Businesses That Provide Poor Customer Service Will Lose Money

Written by admin on June 11, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Businesses should understand the importance of customer service, but many may not be paying enough attention to it and could therefore be losing money as a result.

Consumers have indicated that customer service is at the top of their list of priorities when dealing with a company. This comes before the price of the product, the delivery time or even the range of products that they have on offer.

The above-mentioned are likely to be areas of your business that you spend a lot of time considering. But do you spend as much time thinking about your customer service?

According to a recent survey by NewVoiceMedia, UK companies who have poor customer service are losing up to £12 billion a year. Of those consumers surveyed, half have or would take their business elsewhere as a result of a poor customer service experience. Even more worrying, 49% of consumers are put off from calling a business all together due to a fear of being put on hold or waiting in a call queue.

Customer service involves all of the areas which a possible client could contact you, and the way that you deal with their enquiries and orders when in contact with them.

One of the most important areas of your business will be answering customer phone calls. Although many businesses are dealing with their clients by using e-mails, social media and so on, calling a company is still the number one preferred method of contact which consumers use.

It is therefore important that you make this a priority in your business. Do you have enough staff to answer customer calls and enquiries? Are your staff trained in customer service skills? Do you have enough phone lines to handle the volume of calls you receieve, particularly during or out of office hours?

There is nothing worse than trying to contact a business and being constantly put on hold, or placed in a call queue. It is very difficult to like the company from the offset if this is the way that you have been initially treated. A possible client may decide to hang up the phone in favour of a different company, simply because of the quality of customer service that they feel they have received.

If you are looking to really make a difference and impact on your customers, it might be a wise idea to outsource to a call centre. By utilising these services, you can guarantee that each and every one of your callers has their call answered within just a few rings. They can also deal with the caller’s enquiry much more easily, by transferring them to the correct department rather than putting them on hold.

By paying particular attention to this area of your business, it will almost certainly pay off. A positive customer service experience leads 74% of those surveyed to be more loyal to a company, 71% would recommend a company and 44% would use the business more frequently, with 34% spending more money with the company following good customer service.

Posted in Articles, News

Why You Should Choose A UK-based Call Centre

Written by admin on May 31, 2013 — Leave a Comment

There are many UK-based call centres still in the country that offer professional and reliable services for your business. Although call centres seem to have received a bad name in recent years, their function is still very popular in the business world as they offer a crucial service that many businesses would be lost without.

A call centre will set up your telephone lines so that any of your business calls are directed straight to the call centre. A dedicated and professional member of staff from the call centre is then able to answer the calls, which can be very beneficial. Not only are they trained to deal with the call appropriately, but they are able to answer the call quickly, which can be more than you are able to do when your own business offices. Your current staff may only be able to answer one call at a time, and they may even have to put callers on hold which can cause frustration.

A call centre can work around your specific needs. For example, if you simply need a telephone answering service set up for busy periods of the day when your normal staff will be unable to answer the phone, this is possible with a UK-based call centre. However, it also works if you are a growing company and wish to dedicate more time to answering your customers calls, to help build your customer service reputation.

Choosing a UK-based call centre is important. Outsourcing to a foreign country can frustrate your customers, as it can take some time to connect their calls and they may not receive a very clear line when they speak to the foreign representative. Many consumers also prefer to speak to UK based people, where regional accents are clearer and more welcoming.

In recent studies, the Manchester accent was voted one of the friendliest in all of the UK. By using a Manchester-based call centre, you may find that your customers are immediately impressed with your business simply because they are speaking to what they perceive to be a very friendly and approachable representative to your company.

Posted in Articles, News

Man In Demand: Our Very Own David Joseph

Written by admin on May 30, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Our very own David Joseph is certainly a busy man. Having practised law for over 20 years he is very much in demand. Not only is he on the board here at CallCare, he is also a trustee at Medequip4kids and vice-president of the Manchester Law Society where later in the year he will become president.

So it was certainly no surprise that rapidly growing Manchester corporate law firm Gunnercooke have acquired his expertise to join its litigation team. CallCare know exactly the type of man they are bringing on board as we have benefited from his vast amount of knowledge and experience in our legal services arm of the business.

This move has made waves in the business world and is currently featured in the Manchester Evening News.

For the full article click here.

