Inviting Client Calls

Case Study: 1-844-627-VELO

Velo IT Group is a managed IT services provider (MSP) with a comprehensive set of offerings that ensures clients have everything they need from an IT, cybersecurity, and telecom perspective. Getting phone calls from end users is vital in ensuring all systems are running properly. Securing and promoting their custom phone number has improved Velo’s ability to service clients to the highest standards.

Background

In business for over four years, Velo IT Group works with companies across multiple industries with a sweet spot for working with small and lower-mid market businesses with employee populations of 10 to 310 people. They work in a variety of verticals with a specialty in legal, financial services, healthcare, energy and oil & gas. There are over 40,000 outsourced IT service companies in North America, and Velo IT Group differentiates itself from other providers by fundamentally aligning incentives with clients. The company isn’t just available to fix things when they break, but rather they continuously monitor and maintain all systems to ensure uptime. "If a client has an IT issue, and their work is interrupted, they lose money. The way we model it is that if our clients are disrupted, we lose money too," explains President and CEO Taylor Toce. "We are motivated to be proactive and get ahead of any potential issues."

Welcoming Client Phone Calls

A critical element that enables Velo to stay ahead of issues is strong communication with end users.

Phone calls are absolutely critical. We would be devastated if our phones went down. Inbound calls, for us, are usually our clients needing help with something. Email is a noisy communication channel. To get to the heart of the issue, and to get the detail we need for a solution, a one-to-one phone call is necessary."

– Taylor Toce, CEO

One of the challenges, however, is the reputation of a stereotypical IT department as being tough to work with or taking a long time. Clients are primed from bad, past experiences to avoid calling because it’s often too much of a hassle. But, the worst thing that can happen is that a client doesn’t call when there is an issue. They somehow manage with the error, their work isn’t getting done efficiently, and frustration builds. By the time Velo is made aware, a molehill has become a mountain. This is a situation Velo wants to avoid, so they look for every opportunity they could to get that SOS call to happen as quickly as possible. A tool that helped? A custom phone number: 1-844-627-VELO. "We have our numbers printed on mouse pads and other items clients can have on their desks. If having an easy to remember number gives us an edge for an employee to call us, we’ll take it. We’ll take every inch we can get."

Results

Before the branded number, the company was struggling with people who were hesitant to call to ask for help. Having a branded, toll-free number encourages customers to call at the first signs of trouble. The number is not an afterthought or something that needs to be searched for. Rather, it’s an expression of the brand and a statement about the one-to-one relationship they want to create with all their clients’ employees. "The number is a good, memorable tool. It makes people confident that we are a professional group. We take so much pride in our brand and service, we put our name in the number. They know they aren’t going to get an auto-attendant or the runaround when they call us." For Velo, the custom phone number is more than just a tool for connection. It’s a brand statement, the embodiment of Velo’s values. Having a custom phone number is an announcement that they want to hear from customers, and that invitation to call is part of what makes Velo the trusted managed IT services provider it is today.