Reduce Unnecessary Costs!

Let us help you save money! Zoom can help you reduce unnecessary costs, by providing you with a reliable, telephone answering service- you won't need to employ your own receptionist or pay for sick or holiday cover, etc. Investing in a good answering service eliminates the need for staff and having to deal with staff absence- we'll always be available to answer the phone, saving businesses money and helping boost the company's image. It also frees your staff up and increases their productivity, without being distracted by calls and taking chunks of time out of their day. This makes us cost and time effective, offering a professional service so that your callers won't know they're not coming through to your company. We then seamlessly transfer the calls to the right person, or take a message if that's what you've asked us to do, which can then be emailed, texted or faxed over to you. Call us on 0800 583 5020 and see how we can help your business thrive and be cost-efficient today! Our Zoomettes are always ready to answer your calls and offer our services to help your business run professionally and smoothly.

Services You May Not Know We Offer...!

Here at Zoom, as well as answering all your calls for you, there are other services we offer- after all, we try to be as flexible as possible to help you run your business as smoothly as possible! We really believe that service is everything, so feel free to ask us about our services! Do you need brochures sent out, but struggle to find the time to do it? Let us send them out for you! We can send your brochures with your preferred letter and stationary, ready stamped with 1st or 2nd class postage, whenever your client asks for more information. Are you having a recruitment or marketing campaign but are struggling with the response? We'll help you manage it! If you need a team of Zoomettes to act as your call centre, let us know and we'll arrange it! We can answer in your company name and speak to people on your behalf, collating whatever information you need and sending it to you via your preferred method. Zoom also offers diary management, holiday cover and you can hire one of our 0800/0845/0870 numbers to use for your business! We help you improve the image of your business when you don't have time to deal with calls yourself. Our services literally take minutes to set up- we don't hang about or delay you when you need us! Call Zoom on 0800 583 5020 to see how we can help you!

We can’t all be good at everything

You are good at your job, whilst at Zoom we have to admit that we are good at our job - which basically is answering telephone calls. Of course there is much more to it than that. If there wasn’t then we would be out of a job, but as it happens we have many satisfied customers who have congratulated us on our ability to deal with their calls in the caring and competent manner that we pride ourselves in doing. We like to use our skills to represent a great variety of customers as we free your staff up to do the things which they are experienced in. Whilst you get on with your work we can deal with the calls you receive. Many find answering the phone tedious but it is also taking your staff away from using their skills in the most cost efficient way. That amounts to wasting your time and money when we can do it for you in a manner which is going to enhance your business. We are polite at the same time as being friendly and, once our staff have been allocated to your business, we are also informed. Let us take your calls for you while you get on with the things that you are good at. Call us on freephone 0800 583 5020 to arrange a free seven day trial or to discuss your requirements. We are flexible as well as proficient!

An artform

You are not alone if you find yourself hesitant and unsure when answering telephone calls. Often you wish that you had put things differently or phrased things a little more precisely. At the time, your mind was on other things although it was an important call that you needed to respond to professionally. Sometimes you just don’t have the time or the equipment to deal with the calls in the way you would like. Zoom staff have quality technology at their fingertips and have been trained up to NVQ standards 1, 2 and 3 in customer service. We choose our staff for their ability to act professionally and articulately in business matters on the telephone. They will receive calls, take messages and make sure that the messages are passed on. They will take orders and payments and in fact do everything they can to project the caring attitude towards your customers that you wished that you had time and energy to do yourself. The confidence and efficiency they demonstrate is an art form that Zoom has perfected over 15 years of service to businesses around the country. We are sure that it can benefit your firm and would welcome the opportunity to serve you in whatever way suits you best. We offer a seven day free trial which is easy and quick to set up, after which we are sure that you will appreciate what an asset an answering service can be – freeing you to do the things you need to do without worrying about missing calls or handling them hastily. For further details or to set up a trial call Zoom on freephone 0800 5835020

The frontline face

When your business is contacted by a potential customer the first line of call is practically always the telephone. It is important that initial enquiries (as indeed, all enquiries!) are dealt with in a way that represents the ethos of the company. You want the face of your company to be seen to be efficient, courteous whilst being friendly and giving your potential customer the time and respect that you feel every individual deserves. When you are busy organising all manner of other things you probably won’t have the time to do so. Sometimes the calls come from on line browsers who are wanting information at unsociable times of the day or night and you can’t be available twenty four hours a day! We employ people who are articulate and trained to a high standard delivering the kind of service that invites people back again. Not only are they technically trained but once assigned to your company they familiarise themselves with your products, diary, appointments and whatever else you want dealt with by telephone. Answering those initial calls can make or break a relationship and we have confidence that our staff at Zoom are well equipped to put a professional but friendly and helpful face on your company when answering your calls for you. We offer a flexible service dependent on your needs, covering you twenty four hours a day if that is what you require. We would be delighted to put a friendly face on your company…or even cover your back if you cannot be there. Call Zoom on freephone 0800 5835020 to discuss your needs.

