Short staffed... Never again !

Finding yourself short staffed can be stressful and reduces the efficiency of your business as you try to pick up the slack. Whether your staff are on sick leave, maternity leave, or annual leave, there's no need to suffer from being short staffed or attempt to take on more work than you can handle to compensate. A call answering service can save you from stress and provide a dedicated and reliable back up for busy periods or the holiday season. When you're short on staff, the first thing to suffer is your call management - incoming calls get ignored, missed, or badly handled by untrained staff, and your customer satisfaction suffers as a result. Having the reassurance of a call management company like Zoom means that you can focus on your work without worrying about the front desk.

Temporary call management cover is available on a one-off short term basis, or you can choose to schedule your business phone cover for certain times of the year when you know you'll need the extra hands. Times when you might need cover include:

• Christmas, summer holidays, and public holidays
• Unexpected sick days or extended sick leave
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Staff training 
• Technical emergencies and line faults

Whatever the size of your company or the nature of your business, Zoom UK's professional call handling team can be flexible and adaptable according to your changing requirements. You can try out our services for free with a 7-day trial - just give us a call and we'll have you set up within ten minutes! Don't risk losing custom because you're short staffed; give your customers the best possible service 24/7 with a professional call handling management company. 

Business Phone Answering Dos and Don'ts

The way your business handles its calls can make or break your company. At Zoom Answer Call we offer professional call handling and phone management services that can really make a difference to your sales, your customer retention and your business growth.

Have a look at our dos and don'ts for handling your business calls and see how many you achieve and avoid - and if you're scoring more heavily in the 'don't' department, maybe it's time to give us a call!

Business Call Handling Dos:

• Do answer all your calls as quickly as possible, preferably within the first three rings;
• Do smile when you pick up the phone - it's nice to feel like someone is pleased to receive your call;
• Do introduce yourself and identify your company when you answer;
• Do speak clearly and politely; 
• Do repeat and reiterate details where necessary;
• Do keep accurate records of existing customers and refer to their previous interactions so they know you are on the same page;
• Do take accurate messages and act on them swiftly;
• Do transfer calls to the right person or department as quickly as possible;
• Do go the extra mile - customers really appreciate a call that answers all their queries;
• Do focus on the conversation - if you allow distractions or boredom to cause your mind to wander you'll find yourself in an awkward situation or you'll miss a vital piece of information;
• Do follow up any messages or call backs within one business day;
• Do ask before you put someone on hold - it's the phone equivalent of turning your back on someone;
• Do make sure any answerphones provide basic information that callers might need;
• Do offer a consistent approach to phone answering - each operator should handle calls in the same way and in the same manner. 

Business Call Handling Don'ts:

• Don't allow noise and disruption when answering calls;
• Don't be impatient or brusque - even if you're stressed and busy. If you're finding it hard to politely deal with calls then it's definitely time to call in some professionals to do it for you!
• Don't use slang, overly informal language or 'fillers' such as 'like', 'you know', and 'uh huh';
• Don't use negative language or speak rudely to customers on the phone;
• Don't pretend you know the answer or guess - ALWAYS find out before you give a customer the answer to a question you don't know, even if it means offering to call them back or putting them on hold;
• Don't lose your temper! 
• Don't forget to call customers back if you need to follow up on something;
• Don't keep customers on hold for more than a minute or two, or send them round a neverending cycle of automated button-pressing;
• Don't guess when writing down names and addresses you're not sure how to spell - ask the customer to spell it out for you and make sure it's accurate;
• Don't use a speaker phone - they're hard to hear and sound unprofessional;

Phone answering skills are so important for businesses, whether you're a tiny start up or a multi-national company! Your incoming and outgoing calls are a fundamental part of your customer acquisition and retention, so it's worth making the effort to make your call handling as high quality as possible. If you're finding it difficult to keep on top of your business calls then let us do it for you! Our Zoom operators are experts in customer service and can help your company to run smoothly and efficiently while you get on with managing everything else!

Making Life Easy with Call Management and Virtual Assistance

Zoom Answer Call's phone management services aren't just limited to handling calls - we offer a range of useful services to help your business run smoothly and reduce your workload so you can concentrate on the big ideas!

While our call handlers field enquiries and provide customer services for your customers, we can also act as a virtual reception service for your company, or a personal assistant for you! Tasks might range from organising appointments, booking meetings, reminding you of your scheduled events, managing an online diary, looking after clients and new prospects while you're busy, taking reservations and handling recruitment campaigns.

