First impressions matter

At some point during the Great (not so much) Lockdown of 2020, I decided to adopt a dog. Of course, I went bananas shopping for her online. Toys? Check. Treats? Check check. However, when I ordered a new collar that was too big, I had to contact the business’s customer service department to process the exchange. As this was my first time shopping from this particular retailer, I didn’t know what to expect. Would I be on hold until the pandemic ended? Should I get something to snack on while I wait?

Before I could make a decision, I was being greeted by a warm, bubbly voice. Doloris was both professional and friendly, and she transformed a standard, run-of-the-mill interaction into an enjoyable customer service experience that felt like a breath of fresh air. In the midst of processing the return, she asked me about my pup, and she told me about her four-legged friend. We talked about the current pandemic and how we were both holding up, which helped personalize our interaction. She wasn’t just some voice on the other end of the line – she was an actual human who was experiencing many of the same challenges I was facing, such as adjusting to working from home and not being able to find any toilet paper.

By the end of the call, a new collar was on its way to me. I was told to donate the original if I didn’t want to ship it back (so awesome!), and I was smiling and laughing as if I were speaking with an old friend. That’s what I’d call an amazing first impression.

Positive experiences lead to positive online feedback

After I hung up the phone, I felt like I needed to tell everyone about my great experience. As someone who has worked in the customer service industry for years, I know how important positive feedback is. And research shows that 91% of consumers are more likely to use a business that has positive reviews. So, I went to social media to tweet at the company, insisting that Doloris be given a raise immediately! Most importantly, my review wasn’t incentivized, meaning that the retailer didn’t ask for my opinion in exchange for cash or freebies, which is a definite online review snafu, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Now, I am just one person whose opinion may not seem to influence much. But did you know that businesses with nine or more reviews posted within the last 90 days earn 52% more revenue than the average business? Every review really does count! And small businesses thrive off of a strong digital footprint.

Word-of-mouth referrals mean more business

There’s no question that online reviews impact sales. But even more personal and perhaps more valuable is word-of-mouth marketing. As any basic business model can tell you, an increase in referrals means an increase in prospective customers. In fact, referrals are so important that many companies often develop referral programs for existing customers who bring in new business. For example, a property manager might knock a few hundred bucks off a tenant’s rent whose referral resulted in a signed lease. Or a burgeoning hair salon might reward a referral with a discount to both the existing customer and the new customer.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, trusted referrals are the Holy Grail of advertising. So, how does a business get customers to refer them to their friends and family? They provide a flawless customer service experience. And how do they do that? By offering these three things:

• 24/7 availability: We’re all well aware that emergencies don’t wait until business hours. Whether it’s 2 AM on Christmas morning or 3 PM on a Tuesday, offering 24/7 support is essential in showing your customers that you care.
• Omni-channel communication: Offering support via phone, email, chat and/or carrier pigeon allows you to stay connected with more customers.
• Professional and friendly representatives: Customers appreciate representatives who are polite, professional, and adept at problem solving. When you invest in a solid customer service team, your customers will invest in you.

Times are tough right now for small businesses everywhere. If your small business needs an extra hand with customer communication, sign up for our 2-week free trial to see what SAS can do for you.

The post Why Amazing Customer Service is Essential During a Crisis appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Despite social distancing mandates, the blight of COVID-19 has actually brought people closer together on a humanitarian level. Maybe you’ve checked in more with family. Maybe it’s made you more aware of the needs of the elderly or disabled in your community, or increasingly grateful for medical professionals and other first responders. With true face-to-face communication at a standstill, we’ve been pushing the limits of technology as we maintain contact with our social networks. And for business owners, enhanced communication has never been more critical than it is now.

In some respects, an organization’s availability translates to reliability. When customers have an abundance of ways to connect with you, and when you promptly and effectively respond to their questions and concerns, you build trust and the likelihood of repeat business. So, if you already have a business contingency plan in place, a strong online presence, and an answering service managing inbound calls 24/7, you’re a step ahead of the game and well-prepared for the unexpected. On the flipside, if this situation has undeniably highlighted holes in your communication strategies, then you have some work to do to keep yourself afloat. Just a few changes will improve connectivity across all channels.

#1 – Coordinate Website & Social Media Updates

First things first, update your website, and be sure that information is changed as the situation evolves. Include details such as:

Open / Close Hours

• Open hours during which patrons may visit
• 24/7 availability, depending on the type of business
• House calls or technicians’ hours

Contact Methods

• Standard contact
• Website and Social Media contact
• Emergency support contact

Products / Services

• Changes to pricing or availability of certain products or services
• Order lead time or delivery delays

COVID-19 Precautions

• If house calls or technicians’ visits are necessary, spell out how you will protect your employees and customers from COVID-19. For example, “All of our technicians are equipped with protective outerwear, shoe covers, gloves and face masks to minimize the risk of spreading or acquiring germs.”

You’ll also need to use social media outlets to let customers know that you’re still operational and here to help. If you’re in a time crunch, there are social media management tools that enable you to update all social media accounts simultaneously. Set time aside each day to update platforms with consumer tips, pictures from the field, new developments, inspirational stories, and anything else that will put an encouraging spin on a challenging situation. Welcome customers’ comments and personal experience, and follow up so that they know you’re listening. Show them how much you value their continued support. Then, when this crisis is behind us, your reputation for being a gracious business owner will precede you.