Your business becomes our business

Responding to incoming calls can be disruptive and time consuming.  How often are you about to leave the office when the telephone rings insistently and you know you have to answer it or risk missing another sale?  Sales, by their very nature, are important and your business relies on being able to respond quickly, efficiently and politely.  However, as you build your business up you often don’t seem to have the time or the space to get around to fulfilling all the criteria required to answer the calls in a relaxed and informative manner.  

The service that Zoom offers can take care of the stress that this scenario inevitably produces.  When assigned to your business our highly trained personnel take time to become acquainted with your products, your prices, your services…in fact they get to know your products in such a way that they can represent you without anyone realising that they are a third party.  Your business becomes our business and we aim to work with you to represent you on the telephone in a way that you would do personally.  

Call Zoom answer call service (free phone 0800 583 5020) today for a free 7 day trial, we think you will find us indispensable! 

Temporary Cover With Zoom

Sometimes things happen that no one can predict or plan for, but that doesn't mean your business should suffer. Short staffed companies can really struggle to keep running and businesses hit by not enough team members can find themselves getting into trouble. With Zoom, you can use our service to help cover for those times when there aren't enough hands on deck. 

Sign on to our ad-hoc back up service for complete reassurance that whenever emergencies arise, the phones will always be manned by professional, polite members of our team who will answer and handle calls as if they were an employee of your business. Calls can be transferred seamlessly to the appropriate member of your team or yourself, or messages can be taken and emailed, text or faxed over if the person is not available. 

You can also use our service as a back up for busy periods, such as particularly busy periods, Christmas shut downs and bank holidays. Setting up with us is easy and fast, you don't need any additional equipment and we can tailor our service to exactly what you need. 

We not only answer calls, but we also can manage the response from your recruitment or marketing campaign and can act as your call centre, taking any information you require from callers and sending it to you, for example. We are extremely flexible, so you can tell us exactly what you want us to do with callers and their information, providing an extension of your business. Simply call us on 0800 583 5020 to see how extensively we can help you. 

The Way We Work...

We operate a 24 hour live phone answering service, so there is always a real person answering your customers 7 days a week, including bank holidays. 

We don't tie our clients into a contract. All we ask is for 30 days notice to cancel your service, but we find that our customers stay with us because they want to, not because they have to! We have helped many small businesses clinch those business deals by answering calls professionally and politely, giving the impression of a much larger organisation. So even if you're a one man company, we can really enhance your image and get that business coming in thick and fast! 

When we take your messages, we send them instantly via your preferred method, be that email, SMS, fax or you can even call us regularly throughout the day to pick up your messages. You will also receive a free report at the end of each day via email, with all your calls logged, dated and time stamped so you are always in control and can keep track of every phone call coming in. 

We pride ourselves in making sure that your customer's do not detect that they are talking to a third-party. We make sure that we apologise if their call is unable to be taken by the person they are after and can even call the customer back to update them of progress or confirm appointments. We really strive to provide the highest quality service possible to ensure the smooth running of your business. 

Zoom: Saving you money

Here at Zoom, we strongly believe our professional service is second to none, but what is more important to our customers is the fact we save them money. 

By freeing up your staff and yourself, you save the company time and time is always money. That time you save in outsourcing your calls, means you and your team will have more time to spend on high value work that is the key to the business. Answering the phones is a distraction that your staff don't need, answering calls for other people unwanted sales calls, for example, really slows down their progress on important projects and work that is central to the function of your business. Take away the distractions and let them focus on really promoting the business and dealing with the core activities and you'll be amazed how much more productive they become in less of the time! 

Having your calls answered professionally for you by a trusted Telephone Answering Service can drastically reduce costs when it comes to staff absence and sick days, in fact, in can save businesses up to £75 per employee per sick day, according to research. 

Our Zoomettes are dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service in the industry; they are well trained, articulate and equipped with the latest technology, to make sure your business runs smoothly and customers are dealt with professionally and politely. 

Take Control - It's Easy!

With Zoom, controlling your calls is as simple as pushing a button. You can divert your calls to Zoom Answer Call by activating the diversion from the keypad of your phone. Calls are diverted to us within a fraction of second, so there is no wait for the customer and they will have no idea that the diversion has taken place. We will give you a unique Divert Number that allows you a number of options with your calls. 

"On Busy"

How often have you missed calls because you were already on the phone, talking to another customer? Missing valuable calls means you potentially miss out on business or at the very least frustrate an existing client, which doesn't look good on the company. Whenever you are on the line, calls will be diverted straight to us, so you can be sure you don't miss out on any sales or customers. 

"On Unanswered"

Don't leave customers sitting there while your phone rings and rings when you're out of the office or can't get to the telephone in time. There's nothing more frustrating to a customer, to be left waiting on the end of a phone! You can divert your calls so that if a call is not answered after four rings it transfers quickly and undetectably to Zoom Answer Call, where a message can be taken and sent to you. 

"On All Calls"

Divert every call to us, so that when you're away, in a meeting or simply need to be left undisturbed, no call will be left unanswered. If you're in a meeting this also makes sure your phone doesn't ring and cause a disturbance while you're holding important talks! 

