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Category: Tips

What is Call Handling?

11th July 2023 blog
What is call handling and how to improve it.

Voice calls remain a vital customer service channel because customers can receive immediate, real-time, and tailored support. Phone calls allow customers to express their queries and concerns, especially complex ones, …Read More »

Ultimate Guide to 1300 Numbers in Australia

10th July 2023 blog
Ultimate guide to 1300 numbers in Australia.

If you’re doing business in Australia or have lived there, you’ve probably seen different phone number types, including 1800 numbers, 1300 numbers, 04 mobile numbers, and local area code numbers. …Read More »

4 Cloud Communications Trends for Businesses (2024)

4th July 2023 blog
4 cloud communication trends you must know in 2023.

By 2025, 85% of organizations will be “cloud first.” And by embracing cloud communications, organizations can enhance collaboration, improve efficiency, and enjoy the benefits of scalability and cost-effectiveness. Cloud technology …Read More »

Global Call Forwarding Launches New Voicemail Transcription Feature

27th June 2023 Press
transcription services

Global Call Forwarding launches a new Voicemail Transcription feature that enables customers to receive and view voicemail transcripts in their email inbox. DELRAY BEACH, FL, June 2023 This feature expands …Read More »

What is Business Communication?

20th June 2023 International Business, Learn
business communication

The way a business communicates — internally or externally — is key to its success. Through communication, you can determine the strengths and weaknesses in your business and its products. …Read More »

7 Proven Tips to Deal With Difficult or Angry Customers

14th June 2023 Customer Service, Tips
Tips for dealing with difficult or angry customers.

Dealing with a difficult or angry customer can be tricky, yet it is a common occurrence in the customer service industry. And because it happens so often, customer service employees …Read More »

5 Ways to Increase Your Sales with a Business Phone Number

14th May 2019 How To's, Tips

Communication is critical in all relationships across the board; not only does that include your mom, your coworker, and your spouse; it also includes your customers. How is your business communicating with your customers? Are you offering your customers multiple ways to get in contact with you? Do you think that an email address is sufficient? Learn five different ways to increase your sales with a business phone number.

Businesses have been changing a lot in recent years in order to keep up with the ever-evolving digital landscape. One thing that hasn’t changed is the need for a business phone number. Nothing will ever replace speaking one-on-one with another human being who knows your business, in and out. If your company does not have its own phone number, then you may be missing out.

  1. Uphold your brand’s image
    When customers stumble upon your website, before purchasing they will often look to see if there is a contact number on the site. This ensures that if there is a problem with the order or product, they will be able to get in contact with someone who can solve their issue. Email addresses are okay, but having a phone number is much better because it lets your customers know that they can get in contact with you at any time of the day that may be convenient for them. Think of your friends; the ones that are the easiest to get a hold of are the ones that you are going to spend the most time with. As you would build a relationship with a friend, you can also create a relationship with your customers.
  2. Use your business number as a marketing tool
    A business phone number can not only be used as a tool to communicate and make a sales call, but you can also use it to track your marketing efforts. Wherever you advertise your business phone number, whether it is on your website or business cards, you can track where the phone calls are coming from. If you decide to use more than one number or change the extensions, you can place different numbers across each marketing effort. For example, if you were to create a billboard with one of your business numbers, you could track all the phone traffic from that particular number and compare it to the business phone number that is advertised on a flyer.
  3. 5 Ways to Increase Your Sales with a Business Phone Number
    Source: Stockphoto.com O#100179306428 – ID#10020014405

    Use it to solve complex problems
    The best way to solve a customer’s problem is in person or over the phone. It is easy when you have this voice-to-voice interaction because a customer can explain their problem in detail. They also will not have to endure long wait times during a chat space or over email. One phone call can solve many issues in a short period of time.

