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Category: Tips

Cloud Call Center Software – Pricing Guide & Cost Comparison

6th August 2023 blog
call center software pricing

Purchasing the right cloud contact center software can have a significant impact on your business. The correct software will maximize agent productivity, improve customer service, and set the foundation for …Read More »

21 Best Zoho Integrations

4th August 2023 blog
An image of the best Zoho integrations in 2023.

More and more businesses are turning to advanced tools and technologies to improve their operations and elevate their service offerings. Among one of the most popular business tools is Customer …Read More »

What Happens After Signing Up With Global Call Forwarding

3rd August 2023 blog
signing up with global call forwarding

New to Global Call Forwarding? We’re happy to have you! Let’s go over the process of getting a phone number and VoIP subscription with us. Here are a couple of …Read More »

Global Call Forwarding Launches New User & Role Management Feature

17th July 2023 Press
user role managment

Global Call Forwarding launches a User & Role Management feature to manage user access to your phone service. DELRAY BEACH, FL, July 2023 Global Call Forwarding launches a new User …Read More »

7 Benefits of Voice and Telecom Network Consolidation

14th July 2023 blog
The benefits of voice and telecom network consolidation.

As an IT infrastructure manager or network engineer, your time on the job should be spent maximizing efficiency and reducing costs while building reliable business systems. Do you spend too …Read More »

What is Inbound Sales? Definition, Examples, & Strategies

13th July 2023 blog
What is inbound sales?

The sales landscape is constantly changing and adapting to prospect preferences. That’s where inbound sales come in. In this post, we will explore the fundamentals of inbound sales, why this …Read More »

Communication, Credibility, and Trust When it Comes to Your Staff

22nd May 2019 Tips

Business leaders who win are those who communicate openly and regularly, have a clear and committed communications policy, initiate various programs to support communication and collaboration, and assess their own performance. Communication, credibility, and trust are all important to building a reliable team.

Leaders often talk about building trust. Trust is something that must be earned. It is not something that today’s business leaders can take for granted, because both internal staff and external customers and clients are increasingly less trusting. Establishing open communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff is critical to the ultimate success of a business.

Trust is at the Foundation of Successful Businesses

With allegations of large corporations taking part in fraud out of greed, trust has been eroded in every direction and new rules have been set with regard to how businesses are expected to operate. This applies to communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff as the internal workings of a business is where it all starts and where everything builds from.

Employees, investors, customers, government entities, and regulators are increasingly demanding greater corporate accountability and transparency. These types of measures are aimed at curbing excesses of businesses and protecting the public.

Despite these new developments and higher standards, business leaders of well-respected, high-performing businesses have long acknowledged the value of building and sustaining trust. Again, establishing solid communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff is at the heart of all of it.

Great Communication Fosters Trust

Building trust in a business’ leadership requires a personal effort on the part of the business leaders themselves. It is a team effort as well, but it starts at the very top. The corporate function that is most likely to support business leaders’ efforts to build and sustain trust in the long-term is communication.

Communication contributes to the creation of a business environment of trust around the leaders themselves and enables them to lead more effectively, engage their employees, and ultimately deliver the best possible results. Communication serves as the primary positioning agent for overall message delivery and leadership development for managers. The most successful business leaders have learned this fact from the first-hand experience.

Communication Credibility and Trust
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100046269887

Excellent Communication Leads the Way to Credibility

Communication cannot alone make a person trust someone who is not trustworthy, but it can help to create a culture in which trust can thrive. Building communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff is absolutely essential.

Breaking it down to the basics, leaders are people who are followed and people will not follow a leader they do not trust. Trust makes it easier to get into alignment and stay there. Trust is an extremely powerful force that builds loyalty, increases overall credibility, and supports effective communication within an organization. Trust gives you the right to benefit of the doubt in a situation where you would like to be heard, understood, and believed.

