Many people can recall a time when an answering machine seemed like the great, new big thing. What a perfect solution to getting in touch with someone, even if they happen to be out of the house and away from the phone. It was revolutionary for its time, and yet, we have already surpassed that era of technology. Plenty of people do not even own landline telephones anymore, and if you need a laugh, try asking a child to figure out how a rotary phone works. The thought of being tethered while you converse with someone seems archaic by now. And as times have changed to allow us to be connected at virtually any moment, answering machines also seem to be a thing of the past.
Small business answering services improving customer relations
About 80% of consumers trying to get in touch with a business for one reason or another will hang up without leaving a message if they hear that their call has gone to voicemail. Now, there are some big businesses that customers can expect to find an automated message on the other end of the line when trying to contact, whether they like it or not. But the impatience of the modern consumer can prove to be problematic for small businesses, who may not have the staff to handle the influx of calls, or their hours of operation may not be conducive to every customer’s availability. This is where after hour answering service companies can come in. Businesses can hire a a call answering service firm to handle the calls that the regular staff might miss. Small business answering services can improve the relationship between the business and its existing and potential customers, by making each customer feel that they are being heard and served.
Why employ a small business answering service?
In a world that once had to use fire and lights or horseback to signal one another from afar, our communication methods have seen incredible technological advances. Today, about 91% of the citizens living in the United States have a mobile device within reach during every hour of every day. Connection with the world is literally at our fingertips. So when about 80% of consumers would rather contact a customer service agent by phone, and the most important thing to a customer when he or she contacts a call center is having the problem at hand quickly and efficiently resolved, a small business answering service can greatly benefit both the business and the customer at the same time. The answering service helps field the many incoming calls, promoting good, prompt customer service, and creating and bringing back loyal customers to the company.
Being genuine brings in more business
People want to interact with people, not machines. Especially when there is a need to be met or a problem to be solved. The last thing that a person wants to deal with when they are already frustrated from not having found the answers they are looking for is to have to sit through the process of being talked at by a machine that cannot listen to the intricacies of their specific issue. A good answering service will interact with customers in a professional yet personal manner. If the calls become too heavily scripted, customers will feel the absence of empathy and emotion, the two main elements that are crucial to successful interactions. About two thirds of consumers are more likely to spend, on average, 13% more money on the products and services of a company that will provide excellent customer service.
Interacting patiently and positively with customers greatly improves business within a company. If hiring an answering service can increase these types of interactions, and thus boost business, the service could end up paying for itself!