  4. Build a relationship
    Outbound calls aren’t the easiest way to make a sale, but it is still possible to do so today. When you make a sales call to a customer, you are able to listen to them directly. You hear what they have to say, how they say it, and you clearly can decipher what they want and what they need from your business. When you can gauge your customers on this personal level, you are able to create a better product to suit your customers’ needs. You will need to invest your time into making these outbound calls and forging these relationships, but it will be worth it to create a better product and see it sold to your original customers and the customers you gain through word of mouth.
  5. Easy to remember
    When choosing a business phone number, it is better to choose something easy to remember. A phone number that sticks in the mind of your customers will ensure that you have a steady stream of calls from customers. You can make your phone number easier to remember by purchasing a toll free number or a vanity number, or if you already have a number, think about adding a jingle to the number in commercials and web ads. Adding a business phone number will help you increase your sales.

Effective Problem Solving to Build Customer Confidence

14th May 2019 How To's, Tips

Having your own business is a competitive environment. One wrong move and you could be losing customers to your competition. That’s why it is essential that your business focuses on problem-solving to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. But what happens when your company makes a mistake, such as not allowing a customer to return a damaged product or putting your customer on hold for a lengthy amount of time? Your customers may take that very personally.

Building Confidence while Problem Solving for Customer Satisfaction

Your business should be focused on keeping the customers’ confidence because once you lose the confidence of a customer, you can lose everything that you’ve worked for. According to marketwatch.com, Comcast, Wells Fargo, American Airlines are the companies with the worst reputations. How did they get placed on that list? The reasons range from poor customer service, cutting employees’ salaries, cutting jobs, and in the case of BP, it is still reeling from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which tarnished their reputation beyond repair. If you have found that your business is suffering from poor customer service reviews, public relations, or consistency, you could be in danger of losing your customers. When you lose your customer’s confidence, it can cost you everything. If you think you may be at risk of losing customers, you need to inject trust back into the relationship.

Loyal customers can make or break a business because returning customers account for much of your profits. Additionally, they are great for word-of-mouth marketing. Losing the trust of a customer who pays money for your product or service means that you could permanently damage the reputation of your company. If you’ve made a single mistake or just suffered a miscommunication, there may be a way to win your customers’ trust back. If you don’t want to see the end of your business, here are some key tactics to execute to regain that trust.

1. Effective problem-solving techniques

To begin problem-solving, you must find out where the leak is. Once you have figured out the source of your issues, you can take steps to rectify the problems. Sometimes you will get customers that are open about the issues that they have and will voice their opinions directly to you. However, many customers will simply switch to your competitor without saying a thing. You can find out feedback from these customers by asking customers to fill out surveys, following up with your customers after a purchase, scanning Yelp for reviews, and reaching out to once-regular customers who haven’t purchased in a while.

2. Take responsibility

Once you’ve found out where you’ve gone wrong with a customer, it’s time to own up to your mistake. Never get defensive with a customer or blame the issue on something else. Apologize so you and the customer can move on. Think about it, if you were the unsatisfied customer, would you want to the company you’re giving your money to, to get defensive when you contact them with a problem? Absolutely not. Apologizing is always the best solution.

3. Remedy the situation

While an apology is the first step to begin to remedy a situation, the next task is to rebuild the trust. Be sure that you do this by ensuring the problem never happens again. There might be a flaw in one aspect of your business, and if you do not fix this issue, you may have future problems with other customers. Retain feedback while you source out the issues and make the appropriate changes, that way you know that your business is on the right track.

4. Offer the customer something for their troubles

Problem-solving issues, so it never happens again may help you to retain other customers and help you offer excellent customer service. But if the problem was very bad, then you may have to do more to regain the customer’s confidence. Provide the customer a gift along with your apologies such as a discount or a free sample. This little act of giving shows to your customers that your business will go above and beyond for their customers’ happiness.

Your Toll Free Number is BORING – Here’s How to Fix It

14th May 2019 How To's, Tips

It’s not a secret that it’s much easier for people to remember vanity numbers over the average phone number or toll-free number. Vanity numbers are making a comeback in popularity for large and small businesses alike. Any business can benefit from using a vanity number, so here is a deeper look at what they are and what they offer. If your toll-free number is boring and you are ready for an upgrade, read on!

If your toll-free number is boring – Use a vanity number!

