How an Answering Service can Give Smaller Businesses an Edge

Just because larger businesses have more resources doesn’t mean they have the edge over small businesses in every area of operations. In fact, there are quite a few areas that small and mid-size businesses have an advantage over their larger counterpart, and chief among these is customer service.

First, there’s the simple matter of size. The larger the company, the more they’re going to be bogged down with customer service issues, and the more people who are calling in to customer service lines, the less likely they are to get truly personal and helpful service, for a variety of factors. For one, it’s easier to get put on hold when calling into a larger company’s customer service line. For another, representatives who deal with customers having the same issues all day long are more likely to get burnt out, and therefore give less effective service. Smaller companies who use an answering service avoid both of those problems.

Small businesses are also nimbler than their larger competitors, in the sense that they are able to make business decisions much faster. Larger businesses need to pass potential decisions along a long chain of command and likely need various different ranking executives to approve them, but smaller businesses or startups can make the same decisions quicker since they don’t have as many people to pass through.

This idea of “nimbleness” is important when it comes to customer service, because it makes it much easier for smaller businesses to make changes they find necessary after reviewing their service records. For example, if groups of customers continually come to the business’s answering service with the same concern, they can address that concern in a quicker and more efficient manner than larger businesses can.

Finally, with larger companies, customer service representatives don’t have as much room to be creative or personal with clients. Every single representative is trained to follow standardized protocols and told to never deviate from them. With a smaller business, representatives can take more time to get to know their customers and treat them in the way that best benefits both the customer and the business, while still following the customer service guidelines that the business set in place.

So if you own or work for a small business, don’t worry! Using an answering service like TeleDirect can give you a leg up over even some of your largest competitors. Contact TeleDirect today to find out more about the kind of services that we provide to our clients.

How to Properly Handle Customer Complaints

It’s an unfortunate reality of customer service that every once in a while you’re going to have to deal with an unsatisfied customer. The key is to handle any complaints that arise from your customers in a swift, appropriate manner.

By using the following tips, you’ll be able to transform what could be a potentially uncomfortable situation into a great opportunity to improve the business you represent:

Respond. It’s extremely important to make sure you respond to the complaints of every customer you have, especially in today’s business world. After all, one unhappy customer can go online and tear down your public image. Be sure to address all complaints as quickly as possible—the worst possible thing you can do is ignore the customer.

Admit your mistake. Even if the mistake wasn’t made by you personally, you will gain a lot of respect from the customer if you take responsibility on behalf of the company. If you act professionally and show the customer that you care about making the situation right, it will go a long way toward solving the problem and retaining the customer’s patronage.

Don’t give in to emotions. It can occasionally be quite tempting to give in to your emotions and try to get into an argument with the customer about what the actual problem is. Don’t give in! Stay as positive as possible and it will be much easier to solve the problem.

Keep a casual tone. While your attitude should be professional, it helps for customers to know they’re talking to an actual person and not a corporate robot. It gives them the feeling that the person on the other end of the phone can relate to their problem, and wants to help them solve it. This is especially important in online interactions, when customers can’t hear the inflections of your voice.

Solve. If you can’t solve the actual problem there may be alternative solutions available, such as free products or discounts. Anything you can do to appease the customer and keep them coming back should be done.

Dealing with customer complaints can be an intimidating situation (especially for newer representatives), but following these guidelines should make it quite painless. TeleDirect’s customer service representatives are all highly trained to handle these types of situations. Visit our website today to learn more about our services!

Sales Advice for Customer Service Representatives

As a customer service representative, you’ve likely undergone quite a bit of training. This training could include how to transfer calls, the best practices for dealing with any problems that arise, and more. But there are some traits of a representative that you can’t be taught—you have to focus on developing them yourself.

Here are some traits that will help you succeed in your work as a representative:

Patience. Don’t rush your customers. Instead, listen to them carefully and let them go at their own pace. This will allow you to avoid getting frustrated with customers and allow them to avoid getting frustrated with you trying to rush them. In the end, this will lead to better sales.

