What are inbound video call (IVC) solutions for businesses?

The Jetsons is an American futuristic animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The Jetsons episode "The Little Man" originally aired on ABC on January 13, 1963. In this episode, a miniaturized George Jetson talks to his boss Mr. Spacely on a videophone.

In the real world, the first webcam was created in 1991 by students in the Cambridge University Computer Science Department. Also, in the early 90s, a Cornell University student wrote a program called CU-SeeMe. This became the first desktop video conferencing platform. It was released on the Macintosh OS in 1992 and Windows in 1994.

However, it was in the late 2000s that the rise of smartphones brought video communication to the face of almost every person in the world. We all started living a Jetsons' episode.

Even though it feels that video communication has been around for quite some time, it achieved stardom during the past couple of years when the Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise. 

With lockdowns and social distancing in place, the preferred method of communication and collaboration became video interaction. 

Remote collaboration, online events, and video conferencing became necessary for many businesses to survive. However, what we learned during those years was that besides surviving, most companies were thriving thanks to these technologies, and video communication has become second nature to many professionals.

Most of us are now looking at the pandemic from the rear mirror view. However, the sales and marketing landscape has completely changed in the past couple of years, thanks to video communication applications. 

On top of that, today's business customers have become more sophisticated and well-informed and are also demanding instant gratification. They want access to information and responses whenever and wherever they are researching about you. Also, information is decentralized. Prospects are learning about their challenges and solutions available online and outside of your website.

THE RISE OF INBOUND VIDEO CALL SOLUTIONS

Inbound video call solutions combine video communication technology, digital telephony, and sales and marketing capabilities into one platform. This technology lets your teams receive a video call from any channel through a unique URL called e-lines. 

Similar to a website address or any other URL, an e-line is a dedicated digital communication address that enables prospects and customers to reach out to businesses from any channel with one click. ​​For example, 11Sight's sales e-line is https://11sight.com/sales. You can start a video conversation with our sales team through your browser or any mobile device if you click on this link.

With this new technology, prospects and customers can initiate an inbound video call with your teams from any online channel in just one click on a Linkedin post, a Facebook comment, email marketing, from a website, or anywhere on the web. Also, by just scanning a QR code from any printed material. It's the most effective call to action if your goal is to create an enhanced digital experience for your prospects and customers and deliver highly qualified engagements for your teams.

It provides a unique, seamless, and consistent experience from any channel. Another benefit is that no downloads, no sign-ins, and appointments are required for the caller. All it takes is one click from any online channel, browser, and device to start a video conversation. It removes all barriers and unnecessary steps needed to engage someone that wants to buy with someone that wants to sell.

REVENUE ACCELERATION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH INBOUND VIDEO CALLS

The truth is that very few organizations pay attention to optimizing the customer journey from the first engagement, even though your first meeting with a prospect represents 80% of a deal's success. 

Between chatbots, forms, email, scheduling applications, and web meeting tools, it takes on average five to ten days to meet face-to-face with a qualified prospect, and 30% of these meetings are usually no-shows. In a highly competitive industry, this is unsustainable and ineffective. Suppose your competitor offers a one-click inbound video call engagement to a prospect and nailing that first meeting. What will be the chances that this particular prospect will buy from you that have scheduled a meeting for 5-10 days later? In a short sales cycle, ten days is an eternity. For SMBs and Mid-market companies that have 90, 60, 30 days or fewer sales cycles, where some consulting is necessary for clarifications, trust, and legitimacy are required, inbound video call solutions are a no-brainer. On the other hand, even though the sales cycle tends to be longer for enterprise sales, being the first to connect with a prospect can give you a substantial advantage.

However, we realize not every type of deal requires an instant response. In fact, for transaction sales (e.g., me buying a $20 t-shirt), I do not want to talk to the vendor. The vendor does not have the margin to speak to me. 

Since most revenue teams went full-on on digital strategies during the past couple of years, providing a unique customer experience and creating differentiation has become even more complex. Achieving high sales velocity and nailing first meetings are now imperative. That's why inbound video call solutions are not only a way for companies to increase lead conversion and accelerate revenue generation but also a strategic competitive advantage.