When people think of live call answering services such as those provided by Touch Communications, they likely think of it being used for commercial purposes. And while our service is commonly used that way, it can also prove to be a huge benefit to social services organizations, such as mental health and addiction services.

The following are a few of the ways in which live call answering can help assist with these types of organizations.

Stop missing calls

When a person is in crisis, it is imperative that they are able to speak with a real person. If your organization’s crisis response staff are all busy on other calls, having the assistance of a call centre such as one operated by TOUCH could make the difference between a client staying clean, sober and safe or not.

When your staff is busy, a customer service representative from TOUCH can offer a human voice that can redirect the call to an appropriate extension or department.

Around the clock service

As a mental health or addiction services organization, you know that crises don’t just happen during normal business hours. The TOUCH communication call centre is open 24/7, so your clients will always be able to get through to a real person.

For emergency calls, you can arrange to have calls forwarded to a designated person or people in your organization. This can be done through a set schedule – i.e. different people depending on the day and time, or it can be changed via a simple communication to our office.

Professional representation of your brand

One reason why some organizations may be hesitant to hire a live call answering service for their social services organization is that they wonder how CSRs will interact with their clients. With a company like TOUCH Communications, however, those concerns can be put to rest.

At TOUCH we understand that the way we treat your clients reflects on your reputation and brand – and when those clients are vulnerable persons, professionalism and courtesy are of utmost importance. That’s why we take the time to learn about your organization and train our CSRs to answer and handle calls to your exact specifications.

When a client calls through to a TOUCH CSR, they never feel that they are dealing with a call centre. Instead, they feel that they have reached one of your representatives who is on their side and working to ensure that they get the best service possible.

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The summer is upon us and there is so much to do that doesn’t involve work. Most of us will be taking advantage of the warm weather with increased activities throughout the province, but closing down shop when you hit the fairways isn’t an option. Missing a call is unfortunate and with the right help, doesn’t have to ever happen. Unwinding on the golf course can be a reality when knowing your calls are taken care of in your absence. Don’t just let all your business calls go to the machine or even worse, remain unanswered. A missed call can mean a missed sale.

Choosing a Call Answering Provider

What you need as a business owner who also has a life outside of the office is an answering service. Not just any answering service, though. It’s imperative that your call answer provider knows your business. Every time they answer one of your customer calls, they are representing you and your business. Whoever is representing your company while you get in 18 holes should be providing a personal touch. Anyone can get an answering machine. You will be able to relax this summer knowing that someone is caring for your clients while you’re taking care of you.

Call Forwarding

One service you may consider is call forwarding. Consider having your calls forward to an answering service that can provide that personal touch. A customized greeting is an option and can be tailored to suit your business. You may choose to have all web calls transferred as well. This keeps them all in one place and with consistent attention. Caller ID is important as well, this service will identify where people are calling from, which is valuable information for any business.

Personalized Greetings

A great communications company will provide a plethora of services, making time away from the office less scary. When shopping for an answering service ensure that your calls are not be answered generically. An answering machine can do that. The company you choose to manage your calls when you’re unavailable should be an extension of your business. Your customers are important to you. Allowing anyone who communicates with these customers must be trustworthy. Also, a great answering service provider should operate 24/7 so you don’t have to.

Whether you choose to transfer calls, live transfer, page or utilize message dispatch, your answering service should provide a seamless representation of your company. This will allow you to make the most of what limited time you have away from your business. Creating a line-up at the golf course because you are trying to take calls when you should be putting isn’t an option.

Here at Touch Communications, we take pride in being a trusted and experienced company that will treat your business with the same care you do. Contact us today and our team of experts will help you manage your business calls so you can make the most out of your personal time.

Learn More about Live Call Answering

Mobile phones have changed the way we live. They are not mere phones anymore – they are our watches and our calendars and even our bank tellers. They are our cameras that we use to record our lives so that we can post on Instagram or SnapChat. They provide us access to our emails and a convenient way for us to carry all of our Facebook friends around with us in our pockets. And potential Pokemon related injuries aside; they presumably make our lives easier and safer.