If your company sends out brochures and samples we can help you to keep on top of requests, especially during busy times or when you're out at meetings or travelling. When customers call for information we can handle their requests according to your specifications, from emails and letters to brochures and promotional content sent by post. All these little extras really help your business to run seamlessly and reduce the amount of day-to-day admin for you and your in-house staff, freeing you up for more specialised work.

For more information on all the little extras we offer alongside our professional call handling services, get in touch with us at 0800 583 5020. As always, our services can be tailored to suit your business and your needs, and we even offer a 7-day free trial so there's no need to take the plunge until you've seen how effective we are at helping your company to thrive.

Seasonal Phone Answering Cover

Easter is coming, quickly followed by summer - one of the busiest times for employee holidays... Do you have adequate cover for weeks on end when your employees may be taking their holidays one after another? Sometimes it may seem more cost-effective to deal with the temporary loss and try to carry on as normal, but this can be a big mistake when you end up leaving your customer services un-manned and are less able to deal with the influx of enquiries and orders. Hiring temporary staff can be costly and requires forethought, planning and training - time and money that you don't want to spend! So what's the answer?

Professional call answering services can bridge the gap for companies requiring seasonal cover without the need to take on new staff. We can divert your calls automatically so that you never miss a client - our professional Zoomettes will field your calls professionally and efficiently and your customers will never know that you are outsourcing.

We offer:

• call answering services
• reception overflow (virtual receptionists)
• sales agents
• temporary cover for employee holidays, bank holidays, seasonal holidays, employee sickness, maternity leave, and emergencies
• extra call handlers and sales staff for busy periods
• customer service agents
• recruitment and marketing response teams
• brochure sending
• call centre services
• diary management

Let our highly-trained call agents keep your business running smoothly no matter how busy or short-staffed you are! Our flexible holiday cover service is totally flexible and bespoke, and we can have you set up within 10 minutes!

We promise the highest level of customer service along with articulate, well-trained personnel and efficient technology to help your company and your customers. Our ad-hoc service allows you to sign up to our services for life, with short term cover available whenever you need it - whether planned or unexpected!

Get in touch to find out more about our holiday and seasonal phone answering services.

Merry Christmas from Zoom Answer Call!

We'd like to wish all our customers at Zoom Answer Call a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! We hope you've had a productive and enjoyable year in your business and at home, and we look forward to working with existing clients and new customers throughout 2013, helping companies big and small to maximise the potential of their business using our professional call answering service.

We are proud to offer an award-winning range of call management services to our clients, including:

• Call answering
• Call diverting
• Call centre services
• Downsizing/oursourcing
• Virtual reception services
• Franchise services
• Diary management
• Brochure sending
• Telemarketing
• Holiday/seasonal cover
• 0800/0845/0870 numbers

Our services are suitable for individuals, small companies and large businesses, and we pride ourselves on offering a bespoke service to suit each client's exact requirements, as simple or as complex as they may be. If you're looking to improve your customer service, streamline your operations or simply increase your sales, call answering could be the answer you've been looking for in 2013.

So from all of us at Zoom Answer Call (including all the Zoomettes!), have a wonderful Christmas and we hope to work with you next year!

How Does A Call Management Service Work?

Call management services offer peace of mind when it comes to phone answering for your business, day in, day out, all year round. At Zoom Answer Call, we help businesses in a wide variety of industries to keep on top of the customer service, customer acquisition, sales and the general running of their company. But how does a phone answering service actually work? 

There are three simple steps to organising call management for your business with Zoom Answer Call, and you can be up and running in no time at all. And if you want to try a seven day trial before you sign up, that's fine too!

Step 1

Give us a call on 0800 583 5020 and one of our call handlers will talk with you regarding your specific requirements for your business. You may simply be looking for calls to be put through to you (eg: a virtual reception), or messages taken and sent via email or text to you, or you may need a more in depth service such as call centre services or brochure sending. Whatever you need, we can organise a bespoke service to suit your company's needs. 

Step 2

Once your calls have been transferred to Zoom Answer Call, your 7-Day Free Trial will begin. At the end of the week we will provide you with an in depth report including a monthly estimate and breakdown of costs based on the services you need. From here we welcome your feedback on your service and hope you choose to continue to work with Zoom for the benefit of your business!

Step 3

If you wish to continue using our Zoomettes and our award-winning call answering services, all you need to do is sign up. You can do this via our online form, or on the phone with one of our operators.

That's all there is to it!

Our sales line is open from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, so please get in touch to find out more about how Zoom Answer Call can help your company to provide faultless customer service, increase your sales and improve your business reputation.