As any business leader or employee knows, trust can be severely tested when there are periods of high uncertainty and change during mergers, acquisitions, and other periods of transition. Despite a business leader’s best intentions, during these times it is often nearly impossible to communicate as much information as one would like. If one has a well-established system of communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff, this reservoir of trust that has been built will carry you through these times.

At the very epicenter of building trust, is communication. Today, with public confidence in many organizations failing, solid leadership, communication, trust, business performance, and reputation are all inextricably linked. A workforce that trusts its leaders and really understands what is happening within the organization will be more satisfied, more productive, and also better able to communicate and contribute ideas for improvements.

Leaders of successful organizations know that in order to create a culture of trust, one must share information quickly and freely, and build relationships with employees and other stakeholders, allowing for their businesses to thrive.

It is not just about providing information. Building trust also involves managing communications and consistently encouraging discussion around what needs to be done. Always providing opportunities for feedback is a great example of how this is done.

Communicating sincerely, honestly, and regularly may be challenging for some business leaders and managers, but the return on good communication is high. For leaders of large corporations, human resources and communications channels within an organization, a regular self-assessment of whether or not you are acting as a communications champion within your business model helps to cast light on what you are doing well and also helps to focus on areas that may need some improvement.

Measuring progress, getting feedback, and giving feedback are all supportive of the goal to strengthen communication, credibility, and trust when it comes to your staff and every effort will be well worth it.

Earning the Trust of Your Customers: Why It’s a Long-Term Investment

22nd May 2019 Tips

One of the most, if not the most, important aspects of the customer experience is based on trust. Customers simply will not do business with a company they do not trust. Today, consumer trust is sadly at an all-time low. This is not due to a single event or even a handful of events, but instead, due to a slow and painful chipping away at the relationships between businesses and consumers. Relationships can be long-lasting depending on how you nurture them which is why earning the trust of your customers is so important.

Every time a company makes a customer repeat themselves multiple times, wait on hold for an unreasonable amount of time, fill out a pile of paperwork or complete any other extraordinarily frustrating task, the customer loses a bit of trust in the company. And without trust, there is no relationship between a customer and the company.

Why Earning Trust is Important in Customer Relationships

Many companies are hyper-focused on getting tasks accomplished quickly. There are a lot of discussions related to streamlining processes and finding ways to become more efficient. It all sounds great in theory until you realize that the operational efficiency many times works in complete counter to a quality customer experience. By trying to get through as many customers as possible in a short amount of time, you may increase your volume, but the company is also sacrificing personalized customer support, and this erodes customer trust in the company. Instead of a customer feeling like a human who is able to trust a company to help them solve any issue, a customer is left feeling like a number who is rapidly being pushed down an assembly line dubbed, “customer care.”

This is not the ultimate goal for a business to be successful. Instead, earning the trust of your customers should be at the core of every conversation and decision. Building trust doesn’t happen quickly or easily. A business must remain consistent in the messaging, understand the personas of those in their market, and deliver on promises made over time. When your customers and prospects trust you, they are more likely to invest in your brand. When you have their trust, you are also typically able to command a higher price for your goods and/or services and boost the lifetime value of each of your customers.

Earning the Trust of Your Customers
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100179306196

Strategies that Benefit Your Business in the Long Run

Here are some strategies in planning for earning the trust of your customers as a long-term investment:

Make yourself available to your customers for questions and concerns. Customers often have questions and if there is no way for them to get answers or they can’t get the answers in a timely manner, they will often go elsewhere.

Offer a product that is reliable. Selling something and boasting about all of the features is one thing, but delivering a product that is exactly what was promised is another thing. If you sell a low-quality product, it is sure to draw negative reviews and this can lead to a break in trust and a decrease in credibility within the market. Putting a product through rigorous testing is a good way to resolve this and ensure you are delivering a product that is high quality, as you have promised.

