Investing in customer service should be just as important as your other functions like marketing. Why? Because it directly connects you to your customers. When customers are satisfied with your products and services and your customer service, they can help your business acquire new customers without cost. Word-of-mouth and positive feedback are more effective than any other marketing effort.
Over 50% of customers across all age groups typically use their phone to get in touch with a customer service representative, making it the most-used channel for customer service. Therefore, the easiest and fastest way to augment your current efforts is to adopt a call answering service.
Using a telephone answering service to strengthen your support team will not only make your customer support more efficient, but it can also become your edge against the competition. Balance the extreme ends of your business, increase team productivity, and boost customer experience with a call answering service. Learn more about its other benefits below.
1. It has customisable options
Many telephone answering services offer customisable options to suit your business needs and guarantee an excellent customer experience. For example, you can customise the call script to match your brand voice and tone so that operators can manage specific inquiries accordingly.
Customising scripts also allow the agents to take on and resolve basic to average queries and have your team follow up only when necessary, which helps offload your staff.
2. It builds your credibility
Working with a call answering service ensures that your customers interact with professional agents. These services have trained and competent representatives who can effectively and appropriately handle calls. If you don’t have an in-house customer support team, it would be more beneficial for your company to work with trained professionals than start from the ground up.
Improving your customer support with the help of professionals ensures that you provide your customers with the proper treatment and what they need. This way, your business enhances or gains reputation and professionalism when it comes to customer communication.
3. It’s more convenient for customers
While social media platforms, email, and website live chat are excellent communication channels for support, statistics show that over 76% of consumers still prefer phone calls to reach customer support agents. In addition, when businesses make it easier to connect with live agents, they feel more comfortable reaching out and are more inclined to stay as customers if the experience is positive.
Moreover, a call answering service can provide extended hours for customers who cannot make personal calls during the day. For inquiries they need immediate answers to, they can interact directly with a brand representative. The sooner you’re able to solve their issues, the happier they’ll be.
You can also add an extra step to customer engagement by emailing and asking for feedback after the phone call.
4. It helps schedule appointments
Most businesses are only open on weekdays for a specific period. That means they can miss appointment bookings from loyal and prospective customers during the weekends or time beyond operating hours. Apart from helping you manage urgent calls and messages, call answering services can also aid in booking and scheduling appointments.
Allowing your customers to schedule appointments 24/7 makes business sense. Customers who have to wait for a call back to schedule an appointment are inclined to reach out to your competitors capable of serving them faster.
Plus, your answering service team can act as your virtual receptionist and calendar management assistant to secure necessary appointments you may otherwise miss if the request came in late.
5. It captures every call
Providing live customer support after hours can set your business apart from your competitors. However, setting up round-the-clock support is a big investment. This is where outsourcing your calls to a call answering service comes in—it’s a cost-effective option to keep your communication lines open.
By implementing 24/7 support, you can reduce customer response time. It enables you to serve and support customers from all around the globe, making it possible for your business to grow its target audience outside your local region. With this, you get to serve your customers whenever they need assistance and catch as many opportunities as possible.
6. It boosts employee productivity
Passing certain functions of your customer support to a call answering service reduces the workload of your in-house staff, allowing them to work on more urgent tasks instead of taking on basic queries. The answering service can handle a cushion of the calls and connect to your team only when necessary.
With this, interruptions within the team decrease, and they can build a more efficient workflow for optimal productivity and performance.
Answer Every Call, Serve Every Customer
When you miss calls, you miss potential leads and loyal customers. So, no matter what stage your business is in, a telephone answering service can help build and reinforce strong customer relationships.
Exceed your customers’ expectations and meet their needs with a reliable call answering service. Planet Numbers UK can enhance your customer support efforts and bring you the features above and more. Get in touch with Planet Numbers UK to learn more about VoIP, call answering services, and voice technology suitable for your business.