Vanity numbers work exactly like toll-free numbers, only you can customize the number to reflect your business or products. For example, 1-800-Flowers lets you know exactly what you’re getting when you dial them.

Vanity numbers have all of the benefits of a toll-free number, plus they are easy for people to remember. The more people who know your number by heart, the more often you will receive calls, and the more sales you can make. Vanity numbers are still at no cost to the customer, and they can be used for marketing purposes. Vanity numbers can be placed on billboards, and the drivers whizzing by can read your ad and remember your number on their commute to work. You should also be advertising your number on your website and business cards. Customers and clients prefer the companies they do business with to have a phone number. This is because they know that they can reach your company at any time and be greeted and helped.

Why are words easier to memorize?

According to cognitive neuroscientists, when a customer wants to remember a telephone number they heard or saw, they will use their “working memory,” which is the “voice” inside of their head. The one you hear when repeating something to yourself silently, so you do not forget. However, repeating something over and over to yourself does not guarantee that you will remember it. While your brain works to try to memorize a number, anything can come along to distract you. Whether it is a crying baby, a barking dog, or a car horn honk, things are always around to distract you from what you want to be doing. This is why we will forget a sequence of numbers no matter how hard we try to remember them. The best way to remember a telephone number is to link the number to something meaningful or memorable. This puts the number into our long-term memories, instead of the short-term ones, which are quickly forgotten. For example, if you associate a phone number with a word, then that word will bring up a picture in your head, which is precisely how vanity numbers work.

Oddly enough, some sequences of numbers are easier to remember for humans than other number sequences. Many American citizens have an easier time remembering a number using the series 1776, as that is the year that America gained independence from Great Britain. A citizen that is not from the US will not have that ability, unless they studied American history or it is important to them for another reason, like a date of birth. If your toll-free number is boring, it won’t stick as much as a number with a more familiar number sequence.

Now that you understand how vanity numbers can work for your business, you can begin your research into choosing the right one for your business. So how do you go about finding the number that you want? It can be tricky, because some of the best number and word associations are already claimed, such as 1-800-CONTACTS. Nonetheless, you can still find a vanity number that will get the job done for you. The first step is to brainstorm a list of numbers and words that would work for your business, and then you can search for these numbers. Some of them may already be taken, but Global Call Forwarding will work with you to find you the best number. One way Global Call Forwarding looks out for its customers is that they offer other toll-free prefixes. So if you won’t budge on a word, then you can make an exception from 1-800 to other alternatives such as 1-855 or 1-866. The popularity of alternate toll-free prefixes is rising, and more people are becoming aware that 1-800 isn’t the only toll-free option. All you need to do is use a little bit of creativity, and you will be on the fast track to success.

Related: Examples of Popular Vanity Phone Numbers

How to Earn a Reputation Based on Credibility in Your Industry

13th May 2019 Learn, Tech, Tips

There are a number of traits that can help a business earn a reputation to become more successful. Credibility is at the top of that list. Credibility means others look to your company as a reliable source and if others rely on you, they trust you and do business with you, and this propels your business ahead.

Being credible means that you establish and nurture a very specific set of qualities. It really doesn’t make a difference which type of organization or industry you are in – these qualities work the same across the board.

Learning How to Earn a Reputation for Credibility: Step by Step.

If you are serious about establishing yourself as credible, here are some tips regarding how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry:

1. Build trust: If you are wondering how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry, you have to start with trust. In order to cultivate credibility, you have to build trust, earn it, and maintain it. If people like you, they will trust you and they will be more willing to do business with you. The trust you build with your market is more important than your bottom line.

2. Become an expert: Being competent within your industry means having the ability to analyze a situation and develop several potential solutions. Being confident in your capabilities is important so that others know they can count on you.

3. Consistency: Another important tip regarding how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry is related to consistency. Everything that your company states and does should be consistent. The messages that your organization is sending out, the actions that you take as an organization, and the things you allow in your organization should all be in complete and total alignment. In figuring out how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry, this should be carefully considered as people do not trust a person or company that “flip flops.” They feel safe with consistency, knowing what to expect, and whom they can rely on.

