Author: Touch Communications

What Live Call Transfer Can Do for Your Business

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Are there days when you and your employees resemble bees – buzzing in an out of the office – going to meetings, appointments, service calls and so forth? This may be necessary for you to effectively run your business but it can make it difficult for customers, suppliers and other business contacts to get in touch with you. Live Call Transfer with Touch Communications can help you solve this problem.

businessman takes a call on the coast

What is Live Call Transfer?

Glad you asked! Essentially, Live Call Transfer is a way that you can make yourself, or a designated employee, available to take certain calls regardless of where you are. The way it works is simple – the caller dials your number and the phone is answered by one of our CSRs. The CSR will find out who’s calling and the reason for their call and then put them briefly on hold while they contact you and ask if you’d like to take the call.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re travelling with your cell phone, at home, or on vacation – as long as we have a number where we can reach you – the CSR can then transfer the call.

Convenience and usability through Touch Communication’s web portal

One question that we get a lot when we are discussing the benefits of Live Call Transfer is how we are able to manage when some types of calls should go to certain people, or how we manage businesses in which employees work various shifts being “on-call”.

Our easy to use web portal helps you to manage it all. When one of our CSRs takes a call, they quickly reference the data that you have inputted into our online system. Whether a certain employee is on vacation and not reachable or whether your staff is on a rotating schedule, our CSRs are able to determine who should receive certain calls at any given time.

Touch’s Buddy system is also available to allow you and your employees to manage their own call preferences.

Why use Live Call Transfer when I have a voicemail system?

Many businesses these days have voicemail systems which are easy enough to check from an offsite location. The problem with these, however, is that many callers do not like leaving messages – in fact, some would even prefer just to hang up and call your competitor instead.

Another problem is that you must REMEMBER to check your voicemail messages. Especially if you are hard at work on a project, or enjoying some much deserved R&R, it can be easy to forget that someone might be trying to get in touch with you. The last thing you want to do is ignore a call that may be urgent.

Of course, if you do remember to check your voicemail on a regular basis, you will only be wasting your time, if there are no messages when you call in.

Live Call Transfer from Touch Communications accomplishes two very important tasks. First, it gives your caller a personal touch since they can speak with a real live person rather than a voicemail. Second, it directs important calls right to you so you can determine immediately how to handle them.

Don’t let another call to your business go unanswered. Contact Touch Communications today and learn what Live Call Transfer can do for you.

24/7 Service AND 24/7 Support

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Regular business hours are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With more and more businesses offering the ability to purchase products over the internet and call centres with 24/7 service, the modern customer is coming to expect service on demand. Companies that don’t offer this immediate service are likely to lose business to their competition.

24 hours

With the world being as connected as it is, we have simply come to expect instantaneous service.

At Touch Communications, we offer 24/7 Service AND 24/7 Support in order to keep your clients happy – and to keep YOU happy.

24/7 Service

There are many reasons why you might want to have someone answering your business line every day of the week, around the clock. Perhaps your business is one that offers emergency services – such as a plumber or electrician. Or perhaps, you have customers calling in from different time zones and you simply want to make sure your business is available.

But even if these descriptions don’t match your business, there is one simply reason why every business owner should want that line answered every single time – and that reason is that if a potential customer calls and ends up getting your voicemail instead of a real live person, there is a very good chance that rather than leave a message, they will simply call your competition. And if your competition offers 24/7 service, then you cannot afford not to.

At Touch Communications, we realize that most small businesses don’t have the manpower or resources to constantly be manning the phone. That’s why we offer 24/7 service that is both professional and affordable.

24/7 Support

If you are a business owner who wants your customers to be able to get 24/7 service, then it stands to reason that you yourself would probably appreciate 24/7 service as well. And that’s why we offer 24/7 support to our customers.  After all, some of your best business ideas probably occur outside of regular business hours.

Whether inspiration strikes you at 3:00 am and you want to change how your customers are greeted, or you suddenly realize after you’ve already left for vacation that you need to change your company’s emergency contact, our customer service representatives are always available and willing to help.

Support and Service ANYTIME you need it!

There are many benefits to working with a company like Touch Communications and offers 24/7 Service and Support. Here are just a few of the reasons that 24/7 is the way to go:

  • Lowers your risk of losing business to your competition
  • Ideal for businesses that offer emergency services
  • Provides for flexibility for customers calling in from different time zones
  • More affordable that hiring additional staff to be “on-call” 24/7.
  • Greater flexibility for you as a call centre client
  • Access reports or make changes to your service whenever you need it

So what are you waiting for? Nine to five is so yesterday. Give your customers the service they desire and give yourself the support you deserve with 24/7 service and support from Touch Communications.

The impact of words on customer interactions

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One of the biggest concerns that business owners have when they are contemplating whether or not to hire a call centre is that customer interactions will become overly scripted and impersonal. After all, most of us have had at least one experience of dealing with a call centre rep who sounded more like a robot than a human being. That’s why it’s important to work with call centres whose reps are trained to listen carefully to what your customer is saying and then choose their words carefully and wisely in order to produce the best customer experience possible.

