Using a Quality Answering Service to Improve User Experience

Posted September 18, 2013 in Accurate message delivery, professional answering service by admin

Why do service businesses often dismiss using an answering service? The most common a quality answering service keeps clients happy misconception is “they just won’t be able to answer the phone like we do”. Unfortunately, those who make this statement don’t really have a good understanding of how they answer their own phones. How your business answers the phone includes the calls that are routed to a voicemail, the calls that are answered by busy employees whose focus may not be 100% on the caller, and those callers who simply disconnect when they are unable to reach a live person. When you consider seriously all the inbound calls that your company receives and how they are handled, you begin to understand that you may not be providing the quality experience you thought you were.

A Live Person is Part of a Quality Experience

When a person picks up the phone to call your business, their main goal is to talk to a live person. When they don’t get a live person, they experience frustration. Depending on the nature of their call and the urgency of their issue, this frustration will be somewhere on the scale from minor annoyance to majorly upset.

Voice-mail is Becoming Less and Less ‘Acceptable’

Years ago, people accepted the fact that when they called on a business entity, they may need to leave a voice-mail. But with today’s ever-increasing digital communications, they have options for e-mail, text, instant message, website forms, social media, etc. If they are picking up the phone to call, it is likely they have exhausted those other options, or their issue is something that can only be addressed through a live conversation. The point is, you are likely (albeit unintentionally) frustrating your clients on a regular basis – and it could be costing your revenue.

What is Your Business Really Missing?

Although digital communications have enabled many conveniences in today’s world, live-person interaction is still the most effective form of communication when it comes to managing the expectations of your clients and prospects in service related businesses. If your staff is unable to answer calls at times during normal business hours, or you are only relying on voice-mail for after-hours calls, you need to do an honest assessment of your communications processes. Can missed calls from prospects or clients be missed opportunities for significant revenue? Could client retention be increased by better managing their expectations and always providing a live person for them to contact? A realistic assessment in this area on a periodic basis can help you identify and address issues that have a real impact on the bottom line.

Finding a Better Way through Quality Answering Services

Just like ice-cream, there are many different flavors of answering services out there. The key is to identify a quality organization that is willing to act as your communications partner, has a diverse client base, invests regularly in its own people and technologies; and collaborates with you to develop an inbound calling program that is customized to your specific business needs. Most service businesses care a great deal about their clients so finding ways to give their clients and prospects a better user experience enables better service levels while at the same time improving revenue.

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