Posted in Articles, News

Outsourcing. A Better Way To Beat Tiresome Call Centre Menus

Written by admin on May 24, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Outsourcing

Following the news that a retired IT manager grew so frustrated of spending too long navigating through company call centre menus that he decided to launch a website created to both cheat the elongated call centre menu process and plea for companies to do something about it.

The man in question, Nigel Clarke, built a site designed to note the sequence of numbers required for the customer to punch in to reach the level of the call menu they needed to get to. He led research into hundreds of call centres of some of the leading companies in the country including BT, Halifax, Vodafone, Boots and Sainsburys.

An example given by Clarke was that a customer of Lloyds TSB home insurance who would want to report something like a water leak would normally spend more than four minutes working through as many as 78 menu options over seven menu levels to arrive at the point they would need.

When it is generally a companys priority to be as asccesible and user friendly to the customer as possible it sometimes becomes lost in the dozens of levels of menus they have to negotiate before reaching the desired service.

The majority find this tiresome to say the least.

So why such a lengthy process to get what you want from a call centre menu? Could it be that these companies just do not have the resources to direct your call as effeciently as they would like? Is time and/or money a factor?

The best and simplest solution that screams out immediately would be the option to make use of call centre outsourcing. Outsourcing is a great and inexpensive way of providing your customers and clients with an all round better service by allowing their call to be answered after fewer rings, without frustrating call menus and at any time of the day.

With the retention of customers at stake, a company can’t afford to lose the business of their customers which is why outsourcing is becoming an increasingly attractive option for companies looking to stifle the loss of business by using an out of house telephone answering service.

To reduce the number of unanswered calls a good idea would be to research which service accrues the most traffic on your lines and dedicate the above mentioned outsourced telephone answering service to tackle the number of lines of enquiry you will receive for that service.

Outsourcing is more affordable than you would expect and for the top notch, professional service you will recieve from CallCare there is no reason why you should continue to lose customers for either excessive call centre menus or for being on hold too long.

Posted in Articles, News

Ways To Save Time In Business

Written by admin on April 25, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that you need to do? If so, you aren’t alone.

A number of business owners would offer the exact same sentiments as the demands being placed upon you continue to grow and grow as your business develops.

If you want to function as effectively as possible however, it’s vital that you learn some time saving strategies. The more efficient you can become in your operations, the more time you will have to devote to what matters most – growing your business share.

Let’s go over a few key ways to save time as a business.

Know Your Primary Goals

The very first thing that you need to do in order to save time as best as possible is to know your primary goals.

If you don’t have firm goals and directions in place, you’re going to be rather scattered with your efforts. The more you can really dial in on what you must accomplish each day, the greater the chances are that you will actually get those things done.

Consider Outsourcing

One of the best ways to save time in business is to make good use of outsourcing. More and more businesses are doing this to help them run more effectively and are being met with great rewards because of it.

There are a number of things you can outsource from call centre outsourcing to admin support to having a personal assistant.

Whatever your need, you can get help for it.

Don’t Over Work Yourself

Next, make sure you know your limits. While some business owners think that the more work they can do, the faster things will get done, this isn’t always the case.

If you’re burning yourself out on a daily basis, your performance on all tasks will be impacted and you may actually complete them slower than you otherwise would.

Make sure that you do schedule in some down time for yourself each and every week. Taking care of yourself needs to be a priority if you hope to take care of your business.

Know Your Power Hour

In addition to this, make sure that you know when you function your best. Some people are morning people and need to guard this time very carefully.

If this is when you are most productive, don’t let anything creep into the picture.

On the other hand, for others they work best at night.

Knowing when you run optimally will help you make the most of this time, thus being more productive overall.

Say Up To Date With Technology

Finally, make sure that you’re staying up to date with technology as well. This is important because there are many technological advancements, especially when it comes to outsourcing as you can now do this all in a virtual set-up, that will quickly save you loads of time throughout the day.

Read up on the latest trends and decide which will work best for your business.

So keep these time saving strategies in mind and make sure that you consider employing them as best as you can so that you can reach the next level in your business development.

Posted in Articles | Tagged outsourced call centre, outsourcing

Must-Remember Rules For Customer Service

Written by admin on March 28, 2013 — Leave a Comment

If there’s one thing that all businesses need to be taking care of, it’s customer service. When a business has poor customer service, not only are they going to be losing the customer they are interacting with, but customers who have been dealt poor service are not going to keep their experience a secret.

