Cyber Monday is fast approaching and savvy online sellers are prepared; or are they?
Call analytics solution Marchex recently conducted an interesting analysis of holiday preparedness and found that businesses experienced a 16 percent increase in inbound phone calls on Cyber Monday compared to average Mondays in the same month. The Marchex data also indicated that abandoned calls increased by 11 percent on average on Cyber Monday, suggesting that companies did not adequately staff call centers. As a result, they missed out on a significant number of sales opportunities on a major shopping day of the year.
"While businesses go through significant efforts to optimize their websites for Cyber Monday and the holiday season in general, they are neglecting a key channel that is incredibly important to consumers when it comes to interacting with brands," said Guy Weismantel, EVP of marketing at Marchex.
"The data is clear: customers prefer to buy on their own terms, not the terms of the brand. It's crucial for brands to invest in their frontline phone teams, operations centers, and call analytics technology to maintain the highest level of customer service, and ultimately increase revenue."