Our service is completely flexible, so just call 0800 583 5020 and see how we can help you and your business. 

Extras at Zoom

Here at Zoom, we want to provide you with a comprehensive service that can cater for all your business needs. So while we take care of all your calls, there's a few other extras that can help you manage all your service requirements. 

Why not use our sales & enquiry line where we process orders and take credit card details utilising your websites ordering facility? We will work with you to build a process to enable us to qualify leads and candidates for you. Your sales agents will record all the required information and email, text or fax it to you. 

We also offer 1st level technician support, where we can take the called through an information gathering stage to determine the nature of the fault or problem and then escalate it onto your call engineers. 

Advertising Campaigns - Hire one of our 0800, 0845 and 0870 non-geographical numbers and brief us on the products or service that you're promoting. We'll capture all the data from callers, such as name, company name, full address, which product they're interested in and where they saw the ad, then email, fax or text it to you instantly. We can even provide a customised report of the response and activities for each service. 

We believe that service is everything, not just to you but to your clients as well, so our service is completely flexible. Just ask! Phone our enquiries line on 0800 583 5020.

  

Zoom's top ten answering tips!

Here at Zoom we answer all your calls professionally and handle each customer the way we'd like to be dealt with if it were the other way around. 

Here are our top ten tips for professionally handling telephone calls!

#1: Learn the callers business language. We research each sector we answer calls for, making sure we understand and can use similar phrases and terminology, so the customer feel that they can trust us. 

#2: Match the customers approach. If a customer is in a hurry, we'll always acknowledge this and if we have to get help or information from elsewhere, we always let them know an estimate of how long it will take. 

#3. Answer the call after 2 rings and before 6. Answering a call after 1 ring generally can throw people completely, they don't expect such a sudden answer and generally they aren't quite ready! So we answer all calls after 2 rings and always before 6, as no one likes to be kept waiting.

#4. Don't hang up first, let the caller. We never hang up first, as 30% of people on the phone add a sudden "Oh by the way..." and if we hung up first, we'd miss this!

#5. Sound lively, interested and efficient. This is the impression the caller has of the company and we want to keep it that way. We will never lower your businesses reputation.

#6. Have open questions ready in case of a pause. Pauses of longer than 10 seconds are unacceptable to callers, so we always have a list of questions or non-contentious things to talk about to make sure all callers feel comfortable dealing with us. 

#7. Never assume callers are like you. We will never pass comment on issues such as race, religion, politics or even sport, as we never assume that people hold the same views as us. Even a passing comment may cause an issue if there is a difference of opinion and that just won't do when the caller expects a professional phone call. 

#8. Don't worry about good vocabulary. In other words, there's no need to use long, fancy and difficult language as it may well just confuse the caller. We use plain but professional vocabulary to make sure they understand exactly what we are saying. 

#9. Don't say "I don't know". We never say this, it's highly unprofessional. Instead we'll always tell the caller that we'll find out and get back to them, it leaves them with the reassurance that we care and we want to help them with their enquiries. 

#10. Be an active listener to build trust. Listening is critical on the phone and the caller needs to know that you're paying attention to what they're saying. We use short phrases such as "ok”, "I understand" and "yes" to show we are interested and actively listening to what the caller is saying. 

Divert To Us

Here at Zoom, we understand that the importance of good business, which is why we take pride in answering each and every telephone call in a professional and polite manner. Even when you transfer your calls to us, you’ll always be in control. 

In an ideal world, every business owner would be able to answer the business’s incoming telephone calls, however as the business expands and develops, this isn’t always possible. With Zoom’s unique answering system, you can choose to divert incoming calls to Zoom Answer Call simply by activating a diversion from your very own telephone keypad. 

We will provide you with a unique Divert Number, which allows you to divert any call either when your don’t want to be disturbed or if you’re just simply out and about. The diversion occurs within a matter of seconds and is completely undetectable. 

Your call can be diverted to us in numerous ways. If you’re busy, just simply divert to us when you’re on another call so the other caller won’t experience the engagement tone. If after four rings the call remains unanswered, you can choose to divert to us automatically if you’re unable to take the call or get to the phone in time. Finally, if you’re with another client, in a meeting or simply you just don’t want to be disturbed, then you can choose to divert to us permanently. 

Call us today for free on 0800 583 5020 for more information. 

Zoom - How We Work

Using the phone to connect with people is still one of the most popular forms of communication, which is why it’s important for all businesses to keep on top of those important phone calls, which can either make or break a business. Here at Zoom, we understand the significance of each phone call, which is why we treat each call with the utmost importance and professionalism. Our team of Zoomettes answer, manage and route your calls in the best manner possible, whenever you need us to. 

Give us a call and we’ll guide you through the steps of how you would like us to answer your telephone calls. Even though we’ll be answering your calls, you’ll be fully in control. You can decide how you would like your calls answered, if you would like your calls to be put through straight to you, or if you would prefer a message to be taken and emailed/texted to your mobile. 

Begin your 7 Day Free Trial and transfer your calls today. At the end of your trial, you will receive a report which states the breakdown of costs and a monthly estimate based on your week’s worth of calls. You can also always call us and let us know your feedback, and if you’re happy to go forward, you can just simply sign up online to our services!

