The HVAC industry has been undergoing a significant number of changes over the past several years, much like the rest of the overall economy. Expectations of high-quality customer service in all sectors have grown significantly for a combination of reasons, which include greater competition and the ability to post company reviews on social media and review websites such as Yelp. In the HVAC industry in particular, where customer service is often one of the single greatest differentiators between competitors, the importance of an effective customer service plan is even more important. Of course, business owners should already want to provide good customer service, however it is increasingly just a necessary part of doing business.
The HVAC industry is also experiencing fairly robust growth, with recent reports indicating annual growth rates around 3.6% per year, and about $82 billion in annual revenue industry-wide. As the industry continues to grow, the demands on HVAC company support staff will continue to grow as well. In general, companies will have two options to deal with the growing number of customer support calls they receive: dramatically increase the payroll and staffing levels of their customer support department or find an outsourced alternative.
Fortunately, there are a number of tools and services available to companies that wish to increase the quality of customer service they provide. An answering service for HVAC companies is a great way to reduce customer call wait times while providing answers to questions when a customer wants them.
General benefits of an answering service
The most significant benefit of an HVAC answering service is the fact that it allows businesses to have a customer service line up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without needing to pay a salary to a customer service department for all of those hours. There is no question that customers appreciate being able to reach an HVAC company with questions on their schedule, and an answering service allows them to do precisely that.
The other benefit to having an HVAC answering service comes from the fact that the virtual receptionists can screen calls and escalate the truly difficult or involved/complicated questions directly to your company’s customer service department. By allowing the easier questions to be answered by the answering service, your own customer service department can give as much time and attention to the complicated issues as each one requires. This process will almost always lead to more satisfied, as well as more loyal, customers.
The MAP Communications competitive advantage
In addition to providing industry-leading call center services for HVAC businesses, MAP Communications provides a number of competitive advantages as well. In addition to having the fastest pick-up times in the industry – which customers certainly value and appreciate – MAP Communications also has a specialized call screening process which helps streamline the escalation process. This is a feature that almost none of MAP Communication’s competitors can offer.
The other area in which MAP Communications leads the industry is in their robust and proprietary account analytics tools. These tools allow MAP Communications to take a detailed look at a number of important metrics. For example, companies can see what time of the day/week/month/year they receive the most calls, and what those calls are most often in reference to. If there are distinct patterns, companies can take steps to ensure that those questions are answered on their website, during sales or checkup calls, or in a number of different ways.
Ultimately, the biggest differentiator in the HVAC industry is the ability to provide high-quality service to customers when there is an immediate need. An HVAC answering service like the one provided by MAP Communications is exactly the type of advantage HVAC companies can utilize to maximize their competitive edge. Ensure that you’re not missing calls, or missing potential customers to your competitors by partnering with MAP Communications. For more information about MAP Communications’ HVAC call center service, contact us or sign up for a no-obligation 7 day free trial.
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