If you run a small business, you’re probably dealing with endless phone calls and other small, time-consuming tasks. Do you think that hiring a call center is out of your budget?
In fact, it’s a small investment that pays off well in terms of customer satisfaction, professional image and time to focus on important things. Here are 16 ways that a small business answering service can help your business thrive.
1. Look Professional
You may run a small business, but you want it to have a sharp image. You might be operating on a very small budget, but you still want callers to feel like they’re dealing with a well-run, well-organized and professional company.
When people call your company, they don’t want to get a mail inbox or a constantly ringing, unanswered phone. A call center handles every phone call with courtesy and efficiency.
2. Catch Those Key Calls
You can’t answer every call you get and still run your business or take care of your customers. Make sure you never miss an important phone call. Let the service know which callers or types of calls you prioritize. You can go about your day knowing that you’re not going to miss those calls.
3. Make Hiring a Breeze
Are you hiring? if you run an ad for an open spot, you’re likely to receive many emails and phone calls. Let the service take them, screen them and set up interview appointments. The answering service can give callers your address and directions, too, saving you time on those time-consuming details.
4. People Prefer Talking to Human Beings
It’s true that many companies allow people to conduct business online or through an automated service, but most people are happy to find a live human being on the other end. Talking to a live person gives callers a positive impression of your business. A small business answering service is the best way to create a great first impression on your callers.
5. Reach More Customers With a Bilingual Receptionist
If you’re in a multi-lingual marketplace, don’t leave yourself out in the cold. Many call companies have bilingual employees who can take calls from a huge variety of people. A virtual receptionist who’s bilingual makes it easy to reach a much larger number of potential clients, suppliers, employees and customers.
6. Avoid Inbox Impasse
Your inbox fills up faster than you can keep track of it. How many hours a day do you spend going through those backed-up messages, taking down notes, trying to prioritize which ones you should call back first and which you can safely ignore? In the meantime, more and more of your other work just keeps piling up.
Don’t waste time in this cycle. An answering service screens those calls for you and forwards the important ones to you first. You can get on with other things and stop spinning the cycle.
7. Avoid Angry Customers
Even the best-run business has occasional customers who are angry and want to vent. A trained, professional call center representative is your best approach to handling these angry customers so that you don’t have to.
Are you frustrated when you get on the phone with an upset or dissatisfied client? You may not know what to say or you may lose your cool. An experienced, trained representative call take the call and make the customer feel better.
8. Build your Business
Building a small business requires intense, focused work. You need to spend time on this or your business won’t succeed. Who is going to handle the phone calls while you’re busy marketing your services, going to meetings, arranging advertising and all the other things you need to do? Don’t let those ringing phones hold you back from what needs to be done.
9. Don’t Lose Customers
Even in this day and age of automated calls, customers still prefer to reach a live human being. They feel that their voice mails are just going to be ignored. Sadly, that’s often true if you don’t have a precise, specific way of handling those calls. Frustrated callers will get annoyed or even take their business elsewhere.
10. Take Calls From Anywhere
You don’t have to limit the geographical reach of your business. A service like Endicott Call Centers can take calls from all over your neighborhood, your state, the country and the world. Tailor the service to do just what you need and watch your business grow.
11. Save Some Money
You can’t hire a full-time staff. It’s just not in your budget. You still want to create a professional image and have someone deal with the pesky details that take up time in any business. A small business answering service is the perfect answer. You don’t have to worry about hiring, training or supervising. You’ll save money and save time.
12. Focus on What You Like
You didn’t get into your line of work to become a receptionist, customer service agent or appointment setter. Hiring an answering service allows you to focus on the things you love about your business.
13. Set Your Appointments
Does your business require you to set customer appointments? It can be hard to keep track of them all without a full-time assistant. If you can’t swing the expense of one, get the help you need with call center representatives who can set them for you. Callers will get a live person on the phone who knows your schedule and can fill it for you.
14. Get Support for Emergency Calls
Customers calling with an emergency are happy to find a live person. You can direct the service to field emergency calls to you, once the representative has taken down pertinent information so you know what you’re dealing with.
15. Set Sales Calls
If you’re in sales, you’re probably on the road a lot. Who is making your sales calls? While you’re out on calls, have a service call your leads and ask about setting up an appointment. Instead of having to face this on top of your regular work, you can come back to a list of set appointments who are ready to hear your pitch.
16. Fulfill Product Orders
Do you sell a product? A call center can do order fulfillment for you, taking orders and handling the payment paperwork. This frees up your time and lets you focus on more important things.
Partner With the Best
If you’ve decided that it’s time to grow your business while letting someone take care of the necessary but time-consuming details, it’s time to partner with Endicott. Contact us to learn how our call center services can help your small business grow, thrive and compete.