Divert To Us

Here at Zoom, we understand that the importance of good business, which is why we take pride in answering each and every telephone call in a professional and polite manner. Even when you transfer your calls to us, you’ll always be in control. 

In an ideal world, every business owner would be able to answer the business’s incoming telephone calls, however as the business expands and develops, this isn’t always possible. With Zoom’s unique answering system, you can choose to divert incoming calls to Zoom Answer Call simply by activating a diversion from your very own telephone keypad. 

We will provide you with a unique Divert Number, which allows you to divert any call either when your don’t want to be disturbed, or if you’re just simply out and about. The diversion occurs within a matter of seconds and is completely undetectable. 

Your call can be diverted to us in numerous ways. If you’re busy, just simply divert to us when you’re on another call so the other caller won’t experience the engagement tone. If after four rings the call remains unanswered, you can choose to divert to us automatically if you’re unable to take the call or get to the phone in time. Finally, if you’re with another client, in a meeting or simply you just don’t want to be disturbed, then you can choose to divert to us permanently. 

Call us today for free on 0800 583 5020 for more information. 

Zoom UK Services

Telephone Answering & Virtual Reception

Acting as the first point of contact and your team of receptionists, you will no longer have calls bouncing around the office, meaning no more delayed answer times or running the risk of clients giving up.

• Telephone Answering by a Zoomette during Core Business Hours 8am to 6pm and voicemail after hours.
• Calls answered in your company name.
• Accurate caller details and message are taken and emailed or sent via SMS to you immediately for fast response.
• Option to have calls put through seamlessly to the right person exactly as an in-house receptionist would to any number, any location to any country.
• All calls are Recorded for training & monitoring purposes

24/7 365 Cover

As well as answering your calls during the core business hours between 8am and 6pm, upgrade to our 24/7 Service for your calls to be answered live by a Zoomette 24/7 365 days a year.

• 24/7 Telephone answering. 24hrs a Day, 7 Days a Week, 365 Days a Year.
• Calls answered and messages taken any time of the day or night.
• Calls can be transferred to any location, any country worldwide.

VIP Clients

A list of your VIP Clients can be integrated into our system to recognise when your regular and important clients are calling giving an enhanced customer service for your clients.

• Instant recognition of your VIP caller.
• No need to capture details for your important clients.
• Escalate to another staff member if the requested person isn’t available.
• The ability to filter the caller, identifying if the have certain privileges.

FAQ & Information Request Line

Dealing with responses such as general company information and frequently asked questions. Zoom will work with you to design an extensive list of FAQs in order to resolve all customer queries by advising on activities such as billing, exchange, refunds and returns etc.

• Extensive FAQ designed and integrated into our systems for quick and accurate response.
• FAQ’s can be broken down into categories for more in-depth solutions such as Prices, Product.
• Eliminates the need for a return call providing First Call Resolution (FCR).

On-Line Web Access

Our high speed Internet link enables us to access your website or portal to enter caller information directly, ideal if you have a pre-defined form you wish us to fill out for all enquiries.

• Information captured and recorded directly on your web portal.
• Details are collected in exactly the format you require.
• Direct link to your website enables us to access up to date information to advise caller.

Store Locator Line

Using Zoom’s unique software, callers can quickly be referred to the store locations nearest them including directions etc. or even who the nearest operator is, ideal for franchises or outlets with multiple sites.

• Callers directed to their nearest store or operator by post code location.
• Smooth call transfer, if preferred connecting the caller directly to store.
• Postcode locations can be updated daily, weekly or monthly.

Media Response Line

Managing call activity that your media advertising and PR campaign generates, capturing and qualifying enquirer details and source, ideal for brochure requests and competition lines. Zoom can provide 01,02,03 & 08 numbers for your campaign and our Multi-line capacity ensures that many calls can be handled simultaneously.

• Multi line capability ensuring calls are never missed.
• Analytical reports to help assess your campaign performance including lead source information for ROI analysis.
• All calls are recorded for quality control and training purposes.
• The ability to deliver a company statement in response to press releases.

Registration Line

Zoom Agents are able to take the caller through an online web registration form-filling procedure ideal for event management.

• High speed links enable us to access your website instantly.
• Callers can be guided through an online registration form.
• Alternatively Zoom agents can complete registration on behalf of the caller.

Signposting Line

Advising callers clearly how something is going to develop or pointing an enquirer towards another adviser. Your enquirers can be assisted by telephone response, guiding them through qualifying questions in order to advise them of the appropriate course of action they need to take in order to resolve their query, ideal for claim lines.

• Guiding the customer on every step of their journey with you.
• Advising appropriate course of action at each step.
• All calls are recorded to safeguard you against probable disputes.
• Eliminates the need for a return call providing First Call Resolution (FCR).

Support Ticket Logging
 
Entering support details directly onto your in-house ticketing software and advising the caller with their support ticket or searching for incidents by ticket and to give real-time update to callers on the status of their issue.

