Many businesses have live customer support during dedicated business hours, followed by email support during off-hours. However, some customers want answers right away and while the company has the potential customer already on their website, needs to take the opportunity to provide the customer with immediate gratification to earn his/her business and loyalty. Thanks to the many uses of podcasts, businesses can provide an interactive customer service and support experience no matter what time of day.
Enhance F.A.Q.’s by allowing each question to be answered in a podcast. This will not only allow a more interactive experience by allowing the customer to hear a more detailed explanation of an answered question, but will allow other options to having questions answered, which is particularly meaningful to customers who have low vision, use English as their second language or prefer to hear a voice answer their question. You can also implement one of the “Did this help answer your question?” buttons to ensure customers get the necessary information from the podcast and make adjustments when necessary.
Be sure to state shipping policies including carriers used, average delivery times, what to do if shipment is late, and tracking information in a shipping podcast. A shipping podcast can be accessed for customers using a link on the site’s shipping information section. Also, a redirect from the F.A.Q. section can lead customers to the shipping information podcast.
While email lists have been traditionally used to provide company updates, encourage diverse marketing practices by having an email list as well as a podcast signup. Or, to make things easier, feature a link to your business’ newest podcast when sending out customer newsletters. Entice customers to listen to the podcasts by offering exclusive podcast listener discounts, contents and unadvertised specials.
Complete the interactive customer experience by selecting a Customer of the Month. Use an email testimonial to be read aloud during the podcast and offer the customer selected some incentive. Encourage customers to leave feedback; either positive or in areas which the company can improve. In order to protect customer information, when reading the email during the podcast, only use the customer’s initials. Use the customer’s testimonial on the website to add more credibility to your business and help spread positive word-of-mouth.
Include other types of podcasts on the company’s website when relevant. Video podcasts can also help customers with service-related tasks. Instead of calling a number for support, if selling a product or service that requires some type of installation, operation, or other manual requirement; create a video podcast showing the assembly, demonstration/operation and uses for an item. Not only will this serve as a guide to customers needing help, but it can also showcase a product or service to prospective owners. Feature the product or service highlighted and if feasible, offer a special price or incentive with purchase.
By using both audio and video podcasts as part of a business’ interactive customer support, companies can help keep more satisfied and informed customers while increasing their bottom line and becoming an industry leader.
When producing a regular podcast, some podcasters wrestle with the fact of including advertising during their broadcast. While it may be necessary to advertise your business or service; sometimes, when done in a tactful manner, advertising during a podcast can actually help increase business while spreading positive word-of-mouth recommendations about your business or company.
The first step to advertising your business is to do it as inexpensively as possible. This means to find another podcaster who sells a related service (not a competitor) and offer to trade advertising. Each business agrees on a set amount of time for the commercial and writes a script advertising their business or service. After the scripts have been traded and approved, consider transitioning from the discussed topic to the commercial by mentioning your product or service and how you can recommend something to go with it. Then, proceed to read the commercial. Be sure to limit yourself to one advertiser per segment or else you will lose listeners who will think your podcast is becoming too littered with commercials.
Now that you understand how it is done, you may need to know how to find prospective advertisers. Compile a list of all relevant businesses and services that would work great with what you are selling. Compose a letter offering your proposal stating how your business is relevant to theirs and why an idea like this would be mutually beneficial. Next, perform an Internet search with the desired related business or service as the search term and include a reference in the search bar to the word “podcast”. This should provide you will all of the relevant podcasts to offer your proposals to. View their sites if possible to see if the site shares your company’s values and is truly not a competitor. Look for contact information, affiliate relationships and other relevant information before sending in your proposal. Keep a log of correspondence sent and whether a response was received.
If a positive result was received, be sure to randomly listen in to the other podcasts to make sure your business’ advertisement was mentioned. However, if receiving a response where the other podcaster is unsure, suggest doing a link exchange. Here, there is less of a risk to lose customers by entering commercials into the podcasts, but customers can click on the exchanged links to listen to the other podcasts of their own choosing. Even this less risky technique can still have positive results, as your podcast will be on a page indexed by the major Internet Search Engines.
In the end, whether exchanging advertising, links or other methods of promotion, businesses that rely on podcasts to supplement their advertising can benefit from other, relevant online businesses that are willing to participate with your company and enjoy the benefits for free advertising. Remember though, the key to operating a successful free advertising campaign is not to alienate your core listeners. This may mean putting a limit of advertising exchanges, because without a dedicated audience, the podcast is only as good as the people it reaches; so choose carefully and enjoy the rewards for your hard work.
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