Here are a few ways that the best call centre CSRs choose their words to create a positive customer experience:

businessman takes a call on the coast

Accentuate the positive

The simple act of removing negative phrases can greatly improve the customer experience. For example, “We can’t give you a quote unit you’ve had an in-home consultation,” should be replaced by “In order for us to give you an accurate quote, let’s set up a time for an in-home consultation.”

In a study to measure the effects of simply removing the use of negative phrases, it was found that companies that use more positive language to convey the same message are ranked significantly higher by their customers.

Experience engineering

Another approach which can be quite effective – though it may be ethically questionable – is that of experience engineering. The idea here is to make a not-so-attractive option more palatable.

This can be demonstrated in the case of an airline where the CSR is dealing with a passenger whose flight has been cancelled. If the cancelled flight was for the morning, the CSR might let the customer know that they can book them for an evening flight – an option that could easily cause some disappointment especially if they are in a hurry to get to their destination.

On the other hand, the CSR who wishes to engineer a better experience might say something like, “I know it will be possible to get you on a flight for tomorrow morning, but first let me see if I’m able to get you on a flight for this evening.”  Now instead of being upset that they are being put on an evening flight, the customer might instead feel relieved that they do not have to wait until the next day.

To be effective in today’s marketplace, call centre reps have to go beyond simply following a script and checking off boxes. They must first and foremost be real human beings who listen to customers concerns, and who can provide them with solutions to their problems. These CSRs must also be cognizant of their language and how their choice of words will reflect on them and the companies that they are representing.

That’s why at Touch Communications, we never use a cookie cutter approach. Instead, we train our customer service representatives to take a unique approach based on the companies that they are representing. To learn more about how our services can help your businesses, get in touch with us today.

Winter Weather Calling

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It may have taken a bit longer to get here than usual this year, but the Canadian winter in Southern Ontario now seems to be fully upon us with many areas experiencing heavy snowsqualls and just plain nasty weather. And while we are a hearty bunch, there tend to be a few days each season that are bad enough that trying to dig your way out your subdivision and slipping and sliding all the way to the office are just not worth the risk.

Snow Covered Car

Car buried in snow.

But since these storms can happen unexpectedly, how do you relay the message to the rest of your team, or to your clients and customers that they should sit back and enjoy that second cup of coffee because the inclement weather has shut down operations for the day?

If you have a very small team, you could call everyone individually, but that takes time and effort that could be better spent curling up on the sofa with a great book, listening to howl of the frigid winds from a safe distance. And besides, wouldn’t it be better if you only had to make one telephone call or send a single email that would let not only your employees know you were closing for the day but also any customers or clients that were planning on coming in?

How Touch Communications can help

With call answering services from Touch Communications, it is easy to let all the right people know that your business is having a snow day. Simply let us know about your company’s closures and delays and that information can be passed on to anyone who might be calling in to inquire about your business’s status.

Why use live call answering for inclement weather closure notices?

While it might be tempting to rely on company voicemail to relay notices of closures and delays, there are several good reasons why live call answering makes sense. Here are a few of the benefits to employing the help of the professional customer service representatives at Touch Communications:

  • Simple to arrange – even the best voicemail systems can have glitches. Make sure your employees and customers get the message, by having real people convey it to them.
  • 24/7 Service – As soon as you know that your business will be closed or delayed, you can let us know and we can relay the message to callers – it doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday night or at 4:00 am on a weekday.
  • Reschedule appointments – If you operate a business or organization that relies on appointments, our CSRs can not only let your clients know that you are closed, but we can also reschedule their appointments.
  • Call transferring – Even though your physical doors are closed for the day, as an entrepreneur, chances are you are still working. You may wish to have certain calls transferred to you by landline or cell phone. The CSRs at Touch can screen your calls and transfer the ones you still want directly to you.
  • Emergency service – The weather outside may be frightful but you may still want to provide emergency services. Should an emergency call come in, we can give appropriate advice or transfer the call according to your instructions.

Yes, winter is finally here, and closures will happen, but with a little help from your friends at Touch Communications, it will be much easier to weather the storm.

What makes call centres great? It’s their people!

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At some point or another, we have all contacted call centres. Whether it is to do our banking, get assistance with an IT problem or to book a medical appointment, call centres have become part of our lives. Determining if your experience was a good one or a bad one, however, all comes down to one factor – the person who answered the telephone. Whether or not the person on the other end of the line was friendly, helpful and put you at ease was critical to the type of customer experience that you had.  After all, should you have a bad experience, you may never call back.

woman on phone headset

Most call centres have similar equipment, similar processes in place and similar capabilities. What distinguishes a great call centre from one that is merely okay, is its people. That’s why here at Touch Communications, we consider our employees to be our most important resource and we actively seek out customer service representatives that will be able to provide the best customer experiences for our clients.