Other ways to earn the trust of your customers:

  • Be transparent
  • Bring value to your clients
  • Maintain consistency
  • Ensure your messaging is in line with your actions
  • Create consistent imagery across all of your marketing materials
  • Know your prospects
  • Deliver the expected brand experience

Earning the trust of your customers should be at the center of every strategic planning session and every action was taken by an organization because, without trust, a business cannot succeed.

We all know that trust is the precursor to any meaningful and long-lasting relationship. Buyers, ultimately, must put their faith in the companies and people they choose to do business with. Trust is a byproduct of commitment. It is the universal factor that will essentially make or break an opportunity. In mapping out a plan for earning the trust of your customers, you should aim to deliver the right results to the right people. In the long-term, they will trust you and your business and invest in your product and service offerings. Once you have carved out your identity within your market, stay on top of communications and back up everything you say with tangible actions. This is the path to business growth and success in any industry.

Accountability: Why Your Business Needs It

22nd May 2019 Tips

To effectively carry out a complex project or implement a strategic business plan, a culture of accountability must be developed throughout an organization. In order to achieve success, everyone within the organization needs to understand the organization’s strategy, their individual roles within the organization, and all specific tasks they are responsible for. Accountability is not limited to staff members within an organization. Managers and business leaders must also follow through on their promises and maintain a commitment to their organizational goals and to their individual performance.

How To Build Accountability in Business

When accountability is absent, the effects can snowball through an entire organization. Particularly when there is a large team with multiple people working in various roles on a project, this can pose issues. The result will be delays in project completion (if the project is completed at all) and negativity eroding attitudes of team members. A lack of trust could develop and both the performance and overall culture of an organization can suffer greatly.

If you want a high-performing team that is committed to taking ownership of their tasks and projects, read on. Here are some tips regarding accountability and why your business needs it.

1. Accountability means creating and nurturing an environment of trust and openness

When team members are behind or make mistakes, it is important that they feel comfortable enough to approach others on the team or a leader of the team for advice or help, with enough time to address and correct the issue. Asking for help can be very difficult, but it can also help to build trust, understanding, and autonomy, which leads to the development of strong teams that are very productive. This is just one tip, which highlights the importance of accountability and why your business needs it.

2. Understanding staff and what individually motivates them

Everyone has different motivations. Despite this, there are specific business culture traits that will lead to increased workplace satisfaction. When team members are given the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop in their roles, along with being made to feel that their contribution is essential, this is a plus for everyone. To help sustain a business culture that supports these values in conjunction with accountability and performance, business owners can avoid micromanagement, stay open to communicating, encourage collaboration, support employee education, and growth, and continue their own educations through conferences and workshops.

Accountability Why Your Business Needs It
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100050738501

3. Set clear goals that are actionable and provide metrics for success

When a team leaves a meeting or a conversation, it is important that they leave with a clear understanding of what their specific tasks and responsibilities are. This involves going over timelines and deadlines. By defining these aspects clearly, a team can leave a meeting with an understanding of what the next steps to take are, how much time they should spend on these tasks, and what the resulting product should be. Again, this is another critical step in establishing accountability.

4. Track and periodically review your progress, notice successes, and failures

In order for a team member to know when a project is completed and the level of quality that is expected of them, there has to be some form of tracking in place. This tracking method must have clearly defined definitions of success worked into it. Whether the progress is monitored on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, it is important to do this to figure out if the project is on track and within scope.

Even leaders need to remember that they need help in staying accountable. A leader may become too focused on day-to-day tasks and lose sight of the big picture or, in contrast, they may develop such a wide scope that they have a hard time understanding the more intricate aspects of the organization. On the short-term, this may not necessarily cause a problem, but if this continues, this could lead to great difficulty in maintaining accountability to the organizational strategy.

Working with a partner that helps with strategy from outside of the organization could assist in this area. A partner could help leaders to maintain an understanding of where the business is going, as well as to maintain momentum. This outside partner could also help in keeping the team motivated and aligned with the company vision and strategies.