4. Authenticity: In mapping out how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry, you need authenticity. When trying to earn trust, you cannot rely on the “fake it until you make it” approach. This will lead to disaster. The basis for establishing yourself as a leader and your business as a leading organization is a solid foundation that offers others long-lasting stability, no matter what challenges are faced.

5. Sincerity: Being credible equals being sincere. This means that you don’t necessarily say everything that you think, but you do mean everything that you say. True sincerity requires commitment and a willingness to be unmovable and straightforward no matter what.

6. Respect: Truly considering the feelings of others could mean everything to them. Treating others with respect because they deserve it and understanding why that is important is paramount. Respect earns credibility.

7. Accountability: In order to establish credibility, you have to be accountable for your actions and decisions. When making mistakes, it is important to own up to them and correct anything that stands as an error.

8. Loyalty: Credibility is connected to serving and protecting others. When you have the best interests of others in mind, and this is clear, this tends to build loyalty and credibility.

9. Honesty: In figuring out how to earn a reputation based on credibility in your industry, it is extremely important to be honest. Total transparency is a fundamental keystone to business and it is at the core of credibility.

10. Communicate: Communication is at the core of establishing credibility. This means that you need to make sure you are effectively communicating the vision of your business, helping your market to understand what sets you apart from your competition, and helping to carry your brand message through each of your marketing initiatives. This is also important within your organization, in building credibility with your staff and other team leaders.

Earn a Reputation Woman on Laptop
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100070154817

Credibility Builds Better Business

Credibility as a business leader allows your staff to look at you as a reliable resource for decision-making and information. A leader that is credible has gained the respect of their peers and their staff by displaying positive and strong attributes. Credibility translates into improved employee morale, improved staff performance, and the ultimate success of an organization. Credibility is essential in building relationships within your industry as a business leader and as a brand.

Whether you own a brick-and-mortar shop, a virtual consultancy, or another kind of business, all businesses need to display honesty and credibility in order to gain trust and earn a reputation based on credibility within the industry they are in. Credibility has to be earned. It takes time and consistency to establish it, along with an effort to maintain it, but it is necessary on the ultimate path to success.

Delegating Tasks and Managing a Team

9th May 2019 Tips

One of the primary tasks of an entrepreneur is to delegate tasks and managing a team. Without proper delegation, business owners run the risk of using up too much of their energy, ensuring burnout and inefficiency.

Effectively Managing a Team with GCF

Luckily, modern business models have made it incredibly easy to manage their staff, especially with the recent innovations made in telecommunication. In this article, we’ll take a look at several ways to delegate tasks efficiently using Global Call Forwarding’s telecom solutions.

Time of Day Routing

One of the more popular add-ons that aids delegation for subscribers to Global Call Forwarding is “time of day routing.” As implied by the name, time of day routing redirects inbound calls based on when the call is placed. This means that you can delegate tasks by the department, for example, when another group is in a meeting. Similarly, you can redirect calls with the time of day routing to ensure that even outside of regular business hours, customers can get in touch with a representative from your organization to answer their inquiries. This helps offset overwhelming your team with an abundance of callers daily, spreading the workload around.

Also, time of day routing enables your business to outsource inbound calls out of business hours to call centers that are located in more favorable time zones. For instance, if you have a business in New York, you’re probably aware of how few hours of overlap there are between London and your headquarters. To cover those early morning hours and late afternoon calls, time of day routing can enable your business to employ a call center in the United Kingdom.

White Listing & Black Listing

Using Global Call Forwarding’s whitelisting and blacklisting capabilities can focus on which department and staff members receive calls from various sources. For instance, you may want to keep your sales team whitelisted to ensure that only important company calls are made between departments. Or, you may want your accounts receivable department to blacklist problematic callers that can gum up the workflow. By limiting and enabling different parts of your company’s communication networks, your business is more easily managed and a natural flow of delegation is possible.