• First line of response, for all new and existing support issues.
• Ability to update caller’s details directly on to your in-house ticketing software.
• Designate and assign tickets depending on nature and urgency of call.
• Multi line capability to manage major incidents.

Applicant Screening & Processing Line

Screening applications in response to advertising, processing either an initial or complete application. Ideal if you need it for recruitment campaigns, mortgage or loan applications and medical screening purposes.

• Fast access on to your online portal to complete applications.
• A reference number can be given to callers once the process is complete.
• Liability statements and terms and conditions can be advised.

Sales Order Processing
 
Performing activities such as Order taking, Up-selling and Cross-selling, Payment processing, Stock enquiries, Customer identification, Order status updates and handling of pre and post sales queries.

• Telephone orders can be taken and processed directly on to your payment gateway.
• Up-selling and cross selling to increase average client spend.
• Ability to give details on offers and products for promotional activity.

Customer Service Lines

Integrating with your CRM systems to log and provide updates for customer enquiries to help resolve customer issues 24/7, providing information in response to enquiries about products and services and handling and resolving complaints on your behalf.

• Fully operational customer service line dealing with all types of queries.
• Accessing your CRM system we can collect the answers needed to resolve queries first hand and advise on status.
• Ability to handle sensitive and complex issues such as customer complaints.
• Refer callers through to your staff members if escalation is required.

Diary Management

We can access your online diary or remote into your system allowing us to book your meetings and reschedule treatments or sessions in the diary to your exact specifications for single or multiple users including class bookings (e.g. Pilates, Yoga and Zumba classes) and many others.

• Booking appointments into your diary or issuing you with a secure Zoom diary.
• We will capture the details specified by you.
• The ability to handle a multi person diary
• Offer alternative appointments if required or message you with the details.
• Advise your clients what is required to attend the appointment.

Emergency Response & Helpdesk Line
 
24/7 365 Engineer Escalation call out service, establishing urgency of support and treating the call appropriately to specific instructions. Transfer of support call to engineer on duty and escalation if no answer by referring to on-call engineer rota. Rotas can be updated daily, weekly or monthly.

• We will integrate your engineer rotas into our systems.
• Engineers will be listed according to time and days they work.
• Calls can be escalated immediately to on call engineers or a message sent.
• Our helpdesk can flag calls as ‘Open’ until an engineer has be contacted.
• Have an escalation process in place should the primary engineer not be available.

Zoom - How We Work

Using the phone to connect with people is still one of the most popular forms of communication, which is why it’s important for all businesses to keep on top of those important phone calls, which can either make or break a business. Here at Zoom, we understand the significance of each phone call, which is why we treat each call with the utmost importance and professionalism. Our team of Zoomettes answer, manage and route your calls in the best manner possible whenever you need us to. 

Give us a call and we’ll guide you through the steps of how you would like us to answer your telephone calls. Even though we’ll be answering your calls, you’ll be fully in control. You can decide how you would like your calls answered, if you would like your calls to be put through straight to you, or if you would prefer a message to be taken and emailed/texted to your mobile. 

Begin your 7 Day Free Trial and transfer your calls today. At the end of your trial, you will receive a report which states the breakdown of costs and a monthly estimate based on your week’s worth of calls. You can also always call us and let us know your feedback, and if you’re happy to go forward, you can just simply sign up online to our services! 

Work from Home Or Away?

The BBC reported that the numbers of people working from home are increasing. In fact there are 4.2 million people in the UK that are now working from home! The Office for National Statics, or ONS for short, have said that this figure, which represents 13.9% of the entire workforce, is the highest since records began. 

However Frances O'Grady, the TUC's general secretary said "Too many bosses still don't trust staff to work from home and instead force them to trudge into the office so they can keep an eye on them. Employers' attitudes to new working practices must change to make a much better use of modern technology in all workplaces," she said.

The highest number of people working from home- in fact 63%- are self employed. With advances in technology it can be easier and cheaper to setup from home. It also gives people the chance to test the business to see if they like it before making major financial commitments to pay for an office. There are some disadvantages to working from home. You need to make sure you are disciplined, that you do actually get on and work during the hours you decide on. Equally you need to try and limit your work time to enjoy your home. If your home is noisy you may find that taking phone calls is difficult and may come across as unprofessional. 

A call answering service will present your business in a friendly professional manner. Don’t worry if you have the washing machine on or the kids are shouting in the background when the phone rings, simply call back at your leisure.

Call Answering Service Adds Up Say Accountants

Like many businesses, accountants have deadlines to meet. However when the deadline is for HMRC and your clients will receive fines, the deadlines have a certain amount of pressure attached! At these key times it is important to make sure that their staff can get on with and concentrate on the tax returns they are working on! Let’s face it, nobody wants a mistake during these delicate calculations!

A call answering service allows the accountants to filter out important calls and respond as soon as possible. The calls will all be answered in a professional, polite and friendly manor. A lot of our clients have also mentioned that as well as the service impressing new clients, previous clients feel like the business has expanded! With their own receptionist companies appear to be larger than they perhaps are.

