Click-to-call software: The full costs and benefits

We explore the prices of click-to-call software, as well as the real cost of deploying such systems, taking into account the value it brings to your business.
Huang Jing Jie (JJ)
Huang Jing Jie (JJ)

Co-founder

The full costs of a click-to-call software and how it benefits your company

When a prospect wants to connect with your company urgently, 62% of them prefer phone calls. 

And 77% believe a phone call is the most effective way to get an answer quickly.

But what if your reps are busy or unavailable to attend to customers during peak hours? That just leads to more missed calls and wasted revenue.

Unfortunately, in these situations, many businesses put the customer on hold until they are connected to the next available rep. This is a big NO! 😤

Over 60% of customers will hang up if they are being put on hold for 1 minute or more, and if you make them wait 10 minutes or more, the odds of qualifying them drops by 400%. 

So what can companies do to prevent customer drop-offs because of long wait times?

Enter: click-to-call software

If you’re confused about what a click-to-call software is, fret not! We explore what a click-to-call software is, the prices of such systems, as well as the full cost of deploying it! 👇👇👇

Contents

What is a click-to-call software?

A click-to-call software allows prospects and leads to book calls and schedule callbacks with your reps. It allows for calls to be made over the internet. 

Click-to-call software allow customers to schedule calls with your reps.
A brief explanation of what click-to-call is.

Click-to-call technology can be embedded into a digital customer touchpoint, and this can come in various forms.

For example, it is most commonly embedded onto a webpage as a widget that shows up at the bottom of your webpages. Leads can then click on it to activate a callback. 

This helps to streamline the communication process between the lead and the business.

What are the prices and real value of a click-to-call software?

Browsing through the market for a click-to-call system, it not only contains one single feature but also includes a software analysis package (virtual call center software plan).

Thus, the price you pay depends on the additional features you want to include.

For example, click-to-call software Novocall offers three flexible pricing plans with different levels of service provided, starting from 19 SGD/month.

 

Novocall's pricing plans
Novocall’s pricing plans

Companies that conduct call-focused activities, such as call centers, usually require higher callback quotas and more call reps to handle the large call volume.

They also need additional integration options and advanced analytical reporting to improve efficiency.

Therefore, the costs of click-to-call software tend to be higher for them. While this cost is numerically higher, it is worth noting that click-to-call software can increase profits for your business.

Thus, we conduct a detailed cost-effect analysis below to evaluate the real cost of click-to-call software, compared to that of a traditional phone system with voicemail, so that we know which is more cost-effective for your company. 👇

1. Click-to-call software increase customer satisfaction

75% of customers find click-to-call software ‘highly appealing”.

This doesn’t come as a surprise because click-to-call systems prioritize customers’ time and convenience.

Instead of having being left on hold, they are now offered extra options to choose the best alternative slot, turning the dreadful waiting process into a flexible turnaround.

Compared to other attempts to improve contact efficiency, click-to-call software doesn’t require big changes in call reps’ working patterns either.

This provides your company with a low-cost, frustration-free approach to improving customer satisfaction and service levels while making deep operational cost cuts.

2. Click-to-call software increases conversion rate

Although there are many instant messaging apps and social media platforms where customers can connect with you, sometimes, a “click-to-call” function is the most effective way to capture leads.

Studies have shown that it increases the conversion rate of a site by 200%.

Besides providing a quick connection option, the higher conversion rate can be explained by the click-to-call software’s additional features.

For example, Novocall allows you to set prequalifying questions when a visitor requests for a callback. For example, you can ask them questions such as:

  • How many employees are there in your company?
  • What is your budget?
  • What are you interested in chatting about today?  

And many more! 

This allows your prospects to indicate their interests before scheduling a call so that the call can be routed to the most suitable rep to answer.

This match-up allows you to qualify leads beforehand, improves efficiency, converts more leads, and ultimately brings in more revenue.

3. Call tracking increases marketing efficiency

Click-to-call software like Novocall tracks calls and collects data for your team.

Novocall's intuitive dashboard.
Novocall’s intuitive dashboard.

This data is then converted into visual reports, generating trends for you to compare business performance easily.

The system records the customer journey of individual callers, while the CRM analysis function enables you to accurately track which site the customer is directed from.

The marketing team can then identify the most effective marketing campaigns and decide which to optimize in the future — allowing you to generate higher ROIs (Return On Investments).

How traditional call systems incur more cost and why consumers prefer click-to-call software

Most of us are still communicating with each other using traditional phone systems.

When you call a person and they don’t pick up, you’re then directed to leave a message to the person and wait for them to call you back at a later time. A.K.A voicemail.

This system works if you don’t want to discuss urgent matters. It is also much more affordable compared to click-to-call software.

With the monthly subscription fees, the costs of basic phone calling are cheap, with voicemail function being included in a telecommunication package for free. If you need prolonged recording time or web-interface, the price goes up to $6 SGD per month subscription.