Enthusiasm. Frankly, this trait is quite contagious. If you give off a happy and positive tone over the phone, your customers will definitely pick up on this, and it will rub off on them. This demeanor will reassure them that not only will you be able to help them, but you’ll enjoy doing it.

Commitment. Don’t take any shortcuts—do whatever it takes (within limits, of course) to send the customer away happy. If you need to offer special discounts or free items, so be it. If you need to transfer them to someone who knows the answer better than you would, that’s fine. The ultimate goal is to get the customer what they want, and this takes commitment.

Concentration. It’s hard to help customers have a great service experience if you aren’t giving them your full attention. Concentrate on what they’re saying rather than thinking about what you’ll say next. This will help the problem solving process go much quicker and smoother!

Integrity. If you’re honest with your customers, they’ll be able to tell, just like they’ll be able to tell if your motivations lie somewhere other than helping them get what they need. Remember, your job is customer service. The customer always comes first!

If you manage to master these five traits, you will likely be an outstanding customer service representative. Your customers will be able to tell that they’re speaking to someone who truly cares about their problems and wants to help them find a solution!

CRM Solutions from TeleDirect

A great Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is crucial to growing your business. At TeleDirect, we understand that your business success is dependent on first impressions, and our customer service representatives focus on making the most out of your call center leads.

Once your leads are captured, having an efficient and effective CRM system in place is necessary to organize and move your sales process forward. TeleDirect has a solution for all your CRM needs, whether you already have a system in place or need to build new infrastructure.

Already have a CRM system?

If you’re happy with the CRM system you are currently using, there’s no need to learn or purchase a new one. TeleDirect uses an application programming interface that allows your company to load your leads from our customer service team directly into your existing CRM system.

TeleDirect is also part of the Salesforce AppExchange, so if you’re a Salesforce user, our data will integrate seamlessly with your existing account.

New to CRM?

If your company currently doesn’t have a CRM system, TeleDirect offers our own proprietary CRM solution. Like many other popular CRM options, the user-friendly TeleDirect CRM tool is web based and allows you to set reminders, see the status of leaves, and perform a variety of administrative tasks.

TeleDirect’s CRM tool and our easy integration with other CRM tools gives your team an on-demand view of all your leads. With our full floor of customer service representatives waiting to capture your inbound calls and new leads, you can be confident that every prospective lead receives prompt and accurate answers.

Your employees are busy making sales and serving your customers, so a CRM system should be a solution to your business needs, not another burden. Whether you continue using your current CRM system, or transition to TeleDirect’s easy-to-use proprietary software, our team is ready to help you manage your valuable customer relationships.

If you have any questions about how you can get started with our services, feel free to contact TeleDirect today. We’d love to assist you in any way possible!

Get Better Customer Retention with TeleDirect

It’s extremely important to constantly be seeking out new customers. However, just as important is how you treat your existing customers. If you can’t earn repeat business or create some sort of loyal following, it’s going to be difficult for your business to achieve the success it desires.

A major part of earning repeat business comes from the quality of customer service that you provide. The two factors that are most likely to turn customers off of your business are a poor product and poor service. Poor service in particular grates on customers, who will easily get frustrated if they feel that your customer service process is inefficient or unhelpful. Even worse, a bad experience can lead a customer online, where they will create reviews to share their negative experience with the entire world, including potential future customers.

With TeleDirect’s services, you can avoid these problems. We take care of all of your customer service needs with professionalism and efficiency, meaning that you have plenty of time to devote toward improving your product and your other marketing endeavors. Since we operate all day, every day, you will receive far more service for your money than you would by simply hiring a nine-to-five secretary to handle your calls!