If word travels quickly, you could find yourself rapidly losing more than that one particular client.

Fortunately, if you keep a few key rules in mind, you can supercharge your customer service and make sure your business stands ahead of the competition.

Always Answering Your Phone

Nothing is going to be more frustrating for a client than trying to call a business that’s not available. If you aren’t able to answer calls regularly throughout the day due to whatever reason, make sure that you have a call answering service or outsource to a local call centre

Stay True To Your Promises

Another must-do for any business is to be very choosey about the promises you make. If there are any doubts about your ability to keep them, don’t make that promise.

Nothing will sour a customer’s viewpoint of your business faster than when a promise is not upheld, so make sure you are prepared to back up everything you say with the appropriate action.

Deal With Complaints Respectively

Complaints are going to happen to every business at some point or another, there’s really no way of avoiding this.

But, if you handle them properly, they won’t turn away your frustrated customer. Make sure that you handle them quickly and always treat your customer with respect, making sure they feel heard throughout the process.

It’s very worthwhile to spend a little extra time training your employees to deal with complaints so that no mistakes are made throughout this process.

Add In Something Extra

One thing that will really help to set your business apart from the rest is to do something extra. Going that distance shows your customers that you really care for them and aren’t out to just make a dollar.

This could be something as simple as a future discount, a combined product offer, or follow up service with their new product depending on the nature of it.

Look for little ways to set yourself apart like this and it will make a massive difference on how happy your customers are with your business.

Be Friendly

Finally, make sure that you are being as friendly as possible. Do not overlook how important this is. A simple smile can go a long way, so make sure you are hiring staff that have a welcoming attitude and are going to give off a positive vibe to your customers.

If you can implement these simple yet highly effective customer services practices, you can rest assured you will have some happy customers who are coming back for more.

Posted in Articles

Why It Pays To Have Great Customer Service

Written by admin on February 15, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Whether you’re just starting out in business or you’ve been working hard for a few years now, one thing that you need to make sure you’re doing is putting good customer service policies in place.

A recent study that was conducted by YouGov and Cognito found that 53% of customers are going to be more likely to buy from a company who is delivering great customer services.

So while you may think that it’s more costly to implement good customer services policies, the fact is that this could very much influence your total revenue share in the market.

If your business is well-known for having the best customer service policies, not only will you retain your current customer base that much better, but you will attract new customers with much less effort as well.

82% of those who were surveyed said that if they had a poor customer service experience, they would most definitely be telling others about it, so if you aren’t up to par with your policies, word will spread fast.

So what can you do to ensure that your customer service is where it needs to be?

Let’s go over a few things to remember.

Make Good Use Of Social Media

First, make sure that you are staying up to date with the latest in social media trends. This is going to be important because times are changing and more and more people are turning online to find information out about businesses and also as a means of communication.

While you never want to completely do away with phone calls, you must also maintain a good social media presence.

Whether this be Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or otherwise, make sure you have your basis covered.

Make Sure You’re Answering Your Phones

Next, always taking the time to answer the phones quickly in an upbeat and positive manner will also rank in well with customers.

Never allow there to be long wait times on calls as this could possibly be the most frustrating experience a customer could face.

If you can’t handle the call volume yourself or your hired employee is unable to keep up, consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant or call centre service.

This is a very low cost way to really bump up your customer service level.

Offer Discounts From Time To Time

Finally, make sure that you are rewarding your customers from time to time. Offer ‘frequent flyer’ discounts to customers who are coming back to you again and again as this will help encourage their continued loyalty.

Try and create a database list of all the customers that you serve so that you can easily reach out to them from time to time and give information about special discounts or events happening with your company.

The more often you can do this, the faster good word will spread about you.

So there you have some important points to keep in mind. The facts are clear and you simply cannot afford to overlook good customer service.

Posted in Articles, Call Centres

Outsourcing to a call centre – how will my company benefit?

Written by admin on January 24, 2013 — Leave a Comment

Many companies can benefit from outsourcing to a call centre. A professional call centre is able to provide you with a bespoke and comprehensive telephone answering service, which allows you and your staff members to get on with your business day without the constant interruption of telephone calls.

Many telephone calls that you will receive in your business may be either cold callers or non-priority calls which can be attended to at a later date.