Please contact us for more information and full details of our seven day FREE trial. We offer the following services: brochure sending, diary management, tele-marketing, holiday cover and specialised phone numbers!

How to compete with the big guys!

Enemy of the state is now 16 years old! This film has a line in it that should be a great inspiration to small business owners. "Well, if they're big and you're small, then you're mobile and they're slow. You're hidden and they're exposed. You only fight battles you know you can win. That's the way the Vietcong did it. You capture their weapons and you use them against them the next time." When you think about it, this is great advice and can be applied to business! Most large businesses are full of red tape and politics. Small business have an advantage in that they can change direction and meet the market needs much quicker. 

Running a small business is a huge juggling act. Many small business owners envy their big rivals for lots of reasons and the biggest reason is generally resources. They generally appear to have lots of staff, huge marketing budgets etc. However how many times have you called a big business and no one has answered the phone? How many times have you left a message and never had a call back? When large businesses employ a lot of people in defined roles they may have two or three reception staff for example answering all the calls. This is great until someone is off sick or on holiday. When the reception teams do not answer the phones, because the calls are stacked up, the system generally bounces the calls into the main offices for the staff to pick up. At this point most of the professionalism is lost. The call is already at 5-6 rings before it bounces to the next person and the person answering the call in the office is annoyed at the phone because it is disturbing them from doing their role within the business. 

Call answering companies are a fantastic solution to this problem for small business owners. A team of professional call handlers will answer your calls for you in your business name. They will answer the call in a polite and professional way and capture all the information you require. They can also help you filter your calls so that only your customers can get through to you. Time is money as they say! 

Google Pay Per Click Missing calls costs you ££££'s. Every local business owner knows that they have to be visible on Google search to achieve the best returns for the business. There are only two ways to achieve this:

Natural Search. This achieved by a lot of hard work and it is worth while employing a Good SEO company to do this for you. There are lots of things that you can do yourself to improve your performance within the rankings. Here are a few basic tips:

Google Places  This takes around 30 minutes to complete and you will need a Google Account -http://www.google.co.uk/business/placesforbusiness/. Make sure that you include good, high quality images (up to 10) and a thorough description of your business. 

Duplicate Content Do not take content from any other site including any that you own yourself. Why would Google show your site to its users if there is nothing original worth seeing on it? 

Quality Content Make sure that you have someone proof read your content. There is nothing worse than spelling and grammatical errors. Google will reward you for good quality content. 

User Friendly This is important for Google and users. You may have seen competitors stuff 300 keywords into the footer but ask yourself does this have a benefit to the end user? If the answer is no then don't do it! 

Server Speed If you are working with tight budgets it can be tempting to cut back on server costs. This is a bad idea! It is true you get what you pay for and servers are no different. No one wants to go to a site that takes ages to load or is constantly down due to server failures. 

Change Your Hours And Increase Productivity

Why do we all have to work 9-5? Is this the best time to work? Some people prefer early starts and some people work best in the evening. Why not work with this and offer your team flexibility in their work hours? There are a few things to consider here- will people take advantage? Will people make sure the building is secure if they leave late? Will they get their work completed? Will your customers be affected?

We can start by answering some of the negative thoughts or problems.

Will people take advantage?

Sadly a few people will try to get away with sneaking a few hours here and there! Having worked for businesses where if one person takes advantage of perks they simply withdraw the perk, I can confirm that this is not the right way to deal with the problem! Deal with the individual causing you problems. If they are still achieving their work loads then you may want to take a different view on it! If they are struggling with their workloads and taking advantage then change their hours back to 9-5 so they lose the perk.

Will people make sure the building is secure if they leave late?

When running flexible hours it is important to make sure that you have setup core hours as part of your structure. The core hours maybe 10-2, during these hours you expect all your team to be in the office. This allows you to book in meetings etc. It also dictates the earliest and latest time that your team can start or leave the office.

Will they get their work completed?

Overall most companies that trial flexible working hours will see an increase in productivity. This is due to people able to work at a time that suits them. How many times have you heard your team say they are not morning people etc. However you may get the odd individual that struggles with the change. If this is the case you may need to change these people back to traditional hours. 

Will your customers be affected?

If your team choose to work later as this suits them, this may affect people calling you. A call answering service maybe the answer to ensure your phones calls are professionally dealt with if your team are unable to answer calls in the morning. 

Paid Search

For instant results paid search is the way forward. You set a daily budget and choose your keywords. When your potential customers type in your keywords Google will then show your advert and nine others plus the natural search results. It is vital that your advert stands out from the crowd so a powerful call to action message is the key to success. Every time someone clicks on your advert you will be charged and that person will see your site. If you are unsure of how to setup a PPC Campaign it is worth calling in the experts. A poorly setup campaign will cost you a lot more than an agency will charge you. 

So, you have paid to get someone to your site. They arrive on your website and love the message and want to get in touch. They pick up the phone and give you a call. This is the point where you can make or break the deal! However, before your sales skills kick in, you have to answer the call! This may seem obvious but if you work in a small team or on your own this can be impossible! If you are in the midst of a job and can't answer the phone, what happens then? If you have voicemail you would hope they would leave a message. How many times do you go to listen to a message and there is no message there? Lots of people just move on to the next business if they can not speak to someone straight away! A call answering service will professionally answer your calls for you in your business name. This service means you will never miss another call and will give your customers confidence that they will be able to speak to you especially if they have problems in the future. 