When leaders are committed to their accountability, it can make a huge impact on their organization, which leads to alignment and the overall success of the organization.

Key Steps to Creating an Environment of Trust and Security in the Workplace

20th May 2019 Tips

A business leader’s ability to inspire and motivate their employees is based on trust and security. When people trust a business, they feel confident in the business owner’s decisions and suggestions and even during times of uncertainty, the business owner’s leadership will influence them. That is because they trust you and they expect you will follow through with what you have said you will do. Taking key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace is essential to the success of any type of business.

Ensuring that your words are in alignment with your actions is key in building trust and security in the workplace. Research indicates that employees say that what leaders say and do is what has the most impact on their perception of the organization they are employed with. When there is a disconnect between an organization leader’s words and actions, staff members are less likely to become engaged and remain committed to the organization. Actions matter more if you want to earn the trust of employees and keep them engaged. Starting with the leader, it requires the involvement at every level of the organization in order to create a deep bond of believability that motivates the employees to put forth the effort that is needed to make the business a success.

Key Steps to Create an Environment of Trust and Security

Understanding the Necessity of Trust

The first key step to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace is acknowledging that building trust takes hard work and focused efforts. Trust has to be earned and it comes from conscious effort to follow through with what you say you will do.

The next key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace are to be honest and supportive. Even when it is difficult, you must tell the truth and not just when it relates to things you know people want to hear. Make every effort to understand what employees need to know and communicate facts clearly while being considerate of their efforts and while being reasonably sensitive to their feelings. Showing support for your staff and your team members, even when mistakes are made, goes a long way as it pertains to building trust as the leader of an organization.

Demonstrate Sincere Commitment

Committing to follow through is another of the key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace. Saying you will do something is only worth as much as the follow through. If there is a chance that you will not be able to deliver, then do not commit to something. Failing to follow through on your word can destroy the trust that has been built and make people less inclined to trust you again in the future.

Consistency is also critical when discussing key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace. Consistently following through with what you say you will do builds trust over time. It can’t be something that is done on occasion. It must be consistent. Keeping commitments must be at the very center of your behaviors, in all relationships, on a daily basis and year after year in order to build and maintain the trust of your team members.

Trust and Security in the Workplace
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100016896641

Leading by Example

Leading by example is another of the key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace. Nothing is more representative of the culture of an organization than the behavior of the leader of it, who has the most influence with regard to employee action and influence on driving their results. If you say that teamwork is important, then reinforce that point by collaborating across individual teams within the organization and across various functions of the organization. It is also important to give credit when team members do great work and you will set the stage for a very appreciative culture by recognizing their efforts.

Building accountability is also a critical component. When you and other leaders of organizations acknowledge your errors as well as your successes, employees see you as credible and will follow your lead. You can best encourage honest dialogue and foster accountability within the organization by building in processes that become important aspects of the culture, such as evaluation of projects (positive attributes, as well as negative ones and elements that need modification) and next steps in meeting agendas to help track deadlines and milestones.

Following these key steps to creating an environment of trust and security in the workplace will help to improve morale and, ultimately, help to guarantee a business’ success.

Secrets of Using a Toll Free Number to Boost Your Business Calls

16th May 2019 Tech, Tips

Do you have a toll-free number for your business? If you do, then are you using it to its full potential? Toll-free numbers can benefit your business in numerous ways, and most importantly, they can boost your business calls.

Smartphones ended the era where we memorized phone numbers. If people are no longer memorizing the phone numbers of loved ones, do you think that they will remember the phone numbers of businesses? Definitely not. A company that relies on phone calls to find new customers could suffer from these problems if they are not using a toll-free number in their marketing campaigns.

The digital age had a very quick rise to the top, and many businesses shelled out a lot of cash to increase their search rankings or spent a lot of time trying to find followers on social media. Many companies realized that marketing online is not easy and have now turned back to traditional channels of marketing. Currently, there are more radio, print, and TV ads because they are secure means to measure ROI. Broadcast, print, and television can help to get your name out to potential customers, but if you’re looking for callers, then they need to get your phone number, too.