Managing A Team Woman on Phone
Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100158068988

The Use of Directories

Having a directory for your phone system automatically delegates inbound calls to the appropriate sources. By empowering your customers and clients with the option to self-select through your directory, each part of your organization and individual staff members have a higher likelihood of receiving inquiries from the appropriate caller.

Global Call Forwarding offers many customizable ways to create a functional directory system for your organization. These include IVR and PBX. PBX, short for Private Branch Exchange, helps create a system where customers can dial their choices numerically. For instance, using it, you can add extensions for key staff members for high-priority calls. IVR, or Integrated Voice Response, allows customers to use voice recognition technology to navigate through your directory. By having the ability to reach a staff member directly through your company, communication is easier when it comes to assigning tasks (especially in comparison to email, which may contend with important messages relegated to the SPAM folder).

Voicemail to Email

Voicemail messages are important for communication in your company, particularly when contacting staff members that have a busy schedule. However, they can be hard to access for team members on the go. Being able to access emails, however, can be an easier option. That’s where Global Call Forwarding’s voicemail to email service can make delegating through emails a cinch. When enabled, voicemails are immediately converted to mp3 files.

The advantages of voicemail to email are numerous. First, having a reference document for team members helps make sure your orders are carried out to your specifications. Second, it opens up access to documents that can be easily duplicated from user to user. Third, these voicemails can help log information and serve as a backup.

Simultaneous Ringing

Simultaneous ringing is just as the name implies: when a virtual phone number is dialed, devices connected to a particular virtual phone number ring at the same time. While this feature enables customers to have a minimum wait time, it also helps ensure that each available employee can handle incoming customers. For large volume businesses, simultaneous ringing is a must, but it can also serve as a great benefit for workplaces with a number of employees performing different roles. For instance, a call may be answered by a secretary, salesperson, or a customer service agent – which helps evenly distribute the workload depending on your team’s current availability.

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If you are interested in learning more about how Global Call Forwarding can make delegating tasks throughout your business easier, be sure to explore our website. You’ll find in-depth topics that can answer your questions and spark new ways for your business to manage itself effectively.

Good Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

9th May 2019 Tips

Tips for Good Habits for Entrepreneurs

You’ve probably heard the phrase that “humans are creatures of habit.” For good or for bad, it is true. Some habits make us happy and successful while others take up too much of our time or make us unhealthy or unhappy. It is essential for entrepreneurs to develop good habits that can make them successful and effective in their careers. Good habits help us to work smarter, work smoother, organize, and assist us when making effective decisions. If you are unorganized, lazy, or putting too much effort in other things, then perhaps you have not cultivated many good habits. So what are some good practices for entrepreneurs to make them more effective? Read on to discover some great habits that you can easily streamline into your everyday routine.

Visualize your goals

Well-thought-out plans often work out better than ones that you pursue right away without taking time out to think. Visualization is a way to expand your creativity; it’s like daydreaming; only more organized with a specific goal in mind. Take a little bit of time out at the beginning of your day and decide on how you wish for your day to pan out. Think about the people that you want to interact with, which deals you want to close, even how you want to interact with your family that day. This little exercise can help make your day go by much smoother, and you can use visualization on your work, too. If you’re stuck on a project, take a breath and visualize your end goals, let your subconscious mind take over and let it show you discoveries. We all can imagine and be creative, but some of us have to work on it more than others. Visualization is an easy way to work at expanding your creativity.

Get a head start to your day

Early risers are usually the most productive people. If you’re the type of person who can barely get out of bed in the morning, try to figure out what it is that’s keeping you from jumping out of bed, ready to tackle the day. Most people are exhausted when they get out of bed, but usually starting the day with a trip to the gym or just some jumping jacks can get you out of that funk. If you think that your problem may be because you’re not getting enough sleep, go to bed earlier. Turn off all electronics a few hours before bed, don’t eat anything right before bed, and save the stimulating conversation for earlier in the day. It also helps to avoid alcoholic beverages before bed, which can interfere with your REM sleep cycles. People who arrive to work before everyone else also tend to get more work done before all the others shuffle in.

