Receiving the calls of the customers is the very first stage at which customers interact with you. And no company would want to lose a customer due to the poor quality of phone answering process. Also, missing phone calls of various customers may result in loss of sales opportunities.
Therefore, it becomes essential for every business to hire a company that offers phone answering services.
Segments of phone answering services
Normally, the phone answering services can be divided into two major segments:
a) IVR services
Interactive voice response or IVR is a technology in which callers can generate information or resolve queries with the help of machine in an automated manner. Caller’s voice or keypad tones are used for input in IVR and response is generated through pre-recorded voice or text-to-speech technology.
b) Live Call answering service
In this part, the callers are able to talk to a live agent who resolves queries, provides technical support or takes order. Usually, a well-trained employee with years of experience in customer handling is hired to handle these calls.
Benefits of phone answering service
Companies looking to outsource phone answering service can derive multiple benefits from it which include:
1. Customers can call round the clock – Queries of the customers related to product/service can arise on any time of the day or night. And they will prefer to get it resolved immediately. Therefore, having 24 x 7 answering service ensures that customers don’t have to wait several hours to register a complaint or getting an issue resolved.
2. Improved process of order taking – Various retail firms and service providers allow the customers to give order through phone. The process of order taking is quite crucial and requires a lot of attention to avoid any errors. The professional phone answering services have agents which are well-versed in communication and listening skills. This ensures that order taking and processing is done in quite effective manner.
3. Companies are able to concentrate on core business activities – Companies are able to invest their energy and time into management and development of core business activities by outsourcing phone answering services.
4. Improve in sales through cross selling/up selling – Cross selling and up selling is done at various levels of business to enhance sales. Even answering services like order taking can be used to convince the customers to purchase some additional product or something of higher value. This definitely adds more sales in the account of the companies that outsource this process.
5. Multi-language answering service requirements – If you manage business at global level, then there are chances that customers who communicate in a different language can give you a call. In these cases, you may not be able to respond properly to the customers due to lack of language skills. Therefore, you can outsource answering solutions from call centers which offer multi-lingual support.
Tips for finest phone answering process
A call center offering phone answering solutions must follow some essential tips to ensure that customer is fully satisfied. Major tips include:
- Mention the name of the company while greeting the customer. This gives assurance to the customer that they called the right number and are talking to right representative.
- Make sure that energy level is maintained even if you are receiving 100th call of the day. Do not give an idea to the customer that he/she is not important to the company by sounding uninterested and lazy.
- Avoid slangs and informal language while interacting with customers. A proper formal language helps in developing a positive name for the company.
- Have a smile on your face while interacting while answering the phone as it reflects in your conversation which improves the overall quality.
- Verify all the important details with the customer before disconnecting the call to ensure error-free results. This will also give an idea to the caller that you take the service quite seriously.
Conclusion:
Make sure to choose perfect call center which makes sure that its agents follow all these points effectively. You will definitely be able to satisfy your customers effectively and boost your business by choosing a trustworthy call center service provider.
II Answer the phone in a way that customer loves to call you again II
Content summary: Effective phone answering services have ability to develop trust among customers for the company. Outsourcing this process can help in improving sales and allows the companies to focus on other major activities of business.
Summary: Phone answering services not only improve the sales but also ensure that customers are satisfied. Outsourcing this process can be wisest decision for a firm.