Every single one of our customer service representatives is highly trained to deal with all different types of customer service situations. They are able to politely assist clients with questions of all ranges of complexity, and even are able to diffuse potentially angry customers, meaning you won’t have to worry about those customers going online and spreading negativity about your brand! We also know that some customers prefer online communications over phone calls. With this in mind, we offer live chat features that are manned by actual trained representatives who can assist your customers quickly and easily over the Internet.

Finally, our representatives know to take the extra mile. Customers will keep coming back to your business if they are made to feel special. Our representatives go out of their way to ensure that your customers are getting the best experience possible.

Do you need assistance in the area of customer retention? Let TeleDirect help you! Visit our website today to get started with our services!

TeleDirect’s Benefits for Advertisers

There are all sorts of benefits you can get from your work with TeleDirect. However, these benefits aren’t only limited to the more traditional types of businesses looking to revamp their customer service. Our services are also extremely handy for media buyers, advertising agencies, and even direct mail houses!

Consider this: there are a number of actions that you have to take every day that probably require a good deal of “waiting.” You have to wait for lead reports, you have to wait to properly work your leads, you have to wait for small pieces of data about your advertising campaigns to come in. Aren’t you tired of all this waiting? We certainly would be!

With TeleDirect, say goodbye to the wait and hello to efficiency that you may have never thought possible! We will give you immediate access over the internet to working toll free numbers for all of your mail, TV, and print campaigns. We give you the ability to instantly change your scripts for all of your customer service calls. We provide software that allows you to immediately capture and work your leads. All of this and much more will transform your advertising into an extraordinary venture.

Not only will you get your leads quicker, but you’ll also get more of them. Think of it this way: how many leads do you miss out on simply because you only operate during standard business hours? With TeleDirect’s 24/7/365 service, you will never miss out on a single lead ever again. For example, with our seminar reservation services, approximately one-third of all reservations we handle come in to us after standard business hours! What would happen if we weren’t there to assist them? This all-day, every-day operation gives you a leg up over the rest of your competition and ensures that your message is getting sent out to your leads at all hours.

The instant nature of TeleDirect’s services also solves the problem of any last-minute work you need to get done. Sometimes clients dump things on you at the very last possible minute—it happens. With TeleDirect, you can avoid scrambling. Instead, calmly build a new script, create new FAQs, and solve your problems in mere minutes, with no headaches involved!

If you work for an advertising firm and have more questions about how TeleDirect can specifically help your business, feel free to contact us today! We’d love to answer your questions and get you started with our services.

Becoming a TeleDirect Reseller

There are way more benefits to being a TeleDirect client than the outstanding customer service that you’re guaranteed to receive! With TeleDirect, you have the opportunity to earn extra money as a reseller! This great program has helped us to expand our services while giving our loyal clients extra cash to put back into their business.

The way it works is simple. For every referral that you make to TeleDirect, you will be able to earn 10% of everything that new client pays to TeleDirect for their first 12 months using our services. We will give you the online access that you need in order to track the clients you have referred, so you can manage your revenue stream while letting us do all of the hard work!

As an existing client, all of your revenues you get from referrals can then be applied directly to your business’s account. Plus, if you send enough referral business our way, those earnings you make could wind up making your service with us totally free! That’s right—you could get all of our 24/7 live CSR service, automatic messaging and interactive voice response all for no cost at all, as long as you provide enough referrals to us!

Other than finding new clients to refer to us, your work will be minimal. We will handle all of the sales and set up for your referrals—you won’t have to worry about getting them started! We will still provide all of the customer service for both of your businesses. Every month, we will send a check your way with the total amount of money you’ve earned through your residual income stream. Once you have that check, you can use it to give to your referred discount or hire someone to work on extra projects, if you so choose. It’s your money!

In order for a client to qualify as a referral, they must have spoken directly with you about their need for TeleDirect’s services, and you must give TeleDirect their contact information. All you need to do is submit the information through a form on our website.

This program is just one more reason to let TeleDirect handle your customer service! Not only are we committed to making your customers happy, but we want you to be happy as well!