Good Habits for Entrepreneurs Business Woman on Phone
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100005666678

Create a schedule and stick to it

Successful entrepreneurs know that work is essential and that they need to finish a certain amount of tasks in a day before they can move on to other things like socializing. But socializing is also vital for all humans. Make sure that you are scheduling yourself well enough that you have time for both. Yes, it is essential to get all of your work done, but it is also important to get up from your computer and schedule time to connect with the humans around you.

Simplify your life

Create a practical routine for yourself instead of overpacking your schedule. Don’t take on heavy workloads that you know you can’t tackle. Taking on too much work will overwhelm you with stress. Simplify by setting limits for yourself, such as working only during a specific part of the day. Minimizing your tasks in an efficient matter can help free up space to focus on the important things.

Keep a journal

Writing in a journal is a great way to keep all of the necessary things you need to remember in one spot. You can use this paper to write down your thoughts, dreams, ideas, make lists, write out your goals, etc. Anything that is important to you or strikes you as interesting – write it down. This might seem unnecessary since you have a phone and computer that you carry around already, but writing helps you to connect with more existential pieces of life. Journaling can also help improve your emotional intelligence. Seeing goals in your handwriting will have more of a profound effect on you than keeping them in a document you never open on your MacBook.

What are some of the habits that you apply in your daily life that have made you more successful?

Why Inspiring Trust and Trusting Others are Important Leadership Skills

9th May 2019 Learn, Tips

To trust others and to inspire trust in others is a top trait to look for when finding a leader for your team. It’s not an easy thing to learn; it is dependent on the ability to stabilize a precarious scale that can easily tip in one direction or another. For example, those that are too trusting can get duped very quickly, and those that don’t trust enough will lose the faith of those around them. Even great leaders have lost the trust of their followers at one time or another. However, the key is to know how to gain that trust back.

Personality Traits for Leadership

Many different personality traits make up a great leader. However, trust is among the most important. If you can get the handle of balancing trust just right, then you can become an inspiring leader.

The Importance of Trust

The first thing that a successful leader must do is be trustworthy themselves, which means that they must be able to inspire those around them to trust them. Being known as an honest person can help with difficult situations, especially in the event a crisis needs to be remedied at work.

Another aspect of gaining trust at work is that trust works both ways. Everyone around you won’t trust you until you believe in them yourself. You may have the reputation of a trustworthy person, but that is shot if you begin to show to your team that you do not trust them to make decisions or work on certain things. Managers who behave in this way are often overworked because they don’t believe in anyone enough to lean on them when the person in management has been given too much work for them to handle on their own. When a manager doesn’t trust his team enough to lighten his own workload, then he will become drained and begin to victimize himself. When a manager refuses to trust his employees with tasks, the work environment can start to tip unfavorably. The employees will become lazy or demoralized.

A photo of a leader building trust within his team.
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100030374487

A More Effective Team

Leaders who can inspire trust will be much more successful. These people have an understanding of how to organize their work and strategize what is placed in front of them. They know their team members’ strengths and weaknesses which means they can delegate work tasks accordingly. These managers are well-liked by their teams because no one is afraid to approach these people with a problem. They feel like their voice is heard and that inspires workers to be more outspoken and excel faster since they are more comfortable at their job. Managers who trust others also learn about those that they work with. With knowledge of everyone’s abilities, these managers create the most cohesive teams. And the bottom line is that managers who inspire confidence and trust help build morale throughout the entire company.

The fine line between trusting and going overboard is thin, and those in managerial and leadership positions should be conscious of this. When a leader trusts their employees too much, the employees will often see how much they can get away with under this leader. All leaders must still do their due diligence in spotting the moments when an employee will take advantage.

Keep a lookout for managers and leaders who put too much intention behind being well-liked in the office. A manager must maintain a delicate balance between likability and being dominant.

When looking for types of managers who would excel in a leadership position, always look to those who are trustworthy and inspire trust. It is essential that the people you choose to lead your company are balanced and honest. These people must also be aware that trust can be broken. Again, it is all about balance when choosing the right leader for your company. They must understand that the reality is that although they might be a trustworthy individual, that does not mean that every person around them is as well. You must be able to decipher between giving someone the benefit of the doubt and letting them get away with something.

