One of the biggest things people grouse about when contacting a business using the telephone is being put on hold for an indefinite amount of time, being put through an automated system until they finally reach a human caller, or having bad customer service in general. Since a little over 60% of consumers prefer to do customer service over the phone instead of online or in person, having good customer service for telephones is important. A small business answering service, for an in-home dental practice, for example, might be a great way to better customer service. For those who don’t want to invest the money, over half of customers who took a survey said they would be willing to pay more money to get better customer service.
So What is A Professional Answering Service, Anyway?
A professional answering service is one that businesses can hire to take calls, dispatch messages, and provide service to a business’s customers, even if the main employees of the business aren’t there. They deal with complaints, concerns, and questions of all types. They can take a variety of forms from being a small business answering service to a much larger service with virtual receptionist services. Most of these answering services are a 24/7 answering service as well.
What Are The Benefits of Having A Business Telephone Answering Service?
For any type of business, such a service boosts customer satisfaction, since customers can get in touch with the business at any time. A small business answering service can increase trust among local customers and expand a customer base. Word of mouth is important. People who get bad customer service are more than twice likely to tell someone they know about that experience, versus a good one. Since these services are normally part of a larger business or corporation themselves, they don’t have to adhere to the other business’s schedules. This means they can be 24/7, 365 days a year, and be accessible to customers who also work during the day, who may also have questions.
Your business can also stand to gain a good deal of revenue from investing in such a service. Good customer service can help with return buyers: a little over 80% of customers say they’d go back and buy something from a business after receiving good customer service. Additionally, if you have a 5% increase in your customer retention, you can see over 125% gain in terms of profits. If that weren’t enough, companies who make good customer service a top priority usually have profits 60% better than that of other businesses who don’t invest in good customer service. Don’t be one of those businesses!
Increase your profit, gain a loyal and happy customer base, and do your employees a favor by investing in a professional answering service. You can be available to your customers without having to extend hours for your current employees and address all concerns or questions as soon as they come up. Everyone benefits from this type of arrangement. If you don’t have one, look into it!