Making Your Business Number Memorable

So, how will a potential customer remember your phone number when they won’t even bother to memorize their mother’s phone number? The answer is with a vanity number!

A vanity number is the best way to get a customer to remember your phone number. Vanity numbers are toll-free numbers that use the letters that are placed on a phone’s keypad to spell out something related to your business. For example, if you are a baker, you might use 1-800-COOKIES. Vanity numbers stand out among the crowd and don’t look funny printed on an ad or spoken about on television. Many successful companies will attach a jingle to their vanity phone numbers when advertising on radio and television as a new way to help commit the phone number to people’s memories.

Using a Toll Free Number for Business
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 – ID#100211230098

Vanity Numbers Have Seen a Rise in Popularity

Vanity numbers are gaining popularity again because they are so simple to remember and can be used anywhere. If you’re driving past a billboard, you can memorize a vanity number, or if you’re listening to a radio ad, you can memorize a vanity number. Vanity numbers and toll-free phone numbers have always been an excellent choice for businesses, but the recent gain in popularity means that the best names are going fast, so don’t wait to secure the best vanity number for your business.

Make it Easy for Customers to Contact Your Company Using a Toll-Free Number

Customers do not want to put in work to contact your business. And why should they? It is your job as an excellent company to make it easy for them to get in contact with your business. Your company should advertise its number in as many places as possible so that it is not hard for your customers to find it. It can be very frustrating for customers when they can’t find a way to contact a business. Once they find your number, make sure that you are available for their calls at any time of the day. Toll-free vanity numbers are also beneficial to customers because it does not cost them anything to call a company. A customer probably won’t choose your business if they have to pay to get in touch with you when they can call another business for free.

Vanity and toll-free numbers are also great for credibility. A customer will assume a company that uses a toll-free number is a large company or corporation, but in reality toll, free phone numbers are so affordable that any size business, whether it is a very small start-up or a large corporation, can afford to get one. If you are working from your kitchen table, you can still have the same credibility that a Fortune 500 company has, and that ability will give you an edge over your competition.

Building a Professional Name for Yourself: Why Credibility is so Important

16th May 2019 Learn, Tips

In today’s market, brands and products are introduced at super speeds. Research indicates that approximately 250,000 products are launched per year and these products have an average of an 85 to 95 percent failure rate. While new brands come and go, some stand out and last. At the root of being a brand that lasts, is credibility and trust. Trust and transparency rank even higher than product quality. This brings us to the topic of building a professional name for yourself and why credibility is so important.

Customers are wary of scams and shady marketing tactics and they are more often basing their purchasing decisions on how genuine they believe a company to be. Unfortunately, many companies do not practice authenticity and instead try to build their companies on what they believe customers want to hear. Listening to customers, however, is not all about repeating back to them whey they say. This is not the path to building a professional name for yourself. It is not about trapping customers with empty promises. Instead, it is about steadfastly proclaiming what you believe in and then taking a step back to see who is drawn to the message.

Brands that are authentic are able to establish and maintain a loyal following. In discussing building a professional name for yourself, it should be part of the business’s core to maintain authenticity and produce results and outcomes based on this. Customers will then share their experiences with their friends and family and if the company stays true to their message and continues to provide products or services that are in line with customers’ expectations, you will develop a brand that will stand the test of time.

If you are thinking of launching a startup or introducing a new brand, here are some points which are key to building a professional name for yourself.

Clearly define your mission and values. This could take a while to mull over. You will need to choose which values you are ready to commit to unwaveringly and you will want to convey this with clear messaging.

Do not half-heartedly commit to something that you are not fully prepared to embrace. Customers will see through this and credibility will not be established.

Determine how and where you will showcase your authenticity in establishing credibility. Whether it is online with social media or your blog or behind the scenes interactions with others, really get to know your audience and allow them to get to know you as well.