#2 – Send Text & Email Blasts

If you haven’t already sent out a mass communication to your customers, create a bullet-points list that echoes the information posted on your website, and include an introductory message from the owner or CEO regarding the company’s response and commitment to serve customers, come what may. That personal touch goes a long way, and it is more important now than ever. We all have the same concerns. It’s best to address them directly, from the top.

Don’t forget to include quick links for contact by phone and email, as well as links to your website and all social media pages. Before you click send, check to see that you have the appropriate text and email consent on file. Be mindful that FCC guidelines protect consumers from receiving unsolicited text and email messages.

#3 – Offer Video Chat

A slew of businesses and social networks are jumping on the video chat bandwagon, using services such as Skype, Webex, GoToMeeting, and Doxy.me, among others. Many are end-to-end encrypted (research each service to look for these features), which makes them accessible for a variety of industries. It’s as easy as sending a link via text or email to your customer or patient and signing on at the scheduled time. Though it is not a viable solution for everyone, it affords the ability to stay connected and offers peace of mind to those you serve.

#4 – Whenever Possible, Enable Remote Working

Having a cloud-based CRM and ticketing system such as Zendesk, NetSuite or HubSpot, means that any employee with an Internet connection can access data and respond to customers’ queries, regardless of location. Some systems will even present an alert if colleagues are working on the same ticket simultaneously, which saves time and prevents doubled efforts. Couple that with a cloud-based phone system such as RingCentral or Grasshopper, and your team will be able to maintain the high-level customer support that you’re known for, all from the comfort of their shelter-in-place.

At a time when the job market is so uncertain, one key takeaway here is that establishing a remote-working protocol just may be the one thing that boosts job retention for millions of people. Having a robust work-at-home plan benefits customers and employees alike. Once established, it will always be available as a failsafe. And, from an employee’s perspective, knowing that you still have a steady paycheck is invaluable.

#5 – Consider an Answering Service

Much like the national run on toilet paper, people start scrambling when they realize that the goods and services on which they depend may not be available in the short term. With this, you may see a swell of inbound calls from people wanting to know exactly where things stand. Yes, this information is on your website and social media outlets and was sent via text and email. But there is nothing like the reassurance of speaking with a live agent.

For example, SAS offers a free answering service. through our two-week free trial period. With that comes a number of benefits, including customized upfront greetings, warm and cold transfers to you or your employees, reach on-call for emergencies, appointment scheduling, message delivery by text and email, integrations with a variety of CRM software, and more. Depending on the service, you might pay per-minute or per-call after the trial period has ended, and plans can be adjusted based on pre- and post-COVID call volume. Customers will appreciate being able to reach someone, even if your offices or storefronts are closed. And you’ll appreciate never missing a call or having to wade through a flood of voicemails.

We’re lucky to be living in a time when reaching out to people has never been easier, and nothing drives that point home more than when a single virus shuts down half the world. Whatever your industry, and however large your customer base, communication is the backbone of every powerful business. Strengthen your approach now, and you’ll fortify your bottom line in the midst of, and well after, the COVID-19 crisis.

The post 5 Ways to Help Your Business Communicate Throughout the Coronavirus Crisis appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Over the past week, our staff has been speaking to many small businesses whose teams are feeling overwhelmed by inbound calls dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies are short staffed or working remotely for the first time, and the volume of calls companies are getting is not going down. Customers are calling with questions and business staff is not equipped to handle the calls alone. At SAS, we have our own protocols to make sure your business is able to stay open and receive calls. If you’re using an answering service or virtual receptionist service as part of your crisis communication plan, we’re here to help.

Create your plan

A good outsourcing plan involves the following:

• What: What types of calls will the answering service receive?
• Who: When a message is received, who needs to be notified? Will the message go to an individual or a group? Based on the types of calls you feel the service will be receiving, should different people or departments be notified about different types of calls?
• How: How will your staff get notified? Will they receive an email? A text message? Would you prefer calls be transferred to your staff?
• When: Should your crisis communication plan be on paper until a crisis hits or should you look for an answering service now as a precaution? Even if you don’t contract with an answering service right away, research and know who can get you setup quickly in the event of an emergency.
• Where: If a disaster should happen, where will your business operate from? What should the receptionist tell callers?

Align your communication

Communication is essential during any crisis. For your plan to be effective, you’ll need clear communication channels for your customers, employees, and even vendors. To make sure the answering service is representing you during a crisis, we recommend the following:

• Designate someone in your company to control the setup of the answering service and have that staff member be the main point of contact from the answering service in case they have questions about protocol or changes. This way, there is a continuity of setup.
• Depending on what method you are using to transmit messages (email, text, transfers, etc.), make sure you’ve setup forwarders, distribution groups, or ring to groups on your end through your own software.
• If you’ve already activated an answering service, run through mock emergency scenarios at least every quarter to make sure the systems are still working on the answering service side, and to verify you’ve set up your distribution channels correctly on your end.
• Don’t forget to update the plan to align with changes in your staff

After a crisis

After your business has returned to normal operations, be sure to touch base with your staff to evaluate how your crisis communication plan worked and what can be improved.

No matter the disruption, your business is never in it alone. Answering services and virtual receptionist services like SAS are always available for your business.

The post It’s not too late for a business contingency plan appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.