If you have paid for any advertising from Google Adwords to a leaflet drop, you really don't want to miss those calls. Try our seven day free call answering service. 

Freelance IT Services

Starting out as a freelancer is a challenge to say the least! You have to be all things to everyone, from accountant to receptionist- if there is a job to be done you have to do it! ...Or do you? How do you invoice a client your hourly rate if that hour has been interrupted several times with important phone calls? If you leave all your calls to divert to an answerphone machine you are sure to miss out on potential new clients. New clients are going to want to know that your are able to cope with your work load. They will want to know that you will be able to answer calls in the future should they have a question or want some work completed. If you are unable to answer the call this is a bad first impression and a potential loss of clients!

Hiring the services of Zoom is the answer. A professional call answering service that will give your company the edge over your competitors and deal with your calls when you are unable to. Our call answer service will make your business look bigger to your new prospective clients. Our clients also find that they are more productive as they can get on with their projects and all un-nessary calls can be filtered out.

Try our seven day FREE trial, click here for more information.

Call Answering Reports

Advertising is for most businesses one of their biggest costs and generally one of the most important ways to attract new customers and maintain existing customers. The majority of businesses in the past threw money at a number of marketing channels and hoped it worked. 

We have moved on and to survive it is important to get the best from your marketing budget. Testing and measuring is one of the most important stages of a businesses marketing plan. How frustrating is it when you ask your sales team where the call came from and they forgot to ask. This is not their fault! 

When they pick up the phone the only thing going through their minds when they answer that call is to close the sale! You can't blame them for this and your top sales person is probably the most guilty of not finding out where they saw or heard of the business. If you put a load of pressure on them they will just make it up and tell you what you want to hear. This could be dangerous for your marketing budget and could mean you are losing potential sales and additional business.

At Zoom we set up a new phone number for each campaign that you are running. We can professionally answer all your calls and pass them on to the correct department and will provide you will a report daily to show you how many calls you have received. This will give you the information you require in order to get the maximum impact from your marketing budget. Ask about our 7 day free trial! 

Diary Management

At Zoom we want to help our clients grow and to see their businesses empires expand! One of the most stressful parts of being a small business owner is being all things to all people! 

Take the example of an electrician working with a small team covering one or two large towns. As well as being a sparky and managing his or her team they have to manage their marketing, accounts, calls, customers, stock etc. 

At Zoom we can remove the stress from the business with our professional call answer service. We will answer the call politely and professionally using your business name. We can then either take messages for you and pass them on or divert the call to you if you are available to receive it or we offer a diary service! Using an online diary service we will book your customer into the diary taking all the details that you may require. You will have full access to the diary and will be able to send out your team directly to the customer. This provides a professional service to your customers and we act like an extension of your business. Ask us about our 7 day free trial! 

Unsure of the answer?

Dealing with numerous callers each and every day requires a large array of skills. Patience, politeness and having a vast amount of knowledge are just to name a few. You learn how to direct calls to the appropriate place, solve various issues and answer many many questions. However, there will be instances when you just don’t know what to do with the caller on the other side of the phone, how to solve the problem at hand or answer their questions. When this sort of situation occurs, it’s easy to become panicked, but there are ways to deal with these issues when situations like this occur.  

No matter what issue you face, hanging up the phone in a panic is never going to be the solution, this would only annoy the customer and put you in a very bad light! There are many techniques to ensure that the customer on the other end of the phone has no idea that you’re struggling. If you don’t quite understand what the caller is after, there’s a certain limit to asking the caller to repeat themselves. Before you do this, try and read whether the caller is getting impatient. If so, then it might be worth trying to find someone who can help, or pass the caller onto someone else who you know is available and can help, this doesn’t mean you’ve failed the call, people interpret things differently. If you find that the caller is quite patient, it might be worth asking them to clarify what they’re after.  There’s nothing wrong with simply asking them to clarify, just as long as it’s done with a polite and professional manner.  If you have a vague idea of what the caller is after, try and quote that instead. For instance “So you’re interested in purchasing our new product?”. It’s best that you don’t actually say you that you don’t understand, this leaves the caller in an awkward position, and reflects badly on you and the company you’re representing. 

If you find that you’re becoming a little bit panicky because you’re just not understanding, then it’s worth jotting down key phrases the caller is telling you. You can look back on these notes at the end of the call and have more time and less pressure to understand. If you find that you simply can’t help the caller, then there will be times when someone else will have to contact them. Yet again try not to make any false promises with regards to who will call them back, people’s schedules can change on a day to day basis. 

At the end of the day, the key point is to not panic. Becoming increasingly worried and nervous about a situation will only put stress on yourself, and will most likely make the caller a lot more stressed too. Not all calls will be smooth sailing, but at least you know you’ve done everything possible and properly in order to correct the situation. 