Keep your messaging consistent. The messages that you are sending out through marketing, promotions, and social media should be completely in line with the in-person experience that you are providing to customers.

Prepare for opposition. When a business gains a certain level of publicity, this often attracts backlash. Do not let this distract you or discourage you from your values and mission. Stay true to your messaging, your core beliefs, and you will gain the respect you deserve from those around you. Loyal customers will continue to support you based on the trust and credibility you have established.

Why Credibility is so Important
Source: Stockphoto.com O#100186311516 ID#100200144052

Credibility in leadership is just as important as establishing credibility in the brand. Actively engaging, as a leader, in actions that follow the same value system as the brand is a critical part in establishing credibility and trust for your brand. Again, acting with integrity, being consistent, communicating, caring for others, being committed and inspiring others as a leader will support you in building a professional name for yourself as well as establishing credibility and trust.

In the end, launching a business and building a professional name is about being true to your values, expressing those values unwaveringly, and following through on promises to customers and clients. For those who adopt this method in embracing authenticity for establishing a business or a brand, you will find that building a company on a solid foundation provides lasting and tremendous stability that is unparalleled, no matter the challenges that lie ahead.

Sounding Professional When Customers Call Your Business

15th May 2019 Learn, Tips

How many times have you dialed the phone number to a business’ customer service department and been greeted by someone who sounded like they were less than enthused to answer your call? It happens often, unfortunately, but businesses do not realize how much this can hurt them. Just because a customer service representative is on the phone all day does not mean that they have to be bored and sound really unhappy. The proper telephone etiquette and some enthusiasm can go a long way in sounding professional when customers call your business – ultimately giving your business a reliable appearance.

Here are a few tips for sounding professional when customers call your business to help you make each phone interaction with your customers an amazing customer service experience:

Using the right phrase will start a conversation off on the right foot. Beginning a conversation with good morning, good afternoon, or a similar greeting and thanking the customer for their call is a great way to start. Stating your name and then asking them how you can help them comes next. Also, it is important to be friendly, upbeat and act like you love your job while providing the best customer service to them. This can all be heard in the tone of a customer service representative’s voice, as well as in the words that are chosen in speaking to customers.

The Power of Positivity

Positivity is also paramount. Ensuring a customer that you will work diligently to resolve whatever issue they have called about and that it will be solved as quickly as possible is important. If you are not able to resolve the issue yourself, ensuring the customer that you will then find someone who is able to is important as well. Saying something like, “I am sorry that you are dealing with this issue, but we will figure this out and resolve this for you as soon as possible” exudes positivity versus sitting on the phone and telling a customer, “I just can’t figure this out” or “I don’t know what the problem is and I am not getting anywhere with this.” Fill your conversation with positive statements, no matter how challenging the issue is to resolve.

Sounding Professional When Customers Call Your Business
Source: Stockphoto.com O#100168582646 ID#100200144052

Pay Attention to the Energy You Give Off

Displaying energy through the sound of your voice also goes a long way. Even if it is super early and you have not had your coffee yet, sound like you are excited to speak with them and be of service to them through the resolution of their issue. Even if they are agitated and possibly raising their voice, it is your job to remain calm, energetic, and positive.

Being patient is another principle part of sounding professional when customers call your business. If you happen to ask the customer a question, be patient and wait for them to give you an answer. Do not talk over a customer. Talking over a customer is not only rude, but it may also cause you to miss out on hearing something very important that they are trying to convey to you. If you talk over a customer, they will need to repeat themselves and this will not only potentially aggravate a customer, but also force things to take a longer period of time to resolve. Remember to wait patiently for their full response.