Being that mobile phones play such a big role in our everyday lives, is it any wonder that so many people feel naked without them? If you’ve ever gone into a state of panic because you’ve reached into your pocket or your purse and couldn’t find your mobile phone, you are not alone. The anxiety you feel even has a name – researchers of this phenomenon are calling it “nomophobia” which is short for “no-mobile-phone-phobia”.

Dependence on Mobile Phones

It is no secret that we as a society have become increasingly dependent on mobile devices. But this dependence is not without its consequences.

In psychology, there is a phenomenon known as transactive memory. What this means is simply this – the more access we have to an external source of information, the less motivated and able we become to remember it ourselves. For example, if one partner in a household takes on the sole responsibility of paying the monthly utilities, the other partner will be less likely to remember what the average monthly cost is for the cable, heating, hydro, etc.

In the same way, we are less likely to read and remember reviews about a particular restaurant, when we know that we can always consult TripAdvisor should we get a hankering for some good Thai food. While it used to be that we had to get that sort of information from magazines or recommendations from other people (or simply take a chance and hope the food and service are good), today access to information is as simple as tapping a screen.

Studies in Nomophobia

For obvious reasons, the study of nomophobia is in its early stages. Researchers at Iowa State University recently published a paper in which they created a measure called the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q). The measure was created using 20 questions which they administered to undergraduate students regarding their feelings about their mobile devices and then ranking various responses from 1-7.

Degrees of nomophobia were then categorized ranging from mild to severe.

In their analysis, researchers found four main components of nomophobia 1) loss of communication 2) loss of connectedness 3) loss of access to information 4) loss of convenience.

How Serious is Nomophobia?

The work done on nomophobia to date has only been done to develop and validate the scale, and as far as we know, it is not a completely debilitating condition. Like our dependence on many other types of technology, such as cars and indoor plumbing, reliance on one’s cellphone is probably not the most terrible thing in the world. Just to be on the safe side though, it might be worth disconnecting from time to time nevertheless.

A business owner might think they have a good reason to have nomophobia. After all, if they don’t have their phone on hand at all times, they might miss out on potential clients and upset their current ones. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. TOUCH Communications offers professional live call answering service so that business owners can provide excellent service to their clients while enjoying personal time away from work. Contact us today and we’ll find the right call answering service for you.

Fundraising is a huge component of any charitable or not-for-profit organization, but with so many deserving causes out there, the competition for dollars can be pretty fierce. Furthermore, people are – rightly – increasingly more cautious about which fundraising efforts they support. So how can you have a successful fundraising campaign? It helps to have an edge – and live call answering might just be the edge that your organization needs.

Let’s take a look at a few of the reasons why you might want to incorporate live call answering into your next fundraising initiative:

Professional Representation

If you’re asking people to donate their hard earned money, enter a raffle or purchase a ticket for an upcoming dinner dance and silent auction, it stands to reason that you will have better success if you have professional customer service representatives standing by to answer their calls.

Don’t get us wrong, volunteers are essential to your organization but when dealing with the public – however it’s difficult to stretch volunteers to cover every hour someone might call.  Plus, you may have to rent office space for this, purchase landline phones, or rely on cellphones, all which have their own disadvantages.  With live call answering, we always have a professional who will represent your organization’s brand according to your specific instructions.

27/7 Service

Day or night, if someone has an inquiry about your fundraising campaign, there will always be someone on the phone to assist them.  Using a live call answering service such as Touch Communications means that you’re always open for business meaning, you can enjoy your free time rather than being tied to the phone.  Reaching a live contact vs an answering machine, also helps put the caller at ease.

Free up your volunteers

Volunteering to help a worthy cause can be an incredibly rewarding experience, however, having them answer phones may distract them from other tasks. With Touch Communications, our services will free up your volunteer’s time, allowing you to make better use of your volunteers.  This may include tasks such as canvasing, putting together fundraising packages, or helping set up events.

If you are running a fundraising campaign for your organization, there are many good reasons to enlist the help of a company such as Touch Communications. Give us a call today and see what when can do for you.