Improve Your Call Center Productivity With Call Recording

19th March 2019 Learn, Tech, Tips

Improving call center productivity will require knowing your employees and customers on a deeper level. You may have customer service employees on payroll, but are they well-trained? Maybe they are, but their experience may be in a field completely unrelated to your business. At the same time, some team members might want additional training and input, but may be afraid to ask directly.

Whatever the case may be, business owners can use call recording to break the ice with employees while helping them to better assist customers. Caller behavior can also be complex, but it’s equally important to understand caller preferences.

Consider these four additional benefits as you focus on maximizing your productivity and achieving set goals at your call center.

Motivate Employees

Make call recording part of the training process and review calls with employees on an individual basis. As you discuss methods of improvement, acknowledge their strengths and contributions. This will inspire confidence and paint a clearer picture of how to communicate with customers.

There’s another benefit that’s often forgotten when you improve your call center productivity with call recording. As employees strive to be better, knowing that their calls are being recorded encourages staff to give it their all and do a commendable job.

Micromanagement tends to have a negative impact on employees, but when call recording is part of the supervisory process, it eliminates the tension that can build when managers are directly questioning and overseeing employees.

Learn More About Your Callers

How do customers respond when asked specific questions? What is their reason for choosing specific products more frequently than others? These are the types of questions to consider as you perfect your business strategy because you’ll want to ensure that you’re attracting your target callers and properly connecting with them over the phone.

If you want to improve call center productivity with call recording, use the recordings to compile data that will answer a lot of the questions that will help you to set future sales goals and craft more efficient approaches when speaking on the phone.

call center productivity
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100228680930

Answer Frequently Asked Questions

You can improve your call center productivity with call recording because the recordings can be used to create customized greetings and voice menus that give callers the answers they need.
There are frequently asked questions at every call center. Knowing what those questions are in advance will increase productivity by saving time. Use the playback from recorded calls to find the most frequently asked questions. Then, find the best way to answer those questions automatically.

Responses to frequently asked questions can be posted as information on your website and answered in customized messages that customers will hear while on hold. However, these aren’t the only options. Another approach would be to have an interactive voice menu that allows callers to select a number to hear the answers to frequently asked question such as operating hours and extension information to reach specific departments.

Know that as you work to improve your call center productivity with call recording, setting up an automated system isn’t complicated when using virtual phone numbers. Much of the process can be self-guided. Your virtual phone number provider can also walk you through the setup process from start to finish if you need assistance, or the process can be completed for you upon request.

While some business owners believe that pre-recorded menus are too impersonal, the contrary is often true. Automated options and responses are valued by customers because many callers don’t want to wait to connect with someone just to ask a basic question.

Note The Length of Calls

One of the biggest things call center supervisors must recognize when analyzing call center productivity is how long it takes before the call ends favorably. This information is critical because it will help employees who may be struggling to build relationships with callers. When you improve your call center productivity with call recording, it removes much of the guesswork involved with selling techniques and interacting with customers.

As most call center professionals know, working at a call center does not mean simply taking phone calls. There are other strategies that employees should be implementing to ensure that their time is utilized wisely during their shift. Decreasing the amount of time it takes to end a phone call with positive results gives employees the time they need to handle other tasks.

In Conclusion

Using virtual phone numbers to operate and grow your business will provide numerous advantages for internal business operations and callers. Furthermore, you can vastly improve your call center productivity with call recording.

Managing or working at a call center isn’t an easy task, but it doesn’t have to be difficult if you use the right tools. Knowing the right ways to improve call center productivity while having a well-organized business structure can make the job easier for managers and employees.

Call centers operate for a variety of reasons, but their common focus is attracting new callers and maintaining customer loyalty. By increasing productivity, callers will have a more favorable experience when dialing into your caller center without a long wait or confusing process.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses

18th March 2019 Learn, Tips

Every entrepreneur has their own motivations for using call forwarding. Whatever the reason may be, understanding the long-term benefits of call forwarding can help you grow your business. Call forwarding is also easy to implement and the process can begin instantly.

