Surge in Start-ups in 2013

The UK launched half a million start-ups in 2013 with 10,000 loans totalling over £50 million awarded by the Government's Start Up Loans scheme. Entrepreneurs hoping to grow businesses in the UK can get ahead of competitors and make an impact in the marketplace by proving they have great customer service and a dedicated telephone answering service is an essential element in growing small businesses and managing larger companies.

Call answering services provide a point of contact for customers day and night with professionally trained call handlers who can accommodate a range of different services according to your company's needs. From virtual reception services to diary management, brochure sending to call centre services, franchise call handling to non-geographical numbers - Zoom Answer Call offers high quality tailored services to start-ups, SMEs and large established businesses.

With a record number of start-ups emerging in the UK last year, we hope 2014 is the year of success for your company, and if you need help managing your incoming or outgoing calls let us help you to find the perfect solution with Zoom's dedicated telephone answering service. Try a free 7-day trial to see just how effective call management services can be for your business and watch your company grow in 2014!

Call Centre Services for Small Businesses

Small businesses often struggle through busy periods without the manpower they require, when a simple solution for any budget is a professional call centre service! We understand how hard it is to run a small business - Zoom UK used to be one once... But if you want your company to grow, it's essential to have the resources to cope with your workload - missed calls can lead to lost revenue, angry customers and a poorly-run business.

The best customer service operative is one who is courteous, professional, knowledgeable and calm. Robotic or rushed and noisy customer service departments can be a turn-off for customers, as are automated answering services and the worst of all - an unanswered phone.

A call centre service offers the reliability of a dedicated team of call handlers round the clock, providing faultless support when your phones are busy. Zoom UK's call management services work seamlessly with your operations so that your customers will have no idea that you've outsourced your services!

Setting up a call centre for your small business is easy with Zoom, and can be tailored to meet your requirements and your budget, from call answering to appointment making, virtual reception services to brochure sending.

Call us free on 0800 583 5020 to find out more about call centre services for small businesses and we'll help you to get set up in a matter of minutes. If you're unsure about how call management services might improve your business, you can try Zoom's 7-day free trial to see what a difference professional phone operators can make!

The Golden Rules of Professional Call Answering for Businesses

Professional call answering can be the element that elevates your business above your competitors. If customers are able to get hold of a company representative any hour of the day and always receive a consistent and high quality service, your reputation will shine! And by catching every single call that comes your way, you can be assured that you will never miss another opportunity again. A simple way to ensure that your call management is always top quality is to use a telephone answering service like Zoom UK, but if you're going it alone, here are our golden rules of professional call answering to help you stay on top of your phone enquiries:

Rule #1: Employ dedicated phone answering professionals. Your phones should not be answered by whatever member of staff happens to be passing at the time - to offer great customer service your phones need to be manned by well-trained staff who are available to answer every enquiry that comes in without fail. The person answering your calls should know how to deal with a variety of callers and who to pass enquiries onto as appropriate.

Rule #2: Answer your calls quickly. Ideally your phones should be answered within three rings - customers can get frustrated easily and an endlessly ringing phone is sure to put a negative spin on their interaction with your business.

Rule #3: Answer the phone with a smile! It might sound silly but it makes a huge difference to the atmosphere and reception of your business calls. Customers who speak to a professional, friendly and efficient representative is likely to come away feeling good about doing business with you and your reputation will naturally grow.

Rule #4: Always be polite and professional. Find the right balance for each of your calls according to their nature and reason. If you're dealing with a complaint or a problem, stay calm and do your best to help the customer to resolve the issue. If you're speaking to a long-term client on friendly terms, ensure you still stay professional.

Rule #5: Be concise and accurate. By taking down information from your business calls you can personalise your service to each customer according to their needs. Make sure any names, addresses, numbers or messages you take are spelled correctly and you are clear about what the customer needs and expects. Use the phonetic alphabet to confirm spellings professionally and avoid mistakes and errors in your data.

If you're unable to provide all these elements in your business calls or would like to try a professional service for free to see how it benefits your company, try a 7-day trial with Zoom Answer Call for free! Browse our range of call management services and let us help you to create a bespoke package to suit your needs and boost your business.

Why Use a Virtual Reception Service?

Sick of missing important business calls? If your company is stretched to its limit and you're struggling to keep on top of customers enquiries, a professional call management service could be a simple and effective answer. 

