Annoying Voicemails? Not with a Zoomette on board!

There's nothing more annoying for a customer or a potential customer being left hanging on the other end of the line whilst the phone rings and rings eventually going to a cold automated voice mail service. When it comes to telephone manners first impressions count on the phone just as much as they do in a face to face situation. By using Zoom's answering call service you never need worry about the possibility of not getting to the phone in time or the danger of losing a customer because they preferred not to leave a voice message.

Our professional team of Zoomettes are your very own virtualreceptionists and will answer your calls efficiently, courteously and with a smile, leaving you to concentrate on other areas of the business. We offer a flexible cost-effective service that is there when you need it, whether you require your calls to be answered day and night or during standard business hours, having a phone answering service shows that you care in a world where time is valuable. Why not give us a try with our free 7 day no obligation trial and discover a whole new way of phone answering – get in touch on 0800 583 5020. 

How To Make Customers Happy

At Zoom, not only do we answer the phone many (MANY!!) times a day in our virtual receptionist and call answering roles, we also offer a variety of call centre services. Often, people calling call centres are either already upset as they have a problem, or they do not expect anything other than adequate service. We like to prove them wrong! Here are a few tips to exceeding your customers' expectations.

• Empathise with the customer
• Putting yourself in the customer's shoes and treating them how you would like to be treated in the same situation is an easy way to keep the customer's interests in mind. If you manage to give the customer the impression that you truly understand, they are more likely to trust you. 
• Take ownership
• Customers hate being passed from pillar to post, so wherever possible you should aim to help them without transferring the call to several other people. If they have a problem you can solve, don't pass the buck just because it's easier for you.
• Don't follow a script
• Customers can tell when you are reading from a script rather than just using your own words, and they don't like it. It's not hard, just tell them what you will do and when you will do it (then make sure you do what you've promised!).
• Review things with your colleagues
• If you have had a difficult call, talk about it with your colleagues and manager. Perhaps you handled it really well, in which case other members of the team can learn from you, or perhaps other people could suggest different ways you could have dealt with it. Either way, learning from each other is good for the whole team, and the customer.
• Make things easy for the customer
• Whatever the reason for their call, the customer wants it dealt with as quickly as possible, and with as little effort required from them as possible. It's pointless to spend all your time trying to be the best call centre operator, delivering excellent customer service, if the customer gets frustrated at how long it takes for anything to get done.

What A Receptionist Shouldn't Do

Your company's receptionist is usually the first point of call for clients old and new, so it is absolutely crucial that they know how to speak to clients on the phone so that they portray the appropriate image of your company. A friendly, cheerful and professional sounding receptionist gives the impression that your whole company is friendly, cheerful and professional.

It is very obvious when you are on the receiving end of a badly handled phonecall. Most of us will have experience of rude or grumpy receptionists, so I'm sure you know what you wouldn't want a receptionist representing you to do! Some examples we have experienced are:

• people only saying "Hello" when answering company calls instead of introducing themselves and the company - this leaves the caller feeling unsure that they dialled the right number, and it sounds very unprofessional.
• an abrupt receptionist gives the impression that their time is being wasted by answering the phone and does not give a welcoming feel to your company.
• telephone calls transferred without any warning - at best the client is left confused about what the receptionist is actually doing, and at worst they can think they have been disconnected and hang up.
• receptionists who don't ask your name before transferring the call and don't announce the call to the recipient. This is frustrating for the caller as they then have to explain themselves again.

Our virtual receptionists not only answer calls promptly, we use the same company spiel you prefer (E.g."Good morning, [Company name], [receptionist's name] speaking, how can I help?") and represent your company to the highest standard. Calls can be transferred easily, just as if we were in your office with you, and we always try to take a thorough message so you know what people were calling for before you call back. Customer service is paramount, so let us know what you need; our service is totally flexible.

Businesses in Multiple Locations

Businesses based in multiple locations are becoming very common these days; more so when you consider that more and more staff are able to work primarily from home. In these situations, deciding which location should receive the telephone calls can be a challenge, especially if there are few people at each location. Once you have answered the call, dealing with it when the ideal recipient is miles away can in practice mean taking a message and offering to ask the right person to ring the caller back.

These call answering woes can easily be remedied with a virtual reception. Our Zoomettes can easily act as a centralised reception service, ensuring calls are answered promptly even during busy periods, and calls can be transferred to the right person wherever they are based. We will answer the call just as if we were in the same building as you, and even if you are working from home, or out on the road, the call can be transferred seamlessly, giving the impression that you too are right there in the office! Message handling is also easier to keep track of, with all messages sent instantly via email, SMS or fax directly to the relevant person. Don't let multiple locations stop you from having a professional reception service.

Spring Cleaning - Outsource Your Telephone Services

As Spring is finally here (okay the weather may not agree, but the daffodils have already been blooming, so it must be spring!), it's time to think about spring cleaning. Just as you spring clean your house, it is worth spring cleaning your business by reviewing your processes, and seeing where you could improve things or save money. One area that can save you time and money is switching to a call answering service.

Outsourcing certain departments such as reception (with our virtual reception service), telephone answering or call centre services, can free you and your staff up to do more of the work that actually earns you money, as well as ensuring you don't have to field all the unwanted sales calls! Using Zoom's call centre services can even increase your leads and sales, potentially earning yet more money! There is lots more information about the call answering services we offer on our website.

Expanding Your Business In 2012?

Firstly, everyone at Zoom hopes you had a fantastic Christmas, and are ready to bring in the New Year tomorrow night. As a business owner, you will have already been making plans for 2012. We think you should consider using our call answering services to help your business expand in the new year.

Your time is best spent on the work your business does for its clients, and on growing your business, whether that's through networking or meetings with clients. Answering the phone, on the other hand, is not something that needs to be done by you personally, and by outsourcing to a telephone answering service like Zoom, you are freed up to do all the things that do need you. With our personal service, and highly trained team, your clients will never notice the difference. And you won't have to deal with any more annoying sales calls!

Zoom's Virtual Reception service is another option which enhances the image of your business and allows your calls to be put through to the right person, just as an in-house receptionist would. Even when you're out of the office, your clients' calls can be put through to you, as if you were still in the office, truly allowing you to get on with expanding your business without your current clients suffering.

Reduce Costs and Increase Productivity

We're all feeling the pinch in the current economy, and many businesses are looking for ways to save money and cut costs. One easy way to free up time and expenditure is to outsource some of your company's services - for example answering phones - so that your staff can make better use of the time that they have.

At Zoom UK, we specialise in making things easy for our clients - no matter the size of business, and no matter the extent of our responsibility. By investing in outsourcing your phone answering, you can dramatically increase productivity of your staff, who will be free to work on their primary jobs rather than stopping to answer calls and field off telemarketers.

We also provide a virtual receptionist service, to seamlessly manage calls and transfers - once again, freeing up your business time and effort and making sure your work day runs as smoothly as possible.

You'll never miss a call again with Zoom Answer Call.

Try our FREE 7 day trial and see for yourself.