Dealing with distractions in an appropriate way is another tip to sounding professional when customers call your business. There will always be distractions. It is part of life, no matter if you are working from a call center, your own office, a home office, or some other location. How you deal with those distractions is key. Callers know if you are distracted. From the moment you answer their phone call to the moment the call has ended, your one and only focus should be on the customer you have on the phone, their explanation of their needs, and how you are going to go about resolving any issues and fulfilling their needs. It is important to be attentive and helpful and treat the caller in the same exact way that you would want to be treated.

Just as displaying energy and positivity is important, the tone of your voice in demonstrating energy and positivity is just as important. Customer service agents should examine how they sound when they answer the phone. You should sound happy. Practicing with other coworkers in training can help customer service agents to hear themselves and adjust, if needed, accordingly.

Sounding professional when customers call your business is critical to the vitality and growth of a business. Remember that the person on the other end of the call is a human being and they are calling for help, guidance, answers, and to determine if they will invest in your brand or not. Make sure conversations are kept professional, focused, and upbeat from beginning to end.

Toll Free Numbers for Social Media Marketing

15th May 2019 Tech, Tips

If you are crafting a new marketing campaign, you may be trying to come up with new ways to affordably boost the success of your campaign and also involve social media tools. If this is indeed the case, you should consider using toll free numbers for social media marketing as a key tool in boosting the success of your campaign.

A customized toll free number fits well into a marketing campaign because it enables you to use the phone number of the company to define the brand. When you think of a vanity toll free number, such as 1-800-FLOWERS, you know specifically what the company offers when that number is dialed. If you dial 1-800-FLOWERS you are able to order flowers for any number of occasions.

Generally speaking, you can use a custom toll free number to do a number of things, including sharing the name of the business, communicating a benefit the business provides, and tracking marketing efforts for a specific campaign. Either way, whether you use toll free numbers for social media marketing or toll free numbers to advance your business in any other way, the toll free number should reinforce the brand’s image and clearly indicate how the company differs from its competitors.

Research has repeatedly pointed to the benefits of incorporating toll free numbers for social media marketing or any kind of marketing into a company’s marketing campaign plan. In addition to offering a way for the company to communicate something specific, incorporating toll free vanity numbers in a marketing campaign can provide additional meaningful benefits, including:

Increased Interest and Calls

A greater number of inbound calls and referrals. Because toll free vanity numbers are expressed with a word or words instead of a string of random numbers, vanity numbers are much easier to remember than a number that is composed of digits exclusively. This means that it is more likely that customers and potential customers will use these types of toll free numbers and also share them with their friends and family. In fact, research indicates that vanity toll free numbers have a rate of recall that is approximately 75 percent higher than the rate of recall for phone numbers that are exclusively numeric. Custom toll free numbers also generate a much higher response rate than regular phone numbers.

A Social Media Credibility Boost

Having toll free numbers for social media marketing or for all of the company’s marketing can improve a business’ credibility and enhance sales efforts. A toll free number shows customers that the business owner and marketing team have taken steps for them to contact the business with more ease and without having to incur any long distance charges for calls. Vanity toll free numbers and regular toll free numbers also make a business seem more established and larger than it actually is, which will help people to have more confidence in the company’s offering of goods and/or services.

Tracking Capabilities

When a company uses toll free numbers for social media marketing or any other marketing efforts, there is ease in tracking key performance indicators. These key performance indicators can help in analyzing the success of an ad campaign overall and allow for a company to adjust their message on an as-needed basis. Having the ability to do this is critical in aiming to generate the best results for a business. Tracking calls linked to a campaign is an affordable and effective way to identify what is working and what is not. The information that is gathered through the tracking of campaign efforts can help a business to improve in every way, whether it is social media marketing, sales campaigns, print ads, or other forms of marketing efforts.

Toll Free Numbers for Social Media
Source: Stockphoto.com O# 100220944824 ID#100200144052

Superior Customer Service

Depending on whether you use toll free numbers for social media marketing or for other types of advertising, toll free numbers can help a company to offer better customer service by helping the business owner determine why a customer or potential customer is reaching out to the business before anyone even answers the phone. When a company has an idea of why a person is calling, it allows customer service representatives to be better prepared to offer superior customer service.