Give Zoom 7 Days and we’ll will show you how to improve customer satisfaction, increase profits, improve efficiency, and reduce your working hours...

Try our Business-Hours (Monday to Friday) Service, FREE OF CHARGE FOR 1 WEEK with no obligation whatsoever (all we ask is that you are not on holiday).

Telephone Vocabulary

There’s a fine line when it comes down to using vocabulary over the phone. You don’t want to come across as too intimidating to the caller, or even too inarticulate. It’s all about finding the right balance, and using appropriate and professional vocabulary when talking to someone and answering the phone.

We’ve all been there. You’re having a conversation with someone and they use a word you’ve never heard before, and you honestly don’t have a clue what it means. You’ll most likely spend the rest of the conversation trying to figure out what it actually means and as soon as the conversation ends, you quickly rush home to look the definition up. It’s not a great experience when this sort of situation occurs. You can end up feeling insecure, foolish and a little bit intimidated. This is exactly what a caller on the other end of the phone can feel if the person they’re talking to is throwing difficult and intricate words their way. It may be tempting to try and come across as the all wise and knowledgeable one, but most people don’t like the feeling of being outsmarted, it can belittle them and make them feel a little apprehensive about the call. 

People tend to use perplexing words in two ways. They either know exactly what they mean, or they’re just trying to sound smart and actually have no idea what they’re saying. If you’re a little self conscious about your vocabulary over the phone, don’t memorise complex words for the sake of it without actually learning the meaning of those words in the first place. Chances are these will be used in completely the wrong context, and although it can seem amusing to the caller, it will only make you seem silly and a little unprofessional.   

Most people who use the telephone are aware of the English phonetic alphabet and it can actually come in use as a pretty handy tool. Don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t come to you straight away, chances are the caller will still be impressed that you know the English phonetic alphabet. Using the phonetic alphabet can actually give you the chance to clarify certain spellings over the phone, and although it may seem like a lot to remember, it’ll most definitely prove to be useful when talking over the phone. 

It’s important to remember that when speaking on the phone you remain professional at all times. Taking on the phone with a prospective client isn’t the same as talking to your friends over the phone. Try and avoid using terms such as “uh’, “yeah” and “maybe”. These aren’t exactly promising or professional terms from the callers point of view. 

If you’re unsure about how to speak in the correct professional manner over the phone, there’s nothing wrong with practising. Whether this is carried out with a friend, or by yourself, it’s true when they say that practise makes perfect. 

Dealing with a disgruntled caller

Talking on the phone and dealing with callers can generally be quite a pleasant experience. Although from time to time, there will be that one caller that can be quite difficult to deal with, and no matter how polite and civil you are, you still can’t appease the person on the other side of the phone. Dealing with this type of situation can be quite difficult, however there are various ways to diffuse the situation and ensure that it doesn’t escalate any further. 

It all starts by listening to the caller, although this may be the last thing you want to do if they start getting abusive towards you. In this type of situation, the first thing to do is to make the caller aware that you won’t tolerate abuse of any kind, you’re there to help them, not be their verbal punching bag. Saying something along the lines of “I understand that you’re frustrated sit/madam, but I won’t tolerate being spoken to in that manner, I want to help you and ensure that this issue gets resolved” will help tame the situation, as well as putting the caller in their place. If you’re struggling to understand or listen to the caller for whatever reason, jot down key points on a piece of paper, looking back on these notes at the end of the call can sometimes make more sense than in the midst of a difficult phone call where tension levels are high. 

Nothing gets a caller more rattled if they feel as if they aren’t being listened to. This is why it’s key to ensure that you’re actually listening to them, and not just agreeing for the sake of it. You could end up missing key points, misunderstanding the situation and repeating yourself, or worse, making the caller repeat themselves. Try not to pass the caller around to different people either, the caller will only get more rattled and end up having to repeat themselves over and over again. Certain words and phrases can diffuse the situation and ensures that the customer feels as if they’re being listened too, such as “I can understand why you’re frustrated” or “I too would be upset”. Clever vocabulary doesn’t have to stop there. Using words such as honestly, sincerely and genuinely reassures the customer that you are indeed being honest and fair with them. 

When people are angry, all they want to do is vent out their frustrations. It’s important that you let the caller do this, as interrupting mid sentence will only make them more irritable, as you’re stopping them from getting their point across. Sometimes the caller can make you angry as well, but it’s paramount that you remain calm, and most importantly don’t turn the call into a raging argument by passing judgement. This will only reflect badly on you.

It may seem obvious, but don’t shout back, don’t tell them they’re stupid and don’t say they’re wrong. Sometimes it’s about being the bigger person. You know that they’re wrong, other people around you know that they’re wrong, and at the end of the day the caller probably knows that they’re wrong too. Diffusing a difficult situation is much more rewarding than proving someone wrong and letting your pride get in the way.   

Sometimes resolving the situations straight away isn’t always possible, and making false promises may seem like a great solution in the short while, but can be detrimental in the long run for you and the customer. Ensure that the call ends on a high note if possible, it’s always a good sign if someone calls up angry and they go away satisfied.