Small and growing businesses often find themselves struggling to keep up with their customers’ expectations, a task that only grows more and more difficult as communication becomes more instant and competition and disruption across various industries multiplies. However, one of the simplest ways to improve customer satisfaction involves a relatively simple change in call flow management.
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What is Call Flow Management?
Call flow management refers to the system by which a company routes incoming callers to various lines in order to answer and address questions, schedule appointments, take orders, and provide other customer service.
Bad Call Flows
A failure in call management may look like missed calls, or callers repeatedly landing in voicemail, calls being answered by rude or disinterested employees, callers reaching the wrong employee (someone who couldn’t deal with the problem or issue behind the call), or simply extended ringing times before their call is answered. Each of these scenarios takes a toll on your company reputation and over time will lead to suppressed sales, lost clients, lost revenue, and poor feedback and public reviews. And often, companies may not even realize that these problems are occurring!
Solutions
Fortunately there are a number of cheap, effective, affordable, and overlapping solutions for businesses of various size. These solutions may include:
- Inbound Call Control Features. Available from your provider these controls direct calls to different teams or departments using programmable criteria such as the geographic origin of the call, what number the customer originally dials, the incoming phone number, the time of day, or the day of the week the call is placed.
- Local Phone Numbers. Making use of local phone numbers for each of your service areas can make customers feel as though they are working with a smaller, more intimate local company, increasing their attachment and comfort with your company.
- Regular Call-Management Checkups. An annual or semi-annual review can help your company spot problems and avoid future negative experiences when callers are calling in. Keep a record of complaints and act if a complaint arises repeatedly. During reviews check your call statistics (a quality call management system should be able to provide them) and look for patterns and trends.
- Have a Team In Place to Take Responsibility. Ultimately, when calls come in someone on your team has to pick up and take charge. If you spread this responsibility around the office, you run the risk of calls being missed, employees getting bogged down answering calls when they have other work to do, and employees with minimal customer service experience answering calls leading to poor experiences. Instead, you need a set of employees ready to handle calls quickly, cleanly, and professionally in order to provide the best possible impression for your clients.
Reliable Receptionists provides just such a team. Our virtual receptionists are ready to work for you, answering your calls with the utmost professionalism and taking the pressure of answering callers off your staff. We’ll work with you to streamline your call flows and will pick up the slack so you can focus on work without worry.
For more information on our services, prices, and other details, please contact our representatives directly at (925) 627-4200.
