Closing Call: Sonicport.com gets most new subscribers over the phone
The phone remains one of the most effective ways to close sales and convert leads to new customers – even for Internet marketers.
Telephone response accounts for more than 70% of new subscribers at Sonicport.com Inc., a Santa Monica, CA-based online marketer that generates close to 500,000 Web hits daily. Sonicport sells consumer subscriptions for Internet connections and services for $9.95 to $14.95 monthly.
The company has built a paid subscriber base of more than 24,000 customers since March. It has accomplished this through direct response television with some direct mail and e-mail promotions designed to drive traffic to its portal Web site (www.seeyouonline.com) and generate inbound telephone calls.
DRTV spots on more than 140 stations nationwide generated the bulk of subscriptions to date. The TV spots and Web site both feature an 800 number. “It’s unusual to have a [DRTV] call-for-action be going to a Web site,” says David Baeza, CEO of Sonicport.
The company reached its goal of getting the cost per customer acquisition below $50 within five months. Sonicport’s DRTV costs of $1.08 per lead generated and $18.84 per order generated are significantly below the DRTV industry averages of $4.87 and $21.95, respectively, claims Baeza.
Sonicport uses a series of eight 120-second DRTV spots to promote its Web site and generate subscriptions to online services. Tests indicate that the method by which consumers choose to respond can be influenced to a limited extent by increasing or decreasing the prominence of the 800 number and Web site address.
Through DRTV campaigns and DR radio – which it began in July – Sonicport hopes to achieve a 50-50 balance between phone and online response.
Inbound e-mail generated by DRTV and the Web site is handled in-house, while Sonicport hired Omaha-based West Interactive Corp. and three other teleservices agencies to answer 3,000 to 5,000 inbound phone calls daily.