However, when it comes to important business calls, the drawbacks of this traditional call method are exposed.

Although it saves some time for busy call reps by leaving customers on hold and offering customers the option to leave a voicemail, simply relying on this method brings about hidden opportunity costs and can potentially incur losses. This may override the costs you save by implementing this cheaper option.

1. Communication lag causes loss of leads and thus revenue

This is the most obvious risk that a traditional call system brings to your business.

Not being able to pick up the call from potential customers means loss of business opportunities and revenue.

You might still expect the caller to re-contact you after they are turned down, but the harsh reality is—they won’t.

Research shows that 85% of callers who can’t reach the company on the first try will not call back, and 75% will not leave a voicemail.

Facing so many other options in the field, it is not surprising that your prospects will turn to your competitors who can meet their demands immediately instead of waiting for your response.

Traditional call systems thus create hidden costs associated with loss of business opportunities and an increase in turn-down rate.

2. Long holding time leads to reduced customer satisfaction

“The customer is king.”

This quote has long been one of the golden rules in the business industry.

Essentially, how you treat your customers directly affects how much they are willing to spend on you.

Customer service is extremely important when you engage with your prospect. 86% of the people are happy to pay up to 25% more if they get the right customer experience.

On the contrary, a failure to address your customers with efficiency and quality directly reduces your sales, as 66% of customers will switch companies because of poor customer service.

Putting customers in the virtual hold is far from being an ideal communication method. Customers dislike the feeling of being put on hold as 60% of them refuse to wait more than one minute.

Traditional call systems thus carry high risks of disappointing your customers, turning them away, and adds a bad reputation to your business.

3. Traditional call systems generate lower ROI from companies’ ad spend

Marketing budgets can account for as much as 40% of a firm’s spending.

Considering the revenue that a firm generates, this amount of money is definitely not small.

Effective marketing is especially important for startups when they want to break into the market and enlarge their customer base.

Traditional call systems, however, can let this amount of marketing funds go to waste.

As the users develop an interest in your product when they see content or social media ads, they develop an impulse to connect with you.

But the long process of waiting to be called and having to leave a voicemail inevitably drains their interest as time goes on. This wastes massive amounts of marketing efforts (and spending) to attract these potential customers in the first place.

4. Extra costs incurred to improve voicemail efficiency

Tasking inbound agents to respond to voicemail messages can be a very labor-intensive process.

As they respond to voicemails, they are also taken out of the queue to respond to live customer calls; the vicious cycle continues as more customers are kept holding in the queue.

Companies who realize that voicemail is not effective enough need to find improvement, which can be costly and counterproductive.

To fix the problem, your company can hire outbound agents to specialize in managing voicemail messages, and the extra cost of employing more agents might lead you to end up spending more.

Click-to-call software are becoming increasingly preferred by customers, compared to traditional call systems which are gradually losing their place.

 

customers prefer a callback

 

Instead of being kept on hold, 63% of customers prefer a call-back option. 

Despite the practical use of voicemail, customers still prefer to speak to a real person rather than leaving voice messages.

They are also less willing to hold and wait, and demand companies to respond with speed and quality.

1. Communication lag causes loss of leads, and thus revenue

This is the most obvious risk that a traditional call system brings to your business.

Not being able to pick up the call from potential users means loss of business opportunities and revenue.

You might still expect the caller to re-contact you after they are turned down, but the harsh reality is—they won’t.

A report from Computer Weekly shows that 85% of callers who can’t reach the company on the first try will not call back, and that 75% will not leave a voicemail.

Facing so many other options in the field, it is not surprising that your prospects will turn to your competitors who can meet their demands immediately instead of waiting for your response.

Traditional call systems thus create hidden costs associated with loss of business opportunities and an increase in turn-down rate.

Weighing in: Click-to-call systems are more cost-effective than traditional call systems

If we only compare the price listing of click-to-call software and traditional call systems with voicemail, click-to-call software is more expensive as it comes with more functions.

However, the benefits that click-to-call software bring might very well exceed its costs.

Click-to-call software like Novocall reduces lead response time, increases customer satisfaction, helps to route calls to the most suitable call-reps, and optimizes your marketing efforts by analysis of data.

Your business structure does not need to shift drastically, but can still be able to achieve great improvements, saving yourself another amount of restructuring fee.

All these benefits make your money spent worthwhile.

The hidden downsides of using a traditional calling system add the extra burden of having to deal with communication inefficiency, customer frustration, and loss of business opportunities.

At the end of the day, these issues cost you more.

A click-to-call system can help you to achieve a higher profit for your business: it saves you more money on the cost side while increasing your sales on the revenue side.

So, start deploying this ideal cost-effective communication solution now! Get started with Novocall to see how it can add value to your business!

JJ
JJ

JJ is the Co-Founder of Novocall. When he’s not busy building the Novocall brand, he spends his time watching crime shows and documentaries.

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