Online access has raised people’s expectations for businesses to be open all hours.
You don’t want to let your customers down, but how can you meet their expectations?
The answer is to use the professional services of an outsourced, out of hours call centre.
Who’s working on your behalf while you sleep?
The digital economy provides tremendous opportunities for businesses to reach a wider customer base, even internationally.
But while a website can provide an open-all-hours shop window for your business, what happens when customers and prospects need to make enquiries out of normal working hours?
Realistically, you’re not likely to have the in-house resources to man your phones out of hours, and you might not have the office accommodation that permits this anyway.
The perfect solution is out of hours call handling.
These are highly trained, professional call handling operatives who will speak for you, managing your calls out of hours.
This means you don’t miss any important calls, whether they’re sales enquiries or other customers’ issues. At the same time, you’re presenting your business as a dynamic, fully customer-focused enterprise, at any time.
It is about expertise and insight.
Even though an out of hours telephone answering service relies on a third-party, the service performs as if it was part of your in-house resources.
These are experts in their field, using well-honed communications skills to engage with your callers.
They will first make themselves thoroughly familiar with your business and your target audience of customers and prospects.
Out of hours call handling provides you with a ready resource to provide an excellent level of customer care and support.
It becomes an extension of your normal working teams, answering enquiries in the same, professional way that they do. It is an outsourced service, but it is fully integrated into your business model.
If you have a dedicated team or role for call handling during the day, then an out of hours telephone answering service will plug the gap when normally you’d be closed for enquiries.
This service can help with enquires. If an online customer wants to place an order, for example, after browsing in the evening, then they can still pick up the phone and talk to someone.
In this way you can reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts you get online.
Out of hours call handling can also help manage your appointments calendar, ensuring that it is properly co-ordinated and that you are maximising your opportunities.
In an age where many businesses rely on dealing with customers remotely, human contact has taken on an even greater importance.
Don’t miss out on new customers, or risk making your current customers feel they cannot reach you, whatever time of day or night.
At SMARTStrat, we have operatives on hand around the clock, seven days a week to deal with out-of-hours enquiries and to take messages on your behalf. As a minimum, we record the caller’s name and telephone number before forwarding those details directly to you, via an email, to be followed up during normal business hours.
Our out-of-hours call centre team will always be briefed on everything, from your business’ services to pricing, and will be equipped to deal with all enquiries before picking up the phone. They will use their professionalism and in-depth understanding of your company to guarantee every caller receives only the highest-quality service and is left with a positive impression of your business.
There is a small surcharge for handling out-of-hours calls. However at SMARTStrat, we can provide customers with bespoke out of hours and Bank Holiday call packages to meet your business’ requirements. We offer a free seven-day trial to demonstrate not only the exceptional service service our out-of-hours team provides, but to also show you how our call-handling operation can help your business grow. For more information on our out-of-hours package pricing, call 01257 429677 or send an email to info@smartstrat.co.uk and a member of our team will be happy to assist.
In the majority of cases, you will not need to be on call for emergencies as our out-of-hours call centre team will be well-equipped, remaining calm and collected, while handling those situations on. Often information regarding an emergency can be passed onto you before being addressed the following morning. However, we understand you may wish to be alerted to out-of-hours emergencies, which is why you can provide us with a number to call you when matters that require urgent attention arise.
Provided your business operates using a diary and calendar-management system, we will be able to schedule work for you. Our out-of-hours team is flexible enough to adapt to any way of functioning and will ensure all work is correctly recorded, ready for when you return.
Your calendar will be updated in real time, meaning you will be able to see your it filling up wherever you are. Both new and existing customers will no longer have to wait until normal business hours to arrange work, making it easier for customers to call at times most convenient for them. We make sure your business will never miss an enquiry again, maximising both customer satisfaction and profitability.