Now aside from the occasional flattering Google + or Yelp review, or unless you’ve mastered the art of mental telepathy and magical crystal balls, how do you know what your customers are really thinking? The answer is, you probably don’t – but the SAS Survey app can help with that. Configuring the survey app in your portal gives you two ways to poll your callers and solicit their feedback, and it is fully customizable, right down to your company logo. Let’s take a look at what it can do.

Create Live Surveys

What better way to find out what customers think than to ask them while you already have them on the line? Live-operator surveys go beyond the standard question, “Are you happy with the service you received today?” When calls are coming to a close, operators can effortlessly add, “It was my pleasure to help you today! Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions about your experience?” Since the caller is still connected, they are much more likely to say, “Sure.” And that’s where the app comes in. The operators will read the survey questions you created to the caller. Once they’ve completed the survey, you have valuable feedback to slice and dice from your portal.

Instantly Email Post-Call Surveys

Another option to uncover customers’ honest opinions about your business is to email them a survey at the end of their call. As long as the script is programmed to ask for a caller’s email address, the survey you created will land in each customer’s inbox. You can customize the subject and body of the email so that they will know it’s from you, and if you’ve built the survey with your company logo, that will be displayed on every page. Emailing the call center survey instead of completing it via phone allows customers to provide feedback in their own time.

Use the Survey Link to Support Your Marketing Efforts

For most Specialty Answering Service clients, the survey app is free-of-charge and available for use, inside or outside of the call script. That means that you can include a direct link in your own workflows, such as part of your help desk or after-case surveys, when soliciting post-purchase reviews, or even as a footer in automated customer feedback emails. The results are readily available for download as a .CSV file that will include the date and time the survey was completed, the originating IP address, and of course, your respondent’s answers. In addition, the portal provides you with a visual summary, in graph format.

With an inside track on the positive and not-so-positive aspects of your small business, you’ll have the info you need to succeed. So, go ahead and test out the SAS Survey app today!

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Whether you’re a customer calling an answering service or the client who hired an answering service, every interaction needs to be flawless. Don’t flush your business down the toilet with a bad call handling.

If you don’t want to turn a perfect balloon moment into an unexpected toilet delivery, try Specialty Answering Service for free, and give great customer service a whirl.

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First things first. Make a list, and check it twice.

You certainly have the potential to pull in your share of this season’s serious retail revenue – and the key is to be well-prepared. If you weren’t ready for the swell of Thanksgiving Day and post-turkey day shoppers, don’t lose your feathers. There is still time to get things going in the right direction. Here’s a list of a few e-commerce basics that you’ll need to review:

• Double check with your IT team to find out if your servers can handle increased site traffic. If not, then add a backup server, or consider cloud hosting services.
• Keep your web content simplified for fast page loading.
• Revisit the site layout. Is it inviting and easy to navigate?
• Advertise discounts front-and-center.
• See to it that you have the right selection of merchandise.

Did you ask Santa for stellar customer care?

Servers, web content, and product availability should obviously be pretty high up on your holiday checklist. But one thing that many e-commerce retailers neglect is paramount to anything you offer online – great customer care. Unless you make it easy for your customers to shop with you, they will click their way to your competitors faster than you can say jingle bells. That’s why offering exceptional customer service at every stage of the shopping experience is hugely important. Bonus: it’ll also land you a coveted spot on the Nice List.

In some cases, customers’ needs can be addressed via live web chat. However, not everyone is comfortable with live chat. Some people need the personalized service that only a phone call can accomplish. With that idea in mind, many e-commerce companies outsource their customer support to an answering service. That’s where Specialty Answering Service comes in!

‘Tis the season for SAS.

In a flooded online marketplace, even one bad review can damage your reputation. And unhappy customers mean that you can all but forget about positive word-of-mouth advertising. So, while you focus on major e-commerce elements such as merchandise selection and site layout, Specialty’s e-commerce call center will give you a hand with order taking, answering questions, providing shipping info, and processing payments. Our well-trained, live agents are friendly, reliable, and available 24/7/365 – because the Internet never sleeps!

With SAS on your team, customers will always be connected to a real person, not an impersonal, automated answering queue. Our 14-day free trial gives you an opportunity to see how a skilled call center can help you raise revenue at the most critical time of year for all retailers – when your bottom line goes from red to black. And after the trial period ends, we can continue to grow with your business and adjust your call handling as your needs change.

Even the North Pole outsources.

A sure way to increase customer loyalty and build trust in your brand is to make customer service excellence a focal point of your business plan. That’s why Santa uses SAS. (Afterall, even magic Elves need a hot cocoa break…) With 30 years’ experience in the call center industry, Specialty Answering Service is a one-stop-shop for your sales, service, logistics, and customer care needs. We are known for our innovative call center solutions and client-friendly technology that will keep you up-to-speed as each call rolls in. So, what are you waiting for?

Get started on your free trial today, and let SAS make your holiday season bright. For those National Lampoon’s fans out there, we leave you with an uplifting quote from Cousin Eddie. SAS: “That’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

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