Occasionally you have a very important business call, but how can you tell these apart from your other callers?

You may lose a business opportunity simply by not answering the phone to this caller. On the other hand, your staff member may answer this call but may not attend to the caller in the most appropriate way – and the caller may feel like their business would be better welcomed elsewhere.

Your current staff are probably overworked and answering the constant telephone calls will be a burden to them. Outsourcing to a professional call centre will allow your staff to focus solely on their business activities, rather than answering any unwanted calls.

Important telephone calls can be transferred directly to the appropriate landline or even your mobile phone if this is required. This means that you benefit from a more productive work day where only the most important calls will come through to your mobile for you to answer. In turn, you will never have to worry about missing a business opportunity again.

The staff at the call centre are completely experienced and qualified when it comes to answering business calls. They will answer in a polite and respectful manner, which will give the best possible image of your company.

Building this kind of brand by improving your customer facing communications can set you apart from other, similar companies in your industry. This is all very important in a very competitive business world where customers can easily be swayed by another business, and where standing out from the crowd is vital.

Posted in Articles, Call Centres

How should you talk to customers on the phone when they call?

Written by admin on September 6, 2012 — Leave a Comment

When running a business most people tend to communicate through typing out emails rather than by actually talking over the phone; these emails can sometimes come over as cold and unfriendly. By changing your ways of speaking over the phone you will start forming a stronger relationship with your customers and they will become loyal to your company, and will continue to use your company over again with repeat business and also recommend to other like minded companies.

But how should you speak to your clients? You should ask yourself what is it your customer wants and what are they thinking about, and with this in mind, you should speak to your clients in a personal but strong and approachable manner.

Sometimes when we speak to someone in front of us there are often silences or pauses which we take as part of the conversation. When speaking on the phone however these silences we sometimes think are not professional and there should always be someone speaking. This isn’t the case however; your customers need some time to gain their thoughts giving them to formulate their ideas and response, so sometimes the silences can be advantageous.

When you have finished talking to your customers, have a customer data card to hand.

After you have spoken to them you can add to their card all the relevant and pertinent information you have gained over the phone, so as next time you speak to them you can recall some of their previous conversation or comments.

This will make them feel that they are important to you, maybe more so if the information is on a more personal level, and what they have said you have listened to and remembered. It’s a way of gaining their loyalty; they will feel they have a good rapport with you and your company.

And finally when you talk to your customers you must show them you really know your business and make them feel confident that they have made the right choice by choosing the right person for the job.

Don’t be hesitant when talking; be precise, never waver away from what you are trying to say, and if the conversation does go off the topic you must be authoritative and bring it back on course.

You may want to outsource a call centre to conduct this telephone answering service on your behalf.

Posted in Articles, Call Centres, Telephone Answering

Delivering Top Notch Customer Service

Written by admin on June 25, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Customer service is very important in business today. It has always been important, but the focus on customer service is particularly prevalent today when there is so much competition in the field. This means that you need to stand out as much as you can as a business.

Whether you have an online shop or have a shop or office block, it is difficult to deliver the kind of customer service that you think your customers deserve when you both tight on budget and staff members. A lot of companies are finding that they simply do not have the time to pay to customers that they would like to.

However, some companies are realising that by outsourcing, you can achieve a very high level of customer service but without spending a lot of money.

Outsourcing to call centre in London is something that a lot of different companies are doing, from small start-up companies that need somebody to answer their phones for them when they are out on the road, to larger companies who have high volumes of calls coming into the business every day.

By answering each and every telephone call, you can ensure that your customers receive a quick service.

The way that the call is dealt is also important. All of the call centre staff in the call centre are trained and qualified in the area of answering calls and customer service. This means that they know that they need to be friendly and professional, whilst being personable and understanding the caller’s specific needs. They will also deal with the call in terms of either passing on a message or transferring the call to whoever the caller needs to speak to.

In most cases, they will try and resolve the call within one telephone call so that the caller does not need to worry about telephoning the company back again, or waiting for a call back.

Despite the recent rise in social media, the telephone call is still the main method of communication from many customers to many different kinds of businesses.

This means that customer service really needs to be focused on and the key attributes of customer service are efficiency, professionalism and likeability. The customer needs to feel like they would use the company again, which builds a brand loyalty and stands the business out in the busy marketplace.

Posted in Articles, Call Centres