Virtual reception services offer a professional front to your business 24/7, seamlessly connecting customers to the right person, taking messages, booking appointments and sending out information and brochures as appropriate. Just like an in-house receptionist, Zoom call handlers are able to act as the first port of call for your customer enquiries, customer service, or technical support departments, ensuring that you never miss a call again.

In addition to virtual reception services, we also offer call centre services, telephone answering, non-geographical numbers, franchise call management and temporary holiday cover, along with plenty of little extras that help your business to run smoothly and efficiently. 

Get in touch with us at Zoomuk.co.uk  or call on 0800 583 5020 to speak to one of our Zoom operators and arrange your free 7-day trial to see just how much Zoom can improve your company's customer services.

Business Call Management Lets You Work Smarter, Not Harder...

Wouldn't it be nice to know that no matter how busy you are, your customers will always be able to get through to a professional representative on the phone? A business call management company provides you with reassurance that your customers are being looked after, your projects are being handled efficiently, and you'll never miss a call again. 

Zoom Answer Call has a proposition for you: give us just seven days and we'll show you exactly how our call handling services can boost your business and improve your customer service - you never know, having us on board may even allow you to reduce your working hours! Click here to start your free seven-day trial. 

Our business call management service options include: 

• Telephone answering
• Call diversion
• Message taking
• Appointment booking
• Brochure sending
• Virtual reception
• Call centre services
• Marketing campaigns
• Recruitment drives
• Technical support
• Customer service
• Holiday cover

And because your business is unique, our call management services are tailored to your needs and completely adaptable according to your changing requirements. Try us for a week for free and see for yourself!

Call Answering Cover for the Christmas Holidays

Christmas is on its way and despite being a massively busy time for most businesses, many companies find themselves short staffed as employees take their annual leave to celebrate the holidays. If you or your staff are planning on taking time off over the seasonal period you will need to think about how this will affect your business and the incoming enquiries that will continue to come in while you're off work. Will you be able to pick up the slack if employees are on holiday? Do you have backup in place to cover this busy time? 

The good news is, there's a way to cover the Christmas holidays without having to sacrifice your time off, or limit your employees' holiday time. By hiring temporary cover from a call handling company like Zoom UK, you can be assured that your incoming calls will be answered, your appointments scheduled, your messages noted, and brochures sent out. You can even arrange a virtual reception desk to divert and direct your calls, or opt for full call centre services to handle customer services, technical support, or Christmas marketing campaigns. 

Customers are never impressed by reaching an automated answerphone - they want to get through to a professional representative no matter the time or day. Don't risk losing custom at the busiest time of the year - back up your company reputation with a dedicated call management service over the holiday period and enjoy your time off knowing that your business is in safe hands. For a 7-day free trial with Zoom, visit www.zoomuk.co.uk. 

How to Improve Customer Retention

Customer retention is just as important (if not more important) than customer acquisition, and it comes down to how efficient your business process is - especially in sales. If doing business with you isn't straightforward, fast, effective and worthwhile, your customers will go elsewhere. Similarly, if your customers encounter a problem and you are not able to adequately handle the situation, they'll leave with a negative view of your company. 

Improving customer retention needn't mean massive changes to your business - most of the tips you'll find below are basic common sense but will ensure your customers are encouraged to stay a loyal member of your business community and keep coming back to you.

• Use enticing and positive vocabulary that promise good value, exclusivity and novelty. Free gifts, special deals, new ranges, instant service - all these suggest a great deal and encourage customers to make that purchase.
• When dealing with reluctant customers or conservative spenders, reassuring words may help with your sales approach. Re-frame your speech to appeal to thrifty customers and show them how they will be saving money by choosing certain options.
• Always answer the phone with a smile and maintain a polite and professional demeanour throughout your call. Our Zoom call handlers are experts in the art of the business phone call and offer great customer service whenever they pick up the phone.
• Reciprocate and go above and beyond for your customers to show that you are committed to them. If loyal customers are rewarded, they'll continue to give you repeat business. Giving back to customers doesn't need to be costly - small gestures and little personal touches can be more effective than a large deal if you make your customer feel as if this deal is purely for them.
• Personalised service really goes a long way. Collect information on your customers whenever you do business with them and show them that you are keeping track of your business relationship and aren't simply just another name on a list.
• Make sure your service runs smoothly, your processes are quick and trouble free, and your calls are always directed to the right person as quickly as possible. Fast and efficient business does wonders for your customer retention!
• Make it easy for customers to find support when they need it. A dedicated support team is just as essential as your sales team. When customers feel frustrated and ignored, their experience will taint their entire business transaction.

