In the first full week after the Presidential Election of 2016 many Americans appreciate the fact that their evening meals are no longer interrupted by political calls, and that they do not come home to an answering machine full of robo calls with prerecorded messages from the top candidates. And while we are just getting used to the absence of these often annoying political calls, we still may have one hope for the phone calls that we initiate ourselves.
A live answering service.
As the end of 2016 winds down and we look to complete many end of year tasks like shopping for holiday gifts and making necessary healthcare and home maintenance appointments, most Americans would really prefer to talk to a live answering service instead of having to click our way through a number of computer generated prompts. The computer prompts may work for routine tasks like refilling a daily prescription, but for many of the tasks in life it is necessary to talk to a real person.
Live answering services provide businesses with an economical way to handle hundreds of calls in a day, while at the same time provide a personal touch to both current and potential clients and customers.
- Answering the phone provides a personal touch that most companies no longer provide.
- Never have a machine take the place of connecting with your customers. You may not have time to answer all of your company phone calls, but a live answering service does.
- Strong customer relations are often what many consumers indicate that they miss. They are tired of punching numbers trying to work their way through a complicated series of computerized prompts.
- We are a nation attached to our digital devices. In fact, 91% of all Americans have their mobile device within reach 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We do not, however, have patience for being put on hold!
- Engaging with a new or potential client increases the chance that customer will return to you the next time that they need your product or service.
- Real voices every hour of the day have impact. Fool me once and fool me twice, but the third time that your customer lands on a hyper and friendly voice that is recorded, you may lose her or him
- Two-thirds of consumers indicate they would be willing to spend more with a particular company that provides excellent customer service.
- Help should always be available. Often, a website no longer includes an easy to locate phone number. And while online companies may want you to contact them through instant messaging or email, 80% of consumers indicate they would prefer to contact customer service representatives over the phone.
- Every customer deserves personalized attention. The sooner your company realizes this, the sooner they will be able to grow its customer base and increase the number of clients who return to you for goods and service.
- Physicians answering services and other types of professional answering services train their after hours telephone answering services to know the answers to the most commonly asked questions. These services can obviously contact a doctor, nurse, or other skilled technician whenever necessary.
- Hang ups are the most common responses to the annoying list of prompts that many companies put their customers through. The decision to use a live answering service will help grow your business.
- One chance may be all that you have. When a new customer, for instance, goes in search of a new doctor, a new appliance repair person, or a new daycare, they want to talk to a live person on that very first phone call.
- Never underestimate the power of a personal approach. Your customer leads a busy life, and while she may be happy to deal with technology most of the day, when she calls your office she wants to feel like she has been given personal attention. Not a prerecorded mechanical answer.
- Empathy and emotion are two of the most necessary elements essential to strong customer service experiences. Heavily scripted calls, then, are not the best approach because they eliminate what is the most important.
If you are looking for a way to boost the traffic in your store or business, take the old fashioned approach: Answer the phone!