Call forwarding has helped many business owners working with recent technology to ensure that their companies are staying current and able to help customers when outside of the office.
If you’re interested in learning about how call forwarding is great for businesses, we’ve compiled several of the main benefits to consider.

Here are 4 advantages to keep in mind when deciding if call forwarding is right for your company.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses: Increase in Productivity

Being productive is necessary for business owners and employees, and call forwarding helps maximize it. If you want your team to ramp up their productivity levels, multitasking could be the solution. Effective multitasking allows everyone to complete tasks without falling short on business responsibilities.

In the past, working company owners and employees could only communicate via phone while in the office. The only way to speak with customers outside of the office was by sharing your personal cell phone or home number, if you didn’t have a dedicated business cell line. Call forwarding further increases productivity by allowing the business owner (or team members) to stay mobile while catering to customers and checking in with employees and partners at their absolute convenience.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses: Professionalism is Maintained

The second thing to keep in mind when analyzing the benefits of call forwarding for business is your brand’s professional appearance. Sharing your personal number with contacts you have built a rapport with is acceptable, but for new callers and business associates, this could be a red flag. The lack of professional contact information indicates that your business still needs time to grow and brings your professionalism into question.

A business seeking sponsors or planning a fundraiser would gain more support with a business line using call forwarding because their business appears more trustworthy. If the public questions a company’s professionalism, this can lead to less profit and sales because people will be reluctant to buy from the brand, and other businesses may be less willing to partner.

Stay productive and professional with call forwarding by forwarding calls at your business number to your cell or home phone.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses: It’s Affordable

We can’t discuss how call forwarding is great for businesses without mentioning the financial benefits. Small and large businesses must acknowledge the importance of saving money and making wise investments. The end result should always be that a business is making more money than what is being spent.

Call forwarding is an effective strategy for businesses aiming to reduce overhead costs and to stay within the company budget because forwarding doesn’t require additional equipment. Forwarding a call is done virtually, meaning there’s no need for external hardware.

A quality call forwarding service will allow you to direct incoming calls to the destination of your choice without additional costs. Furthermore, there is no limit to the amount of times you can forward calls.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses: It Aids Travelers

Some companies may do best to travel within their own state or country. For companies seeking to operate on a global scale, travel is one of the key ways to build an international presence.
Knowing how call forwarding is great for businesses is helpful for traveling professionals, and traveling is important for many businesses to grow and build solid relationships.

No matter where you are traveling, it is likely that you will receive phone calls and messages at your place of business, and missed calls can be costly. Call forwarding is especially important for solopreneurs because if one person is manning a business alone, being easily accessible is crucial to maintaining business operations.

How Call Forwarding Is Great For Businesses: It Assists With Customer Service

You’ll want to avoid delays when running a profitable business, and call forwarding can help. Let’s assume that you decide not to use call forwarding and choose voice messaging as the key feature of your virtual phone number. This would allow you to return calls at a later time and date, but there will be a waiting period for callers. During this time, potential customers might do business with a competitor or change their mind about the product and service altogether.

When callers have an urgent question, they expect to speak with someone immediately.

Callers may be upset if no one is available, which could negatively impact your professional relationship. A timely response limits the likelihood of bad reviews and shows customers that you are caring and grateful for their business.

Another reason call forwarding is great for businesses is that it adds an additional level of convenience for entrepreneurs, especially when time off is needed. Every business owner needs a break at times, and call forwarding allows managers to take some time off without losing customers. With call forwarding, a business can continue running at full capacity while management is on vacation or attending to personal matters because work-related phone calls can be redirected to other team members or assistants.

In Conclusion

Knowing how call forwarding is great for businesses can save money and time. Forwarding calls allows you to receive important updates and helps you improve your customer service without expensive equipment. When you use call forwarding through a trusted provider, you’ll have access to the service at affordable rates with no contract that will lock you into an unnecessary long-term agreement.