For help providing your customers with top quality service, let the Zoom team help you with your phone management services and watch your customer service retention increase!

10 Reasons to Rely on Zoom Call Answering Services

We take your business seriously at Zoom Answer Call - every client and every company has their own specific needs and we tailor each of our call management services to suit your requirements. So why choose Zoom for your call handling? Well, here are our top ten reasons why we think our telephone operators are the best in the business:

1. We invest in the training and personal development of every single Zoom operator, ensuring that they achieve levels 1 to 3 in customer service NVQs. 

2. Our operators have specific skill sets that can be applied to different phone answering services such as virtual reception, brochure sending, appointment making, sales, and technical support.

3. We provide our Zoom call handlers with client-specific training so that they can provide seamless services for your company - your customers won't be able to tell the difference! We actively encourage our clients to come and take part in this process so you know your operators are trained in the skills they'll need to represent your  business.

4. We recruit our operators from customer service backgrounds so they have plenty of experience and expertise even before we turn them into high-quality Zoomers and Zoomettes!

5. We have one of the highest staff retention rates in the industry! Our operators enjoy what they do and it shows when they answer your calls with a smile.

6. Our Zoom operators have a great team spirit and are local to our clients, meaning that your company will have a real asset of committed and dedicated additional staff when you need extra help on your phone lines.

7. Zoom Answer Call has grown through our excellent reputation and high-quality service. We started with just two zoomettes (who are still with us, over 10 years later!) and now have served thousands of happy customers, answering over a quarter of a million calls! We won the Action International Business of the Year in 2006 for most improved customer results over one year.

8. We offer a FREE seven-day trial of our call handling services so you can see what an effect our phone management service can have on your business.

9. We have a 24 hour live service, offering your customers the ability to speak to a real person seven days a week, including bank holidays!

10. We don't lock our clients into contracts - they stay with us because they love us and they find such value in our service! 

Ready to start your journey with Zoom Answer Call yet? Give us a ring on 0800 583 5020 or read more about our professional business call handling services and all we've achieved over the last ten years at our website. 

Why Choose Call Answering Services?

Our clients have some wonderful things to say about their experience with Zoom Answer Call, and help us to spread the word on the real and tangible benefits of a phone answering service, such as:

• Polite and professional call answering
• Efficient customer service
• A solution to staff shortages/holiday cover
• A personalised service
• Fast and efficient message delivery
• Seamless integration into your business
• Allowing even small business to offer 24/7, year-round service to their customers
• Flexible and adaptable
• Never missing a call again (or losing an enquiry to your competitors) 

And, in one of our favourite testimonials, one client experienced a huge improvement in sales:

“In our first month with Zoom, we have had a whopping great 78% increase in leads received; this is very largely due to you girls, as we now don't miss a single call. Thanks!”

Mark Newey of Winning Minds

If you're looking for effective call management and a way to provide excellent customer service and response even when you're not in the office, why not give our 7-Day Free Trial a go? Discover the benefits of a professional phone answering service for yourself, whether you are a small local business or a large multi-national company - Zoom Answer Call can help you to improve and develop your business while reducing your workload!

What Kind of Business Use Call Answering Services?

If you're wondering whether your business needs a call answering service, you might want to consider the amount of different companies that currently implement phone answering professionals in order to maximise their productivity - from small local businesses to huge global brands.

Call answering can help the day to day running of your business as well as improving sales numbers, raising your level of customer service and reducing the stress of managing a busy company. So what kind of businesses actually use call answering services like Zoom Answer Call?

The answer is: almost every industry! Companies big and small are turning to call answering services to cover their phonelines, and here are just a few examples:

• Individuals/managers in need of a 'virtual' PA
• Small local retail businesses
• Retail suppliers 
• Solicitors
• Training providers
• Education specialists
• Design agencies and web developers
• Car hire companies
• Interior designers
• Communication providers
• Property management companies
• Consultants
• Power providers
• And many more...

If you'd like to know how Zoom Answer Call can help your business to grow, develop and function more efficiently, give us a call on 0800 583 5020!