Body language matters, even when answering the telephone

Telephone call answering services take great note in making sure their staff are aware of their body language at all times.

When talking face to face, statistics indicate that only 7% of the message is conveyed and understood by the words used, 38% is conveyed by the way the words are spoken and 55% by body language. Of course when the conversation is over the telephone the body cannot be seen, making it easier for misunderstandings to occur.

Whether we are angry or happy, it is shown by our facial expression, and the movement of those muscles will affect the sound of the voice. When we smile our voice is lighter & when we feel anger the voice will be deeper, also the pace may be faster than normal.

When speaking on the telephone your body language still reflects your mood and feelings. The position of your body has a fundamental effect on how words sound, and breathing patterns play a major role in how words are spoken. Restriction happens as soon as you sit down due to our normal reaction of lowering our head and shoulders. Unfortunately, when your shoulders and chin are dropped the words are more muffled. Tone, pitch and pace of the voice are all affected by body language, which as a result can cause the words spoken to be interpreted wrongly.

Be aware of your body language, the way you sit or stand when on the telephone, and your breathing patterns. They all affect how you speak. Body language does matter on the telephone if we want to send messages that are correctly understood. This is why our Zoomettes always smile when we answer.

First impressions

First impressions are important for your company; these can gain or lose a potential client.

Telephone answering services cover some of the following services: inbound call centres; mail forwarding; virtual offices and virtual receptionists. The benefits are many fold, using this type of service, your client gets to speak to a real human being & you avoid the cost of office rental, thereby reducing overheads.

Telephone answering services such as Zoom’s call answering services can take some of the administrative burden off staff & thereby show a professional approach to potential clients. Our services can be tailored to the needs of your business. Some may only need to outsource out of hours and weekend calls or calls covered during meetings, staff holidays or cover for staff sickness. We can help with whatever you need.

After all, no one wants to be put on hold during a phone call.

Common Telephone Answering Myths

We all know good customer service when we experience it, but do we really know how to achieve it? Telephone answering can be a particular challenge when it comes to delivering excellent customer service as so many of the signs we use to read people's reactions are gone. We are left with only the tone of voice and the words used to figure out what the customer is feeling.

One common myth about delivering good customer service over the phone is that it has been achieved if everyone understands what has been decided and what will happen next. In actual fact, this is not effective communication. Good communication involves discussion rather than simply informing. Discussion helps build understanding on both sides, as well as comfort and commitment from the customer.

Another frequent mistake is to think that being frank is always the best policy. The difficulty is that what one person feels is frank, another person may find insulting. It is important to consider how you come across to other people.

Little changes to your telephone answering skills can make big changes to how your customers see you. At Zoom UK we are always striving to improve our telephone answering service and customer service skills.

More Than Just Call Answering

I'm sure you know by now that Zoom is a call answering service with a difference. We care about our customers and are always looking for new ways we can help. Whether it is simple telephone answering or a virtual reception you need, the little extras we offer are there to make your working life that little bit easier.

If you know that many of your calls are requests for information such as brochures, rather than forwarding these requests on to you for you to deal with, we can send out the brochures for you. The brochures will be sent out with your preferred letter and stationery, ready stamped with either first or second class postage.

By taking over this task, we can ensure that potential customers' requests for information are always dealt with promptly, even when you are out on the road all day.

The Benefits of a Call Answering Service

The benefits of a call answering service are huge, and can make a real difference to your business' efficiency, productivity and sales. It can also reduce stress and relieve pressures that are needlessly put on management and staff who have had to answer calls when this is not, strictly speaking, part of their job description.

Outsourcing your phone answering has many advantages, including:

- providing a consistently professional face to your company
- answering each call with a smile!
- allowing staff to get on with other tasks
- ensuring you never miss a call or message
- covering busy periods, holidays, leave or difficult times
- the choice between call centre services, virtual reception, call answering, telemarketing, diary management and brochure sending

Using a call answering service is a simple and valuable decision - but if you are still unsure, then take advantage of our 7 day FREE trial and let us change your mind!
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The Importance of Customer Service

What do your customers get when they call your company? An attentive call answering service or a busy, harried, inefficient staff member trying to do several things at once?

Today's business world relies on the positive word of mouth and recommendation of customers - the rise of social media and the internet has made this ever more relevant, since customers can easily broadcast their good (or bad) experiences via Twitter, Facebook, review sites and forums.

When new customers research your company and products, they will ultimately discover these opinions and views, and are far more likely to trust peer reviews and recommendations than the salestalk of your website. And what's the biggest element in keeping your customers happy? Quality, quick, attentive and knowledgeable customer service.

Your job - or should we say, OUR job - is to ensure that your customer service is top notch. Most customers still prefer to speak to a real person when they have a query, complaint, question or problem. Our call answering operators are highly trained to act as the face of your company, providing helpful and efficient advice and service to your valued clients and customers. Having a call answering service means that your customers will not be left waiting for their call to be answered, or get lost in a maze of "please press 1..." automated responses, or never get through to anyone at all!

Our Zoomettes answer each call with a smile, and are capable and professional call handlers, who can take on any aspect of your customer service as required. Improve your customer service, increase the amount of good word of mouth about your company and watch new customers roll in...

Give Your Customers the Service You Would Like

When thinking about how you can deliver the best service to your customers, you should consider what you feel good customer service really is. Where does it start? If you trace a client’s experiences of your business from first point of contact through closing the deal to delivering your service and the final contact, you need to aim to make every point as pleasant an experience as possible.

A telephone answering service can help with the first three points by making sure that every time a client or a potential client calls they hear a happy, friendly voice. The Zoomettes always smile when we answer a call, and we are always eager to help the caller. We never take a caller for granted just because they are already a client – every caller is treated as we would treat our own customers. You can test us on this just by calling!

Even your last contact with a client should leave them thinking positively of you. It is always a good idea to ask them what they thought of their whole experience with you, whether it was positive or negative. Feedback is useful in improving your service – if you don’t know what’s wrong, you can’t fix it.