with mobile make purchases with their device while still at home. (PayPal, via Digby)
• 24% of U.S. iPhone users and 21% of Droid users have accessed a shopping app in the last 3 months. (Forrester, via Internet Retailer)
• Roughly 50% of mobile commerce originates on tablet devices. (Forrester, via Mashable)
• $119 billion in goods and services will be purchased through a mobile device by 2015. (ABI Research, via Econsultancy)
• 49% of those who use the mobile web at least 1x each week have made a purchase with their device in the last 6 months. (ROI Research, via Digby)

When it’s time for your digital business to boost mobile shopping conversion, contact ILD Teleservices. From ILD Mobile to ILD Bill to Phone, our billing solutions provide your market with a friction-free checkout experience. Find out what our alternative payment methods will do for your bottom line.

Every ecommerce customer counts. It doesn’t matter whether you sell gaming services or mobile ringtones, you know how much time, money, and people power your company invests in attracting and capturing the target market. But if you’re going to deploy the tactics that complete the sale, it helps to know about these four types of digital consumers:

The Credit Card Free – Nearly 30% of consumers do not have a credit card. Some are unable to obtain one, while others simply don’t want one. But what really matters to you is that these are customers who simply cannot shop online unless they purchase a pre-loaded debit card, use an alternative payment method that taps into their bank account, or ask a friend/family member to make the purchase.

The Cost Conscious – Other consumers in your target market have credit cards, but prefer not to use them. Perhaps they’re hesitant to pay interest fees to the banks. Maybe they don’t like to run the risk of high late fees.

The Security Conscious – Each year, consumers and ecommerce businesses lose billions to online fraud. But what’s more interesting is that ecommerce merchants lose 6x more revenue to the fear of fraud than actual fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The Unbanked – About 9 million U.S. households are unbanked, which means these consumers cannot (or, in some cases, will not) access traditional banking services, like checking accounts or credit cards. Instead they pay for transactions in cash or by using money orders.

Ecommerce merchants who want to capture these customers need to consider adding alternative payment methods (APMs) to their shopping cart options. APMs, like ILD Teleservices’ Bill to Phone, allow consumers to charge their purchase to their phone bill—and that allows digital merchants to attract consumers who aren’t willing or able to shop with credit cards online.

To learn more about the hassle-free, convenient APM that will lift your bottom line, contact the alternative payment experts at ILD.

What determines a great call center? Some centers will provide reports for quality assurance, abandoned call percentages, average handling times or attrition measurements.  I believe dependability and flexibility are measured solely by Customer Experience.

How can you insure the customer experience? It is simple, with what I will refer to as the “Three Rule Principal”

1. Trained Personnel
2. Telephone Etiquette
3. Agent Support

Trained Personnel 

First, agents identify themselves by using their name; thus personalization. An agent must have the skill to listen and restate the customer request. Agents educate the customers, explaining the application or results. Then the agents apply the information presented and send a summary for recapping what was communicated on the call. Finally, the agents will express that it was a pleasure being of service to the customer:

Please-verb; to make (someone) happy or satisfied

P – Personalize-use real names
L – Listen- restate, clarify
E – Educate the customer -inform
A – Apply by explanation- use examples, simplify
S – Send follow up message for closure or future action items
E – Expression- enjoy what you do (it rubs off on others)

Telephone Etiquette 

Components for telephone etiquette s include; listening well, voice tone, articulation, patience, responsibility and focus. Teaching the skill of how to listen and not interrupt must be practiced. Same is true with their voice; no loud aggressive voice will soothe any irate customer. Articulation certainly means to pronounce your words correctly and to remove slang; to remain professional and that they do not confuse the message. Patience goes hand in hand with listening, as an agent you may need to patiently wait for the customer to rapidly express their frustrations, interrupting may only exacerbate the situation.  An agent MUST be willing to take responsibility for whatever the matter was that is being reported. Most importantly is to stay on task, focus on the root cause and effect so as to resolve expeditiously.

Agent Support

Agent support mean insuring an appropriate Supervisor to agent ratio. An effective Supervisor should be responsible for no more than 15 agents. Having immediate agent access to a supervisor and or manager is commonly referred to as an open door policy. This allows for quality coaching, training and adherence to a schedule. So many centers put their emphasis on morale boosters that they overlook the basic needs of their employees.

First insure your employees are paid fairly and equitably for a job well done. Next make sure the environment where they spend their work hours is clean and non-threatening.  Provide access to break areas both indoors and outdoors, lockers and resources for refreshments either employer sponsored and or access to commercial supplies.

Communication between management and the employee is the key to success. Provide for anonymous suggestions or comments (suggestion box) which may be used as the source to make suggestions for each employee who may not want to speak out publicly.

These three basic rules will make raving fans of your brand or product through Customer Experience (example: Zappos). Analyze your call center; if you are not using similar basic principles, then the customer experience is much less than satisfactory.

If you are looking for an inbound or outbound contact center; lead generation, customer service center, back office or account management that can save you time, money, and effort please feel free to contact me. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit ILDCorp.com.

In today’s economy, every business is searching for a way to cut costs and monetize opportunities. Companies have looked to outsource services to offshore contact centers in the effort to reduce costs. While outsource labor may look to be a less expensive option on paper, what is the hidden cost of dissatisfied customers being sent to a non-US based, “offshore” agent to represent your business, brand and reputation?

An offshore agent’s speech may be impeccable, but cultural differences will prevail.  Brand image and passion about products are an absolute necessity in order for the agent to up sell, service and represent. USA products and services are best represented by USA agents who can identify with the service. Take for an example Apples.  A USA agent can relate to the numerous types of Apples; apple pie, applesauce, apple turnover, caramel apples and candied apples. Apples are not only part of our diet but we relate in our culture to apples. Would an offshore agent understand “Johnny Appleseed” and “American as Apple Pie” or of course “an Apple a Day keeps the Doctor Away”? The same concept applies to products marketed, used and made in the USA!

Communication is the key to success. American slang and colloquialism is commonly used in our country “y’all”, “you bet”, or “back in the day”. How can an offshore agent represent your brand if they do not have a relationship or understand the cultural differences of your clients? When building the business case, I strongly recommend utilizing a US-based and employed call center.  You will be able to increase your savings by Outsourcing “Onshore” with a Made in the USA Agent! This experience will be one that you will be proud to share with your customers.

Contact ILD’s  best in Service USA Outsource Center to meet your needs, inbound, outbound, back office support and lead generations. As Senior Vice President of ILD’s Outsourced Division, I promise you a quality conversation with a company willing to strategize and customize to your objective to meet the need of your business. Or check us out www.ildcorp.com.

Image Courtesy of CallCenterComics.com