April 2020 - Technology
In this day and age the importance of the telephone for business has never been more evident. Here, we discuss the competitive advantages your business can take advantage of with the trusty telephone…
Being on the other end of the phone means they are dealt with immediately, rather than going to the bottom the pile. This is especially important when dealing with a potential new customer; if they want to speak to somebody and you don’t have a phone line, the chances are one of your competitors will and you’ll lose that business.
When a customer sends an email they have no idea how long it will take to get a response, or whether they’ll receive one at all. While on the phone, the customer knows that they have your full attention and that your priority is bringing the call to a satisfactory conclusion.
Whilst a lot of our world now does resolve around smartphones and social media, there are people who are barely online, if at all. If you don’t give these people an alternative contact method you run the risk of losing valuable customers.
The Office for National Statistics documents that in the first quarter of 2017, 89% of adults had used the internet in the last three months, while 9% had never used the internet. Only 41% of adults aged 75+ were regular users, so if you don’t offer an alternative means of contact you could be alienating almost 60% of this demographic.
A company that makes it easy to call and speak to a real person gleans more trust than one operating solely online. In an age of anonymity, it’s a comfort to know that there are real people standing behind a company’s products, services, and values. It’s easy enough to set up a website and process payments, but having a phone line also indicates legitimacy; fraud is an issue at the forefront of peoples’ minds, and many people have more trust in speaking to a person than in entering their personal information onto a screen.
Customers will remember a voice on the phone, and it gives them a stable point of contact. Emails are often dealt with by a team of several people, whereas if a customer can ask to speak to a specific person it can give your company a competitive edge. Word of mouth is so important, and when it comes to customers recommending your products or services, it’s really useful if they can say “phone and ask for X, they’re always very helpful”. A business with somebody at the end of the line can make a company seem more approachable than one that doesn’t.
While it is important to have a phone line, call volumes can sometimes be very up and down. It’s understandable that a company may look at their current figures and weigh these up against the cost of paying a member of staff to be waiting on the other end of the line. This is where we come in. We understand the importance of the telephone for business and can offer a dedicated phone line for your business, which can be answered in your chosen salutation. Our staff are trained to handle the ordering process from start to finish, as well as aftercare. We offer you the opportunity to come in and train our staff on-site, giving you the peace of mind that our Customer Service Representatives have a full understanding of your business and the standards you expect.
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