Global Call Forwarding offers toll free numbers for social media marketing or any other type of marketing that a business would like to include in their marketing efforts. Global Call Forwarding has been offering quality products and superior customer service to each and every client worldwide for over two decades. With a knowledgeable and professional staff, GCF customer service representatives are able to best serve each client to ensure each and every business takes advantage of the most advanced services and features available to support business success.

10 Things You Should Never Say During a Customer Service Call

15th May 2019 How To's, Tips

Working in customer service can be very rewarding, but it can also be very demanding. Most customer service agents must deal with angry customers daily. Customer service representatives must be able to take these unhappy people and turn them into satisfied and loyal customers. During a customer service call, this is no easy feat when a person enters the conversation angry or upset.

When someone is already upset, it is easy for problems to snowball. One wrong word from a customer service agent could mean the loss of a customer forever. However, customer service call agents cannot just placate customers; they do have problems to solve, and some issues cannot be resolved. Customer service agents should be able to walk a fine line between being stern and being friendly. All words that are exchanged over a customer service line carry weight. If you are a good customer service agent or are training agents for your business, be careful to avoid these common verbal slip-ups that may ruin a customer’s experience.

  1. I can’t help you with that
    Sometimes a customer service call agent has to follow a specific protocol, and some things will be outside of their jurisdiction. When you realize that you cannot help the person over the phone, it is best to forward them to a more senior person on the team or management. The answer should never be that they can’t be helped.
  2. That’s just our policy
    Telling your customers that you can’t help them is terrible, but not giving them a reason for why you can’t help them is even worse. Saying, “sorry, that’s our policy” is basically you shrugging your shoulders at them and tossing their inquiries away. It isn’t an acceptable answer to an angry or confused customer. This customer is only interested in the problem being resolved. To be that short with a customer gives the impression that your company doesn’t care about its customers.
  3. Unfortunately, no
    No is negative; it does not matter how its phrased. Saying, unfortunately, might make you think that you are mitigating the severity of the word, no, but you are not. Do not lead with a negative when speaking to an angry customer. If you are unable to help them in the way that they want you to, use a different phrase such as, “here’s what we can do for you.”
  4. Interrupting a rant
    If you are a customer service representative, you have probably had to sit through a rant or two in your time. The critical thing to remember when dealing with an angry customer is to let them get it all out. When they come up for air, that is when you can start talking to them. Never interrupt and never tell a customer they are unreasonable, even if they are.
  5. What not to say say during a customer service call.
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    I don’t know
    A call center agent should always have an answer to a customer’s issues. Answering with I don’t know is unacceptable and should never be uttered by an agent. Customers call companies and speak to representatives because they want to be helped, and an incompetent agent cannot help them.

  6. Give me a second
    A second is a vague measurement of time that should not be given on the phone. If you are looking into something for a customer, it’s better to be honest about how long they will be waiting for you to look things up.
  7. Actually, it’s this
    Don’t even bother correcting a customer on a name or pronunciation or anything. It will be taken as condescending, and you will put the customer off or make them feel embarrassed.
  8. I’m sorry
    Don’t get me wrong, it is important to apologize to upset customers, but it is best to avoid it if you don’t mean it. It won’t carry the same significance if you actually do not care and are just repeating this overused phrase.
  9. I have to put you on hold
    A customer does not want to be placed on hold, and this should be avoided at all costs. However, sometimes it is unavoidable, and in those cases, you must ask the customer if it is okay that you put them on hold and be sure to explain your reasons for doing so.
  10. I don’t see your account information here
    Never announce this to the person that you are helping on the other line. More than likely you are missing their name in the database or you input the wrong information. Humans make errors, and you should never assume that the customer called you by mistake. It certainly happens, but until you’ve exhausted every possible way to find their information, they do not need to hear this phrase uttered.

Related: 23 Incredible Customer Service Tips