When it comes to running your company, customer service is key. But here’s something you didn’t know: a 2016 Forbes report found that businesses are losing $62 billion per year due to bad customer service. And, too often, poor business answering services are a significant part of this loss. When your customers are constantly left on hold, they lose patience. And when they lose patience, you might lose their business.
If you’re trying to revitalize your business’s phone practices, then the following are just a few ways that you can minimize this hold time and keep your customers satisfied.
- Make calls more efficient
Go over your current call best practices and see where your employees can save time. Perhaps your staff needs better methods or scripts for getting calls back on track. You may also be able to improve your computer interface to better find answers to customer questions.
- Utilize electronic communication
Live chats and social media customer service can also be useful for many companies. This way, your phone calls will be reserved for only the most pressing customer questions. Small difficulties can most often be addressed more quickly online.
- Keep track of call data
If you fail to keep call data, you may not even know what you are trying to improve. Know how long each of your employees is spending on each call and consider holding training sessions with each staff member individually.
- Improve your training methods
Your training for the call answering service employees may no longer be relevant. By refreshing their training regularly, you can keep all employees up to date on call center best practices. This way, your customer service can grow with your business. You may also consider asking your employees about what training points that want to learn more about.
- Hire a professional answering service
If your company is booked to capacity with calls, a professional answering service may be the only solution you need. These experts will streamline your customer service techniques to be more efficient and productive for both employees and clients. Even better, clients will still be able to reach a human voice after hours and on weekends.
By having the best possible professional answering services in place, you will be able to stay in contact with customers as much as possible. This will keep them more satisfied with your product or service, encouraging them to remain a customer for years to come. And these continuous relationships are the foundation of your business’s future growth.