Your business is going great, your clients are spending lots of money, but you would love to expand.
The problem is that you can’t seem to win enough new clients to justify that big shiny building or warehouse. When you’ve hit an economic brick wall and it doesn’t feel like you can do much more to impress your customers, it might be time to consider hiring an answering service.
Believe it or not, hiring an answering service can help you win new clients. Here are four ways they can have a huge impact:
1. Catching calls you’d likely miss. You can’t be at the office all the time — it’s simply not possible. But when you’re not there, people may still call, which leaves you with a decision to make. Do you opt for a confusing voicemail maze to ensure that calls are routed to the right person at your business or do you hire a staff to watch the phones all day and all night? An answering service splits the difference between these two options by only charging you for the calls they answer, giving your customers the friendly voice they want and you an expense you can afford.
2. Contributing to “Excellent Customer Service.” A 2014 study by American Express showed that excellent customer service was the second most important factor for attracting new customers, just behind getting a “good value for the price.” That same study showed that customers are more likely to spend more money with companies that provide them with excellent care, so providing a 24/7 answering service for questions and emergencies can pay big in the long run.
3. Providing immediate answers. It’s true — callers are more likely than not to hang up on voicemail or computerized answering systems, especially when they’ve got a simple question. The increased frustration of not being able to access the information they need may send customers running in the opposite direction, straight into the arms of your competition. Having an answering service staffed with live operators means that your customers need only ask their questions to get direct answers.
4. Amplifying your word of mouth signal. There’s a lot of power in word of mouth referrals. In fact, 42 percent of people surveyed by American Express said they’d be more willing to try doing business with a new company if they were initially given a recommendation by family or friends. It was the number one reason customers gave for trying a new company, even above saving money. That means that your customer service team is the front line for new business — and having telephone professionals that will always answer a call when it comes in helps improve customer experience for both new and existing clients.
It’s always vital to take care of the needs of your current customer base, but if you want to catch the eyes of new clients, you’ve got to meet and exceed customer care expectations. An answering service can do a lot to help attract and hold on to new business and for a lot less than another full-time employee or complicated marketing campaign.
