If you have a small business, you are probably trying your to save money while also providing the best customer experience that you possibly can. As you consider how to serve your customers, consider the small business answering service.
Why is An Answering Service Important?
Compared to all other forms of customer service contact, telephone customer service produces the highest satisfaction rates. In fact, 69% of customers are most satisfied when they can speak on the telephone to a business. A full 80% of customers say that they prefer to contact a customer service representative over the phone, and what they’re looking for most of all when they call is a quick resolution to their problems. Where the small business answering service comes in is allowing you to have someone to answer the phone when you cannot. This could be because you need an after hours answering service, or because you simply don’t have the personnel to assign someone to answer the phone constantly.
Why Not Just Get Voicemail?
People hate voicemail. Most people, 80%, hang up if they call a business and hear a voice mail. And increasingly people are not tolerant of businesses that are not contactable at any time. More than 90% of people in America have their mobile device within their reach 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They expect the businesses they work with to be reachable too. A report from Forbes done in 2016 shows that businesses are losing an average of $62 billion every year because of bad customer service. You don’t want to be part of that group, and a small business answering service could be the way to provide this customer service at a reasonable cost.
Why Not Contract Out To Scripted Services?
Heavily scripted calls are probably not the best way to increase customer satisfaction. When polled, 75% of customers say they would prefer to be called back rather than have to wait on the line to talk to a representative, and scripts remove empathy and emotion from a customer service experience. The right answering service companies provide that personal touch that makes your business stand out, and consumers are generally willing to spend an average of 13% more when they have had an excellent customer service experience.
The best way to solve your need to have personal contact with your customers at any time of the day, while still saving money and the time of your own employees, is to get a 24 hour answering service. A small business answering service gives a good impression to your customers, relieves you of the burden of answering calls, and could you be the answer to your business needs.