What do we look for when hiring customer service representatives?

An excellent telephone manner is, of course, key – but this is a skill that is (or should be) common to all call centres. At Touch Communications we are interested in finding candidates who also have great leadership skills, who can be empathetic to the needs of their callers and who have the analytical acumen necessary to help solve their problems.

Some of our clients require that our CSRs also be salespeople, and for this we look for people who are able to speak persuasively and who have a competitive side to them.

Finding such individuals goes beyond merely looking at previous positions and skills on their resume. We look for well-rounded people who are actively involved in their community. We understand that the better our employees connect with others outside the workplace, the better they will be able to connect with their callers.

We aim to hire the type of people you would hire

A call centre should be considered as an extension of your own business. In fact, when your customers get put through to a call centre, in most cases they should not even be aware that the person with whom they are speaking is not directly employed by you.

The customer service representative should answer the telephone with a script that was agreed upon by you and take the same appropriate action that you would take if you had answered the call yourself.

Because of this, we do our best to look for the same qualities in our employees that you would look for in your own.  Our customer service representatives are patient, have great communication skills, are adept at using the appropriate computer software, have good typing speed and are excellent multi-taskers.

These skills enable them to perform a variety of tasks such as knowing when to forward a call and when to take a message, setting up appointments on your behalf, and even providing sales services. Contracting with a call centre makes good business sense for a variety of reasons, but only if that call centre has excellent people working there. When you contract services from Touch Communications, you can be confident that our excellent people will provide excellent service.

On the road a lot? Prevent distracted driving by using a call centre

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We have all heard stories of car accidents that have been caused as a direct result of a driver being distracted by their cellphone. Perhaps even you yourself have been involved in such a collision or know someone who has. But if you run a business, it can be tempting to answer you call every time it rings – even if it takes your focus off the important task of driving.  A hands-free phone in your car is one option, but even this increases the likelihood of you being in an accident. Why not work with a call centre instead – this way you can have confidence that your callers are being taken care of and you can focus on getting yourself safely to your next meeting or appointment.

distracted driving ticket

Is answering my phone really that big a deal?

Many people believe that they can concentrate on their driving while still taking a call. Besides the fact that more and more jurisdictions are imposing strict penalties and fines for distracted driving (which can make that a pretty expensive phone call if you get caught!), the facts about driver distraction and car accidents speak for themselves:

  • Drivers who are distracted are three times more likely to be in an accident.
  • Drivers who are texting on their cellphones are 23 times more likely to be in an accident.
  • 80% of collisions can be attributed in whole or in part to inattentive driving.
  • The economic costs of vehicle collisions (in terms of lost productivity and health care) amount to at least $10 billion each year – that’s is approximately 1% of Canada’s GDP! [i]

Ok, I’m convinced but how can a call centre help me?

As tempting as it may be to answer your phone when you are on the road, the fact is that most callers can wait until you are at least safely parked. And no calls are so important that they are worth risking your safety or the safety of others on the road.

With call centre services from Touch Communication, you can have peace of mind that your callers are getting the same level of professional treatment that they would get from you had you answered the phone yourself.

Touch Communications offers:

  • Friendly and professional customer service representatives who answer the phone with a script and process tailored to your company.
  • CSRs who are able to perform a variety of tasks on your behalf such as answering basic questions, scheduling appointments in an online calendar, and forwarding calls to an appropriate person in your organization.
  • 24/7 service so that your callers can get through any time day or night.

With the widespread use of cellphones, distracted driving has become a major problem in today’s hectic world where we always feel like we need to be connected. But you can make a choice to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.  Stay off your phone while you are driving and make sure that your employees do the same. Let Touch Communications assist your callers while you get safely to your destination.

[i] Source: http://distracteddriving.caa.ca/education/

 

Touch Communications checks out Winter Fest

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We checked out Winterfest 2016 at the Hamilton Central Library! Local History and Archives staff have gone into the vaults and selected some amazing images of Hamilton during the winter. ?

Winterfest is full of local events, entertainment and exhibits every winter and we’re happy we got to check out some of these rare photos!

 

Winterfest collage

headset on globe

An Outstanding Answering Service

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TOUCH Communications Inc. is a reliable and professional Answering Service that can provide your business with the upper hand on investment. We can provide your company with outstanding customer service, appointment handling, data processing and connecting all parties involved as one. Our experienced and well-trained customer service representatives will act as your company’s ambassador, protecting and enhancing your brand while either resolving client issues, or messaging and leaving callers confident that someone will get back to them as soon as possible.

One thing we’re very familiar with is Emergency Services, such as immediately escalating urgent matters according to your emergency protocol ensuring your service level agreements are always adhered.

That is just the beginning of what we can do for you! – Get in TOUCH with us today to find out what else we can do for your company!

Address: 118 James St N, Hamilton, ON L8R 2K7
Phone:+1 888-667-5750