GIVE YOUR COMPANY THE HELP IT NEEDS TO GROW WITH A SMALL BUSINESS ANSWERING SERVICE.
Running a small business can be an exhilarating challenge, but it’s important to know when to reach out for help and support. If you’re experiencing any of the following problems, it may be time to hire a small business answering service to help make your company run more smoothly, improve your customer service, and even capture more sales leads.
1. Too Many Missed Calls
Even one missed call per day can be one too many. When you have a missed call that didn’t result in a voicemail (most don’t), it’s especially troubling. That potential customer may have decided to simply hang up and call one of your competitors! If you run a 9-5 business, or a company that closes 1-2 days a week, this can mean that your availability for new customer calls is actually really limited. With a local answering service, you can be available 24/7 to anyone who calls your business.
2. Your Voicemail is Full
If your customers do leave a message, they probably weren’t thrilled about reaching your voicemail in the first place, but there’s nothing worse than calling a business and getting an error message about the voicemail system being full. It’s unprofessional and it may seem like new customers aren’t a priority to your business. A professional small business answering service will be able to take messages and communicate them seamlessly to your staff.
3. Your Staff Doesn’t Have Time for Current Customers
Another pitfall of answering the phones yourself means that your staff has to divide their time between the customers they are currently serving and the customers calling on the phone. No customer wants to be ignored while a staff person carries on a long phone conversation. If you’re finding that your employees aren’t able to balance their time and have to deal with the ringing phone too often, (which is a good problem) then hiring a small business answering service can take some of that work of your business’ plate.
4. Your Customers Don’t Book Services in Advance
Without a solid after-hours system for booking appointments or services, your customers have to call during business hours to try and schedule their next visit to your business. If you run a medical office, veterinary facility, salon, or even a hotel, it’s important for your customer or clients to be able to easily schedule appointments – whether in-person or over the phone. A professional small business answering service will work with your current and potential customers to book services or appointments using a clear scheduling system. When it works well, it feels like your schedule fills up overnight without you or your team having to lift a finger! With a full schedule, you can better schedule staff shifts, as well as get a sense for your business’ cash flow ahead of time.
5. Potential Customers Need Basic Business Info
Finally, if you find that current and potential customers are often calling your business to ask for basic information about what you offer, your location, or any number of other fairly straight forward questions, a small business answering service might make a lot of sense for your company. Even if you have that info posted on your website, many customers like to call and speak with a real, live person about hours of operation, products or services offered, directions, and more. A quality small business answering service will work with you to create customizable scripts so that your customers get the right information, right away, even if they decide to call late at night or on the weekend!
For more information on how a small business answering service can take your company to the next level, contact us for a free 7-day trial.
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
How to Maintain a Small Business with MAP Communications
Using a Small Business Answering Service to Balance Work and Family Time