Learn More about Live Call Answering

Many businesses today are becoming increasingly mobile. We work from our home offices and it’s possible to take a call from an important client no matter where we are, as long as we have our cell phone – that is, as long as we have good reception.

The problem is, it’s not always possible to have good reception. Remote northern or rural areas can still be a challenge if there are no cell towers nearby – and even in the heart of the city, if a tradesperson is working in a basement, it’s still possible that they could drop a call or miss it altogether. And this can ultimately mean lost business and lost revenue.

Live call answering service from Touch Communications can solve that problem.

How Live Call Answering Works

When someone calls your business number, if you have live call answering then the call automatically goes to one of our professional and courteous customer service representatives. Don’t worry – as far as the customer is concerned, they are speaking to one of your staff members!

Once a call is received there are several courses of action that our CSRs can take depending on your preferences. We can answer the callers’ questions, book appointments through online software, take their information and have you or one of your staff get back to them, or we can transfer the call to a number of your choice.

How Your Customer Perceives Poor Cell Reception

Consumers today are not known for their patience. When someone calls your business and ends up getting static through the phone or gets disconnected, it can be extremely frustrating. Even though the dropped call is not your fault, the likely result is that the customer will have a negative experience – and therefore a negative perception of your business.

While there is a chance, they might try calling again later, it is much more likely that they will simply call your competition instead.

On the other hand, if the call is answered by a cheerful yet professional “assistant” who can politely inform your caller that you are “on a field call but would be happy to call them back within the hour”, the experience becomes a much more positive one. At this point, the caller is much more likely to be willing to wait for you to get back to them.

Give Your Customers Faster & Better Service With Live Call Answering

Many trade businesses start out as one-person operations, but as they become more successful, they start to take on additional staff. Another advantage of using live call answering is that if you are on a field call, Touch Communications can redirect calls to one of your employees who can then proceed with helping the caller and converting them into a customer. No need to worry about the risk of missed or dropped calls that come directly to your cell phone either.

With Touch Communications, you can be confident that your callers will receive an efficient and friendly service, with a clear connection every time. Contact us today and our team will help you get started or view what’s new with us on Facebook.

Leaving your business’ reputation and fate in the hands of a third-party answering service company can be a scary prospect. Will they provide adequate information and answers? Will they be kind, courteous, and empathetic? What kind of services can they offer my business? These are all pertinent questions that can really make or break a business owner’s perception of any answering service company. Below are a few of the more notable concerns people tend to have when looking to hire one for their business:

Seamless Representation

How an answering service will competently represent a business is always perhaps the greatest concern. Interestingly, this point is more about the business itself than the answering service. Since the business will need to give the necessary information to the answering service so that they can help calling customers, it is really up to the business to decide how thorough and detailed they want their answering service to be. To help make a more seamless experience, many answering services will use scripts and FAQs to help streamline their services and ensure they have the information they need readily available.

Customer Experience

This is a very understandable concern for any business owner since we all have firsthand experienced positive and negative interactions with answering services. To address this concern, you want to hire an answering service that values your business as if you were its own company. Not all answering service companies have this philosophy, but if you find one like TOUCH Communications, you can take comfort in the fact that your customers are being directed to experts in the field who are kind, caring, and helpful.

Cost-Effectiveness

Depending on your current circumstances, hiring an answering service company might be that next big investment your business needs to further its potential. Having people who can answer any call instantly without being concerned about your customers being greeted by silence or a busy line can be a huge advantage. However, pricing can be a confusing concept for most business owners. Some answering services will operate on a per-call basis while others have a time-bound model that charges for minutes. If price is a concern, most answering services are capable of offering you different rates and plans. This gives you a flexible option that can better suit your business’ particular needs.

Range of Services

Answering service companies can specialize in a broad range of services that you may find useful. Some companies may not have what you are looking for while others may provide more than a few services that you could benefit from. A few features you may look for could include 24/7 live answering support, live call forwarding customized greetings, web message review, marketing on hold, XML message format export, 24/7 technical support, and more. Some businesses use answering services for strictly receptionist purposes and some might use them for processing orders. Contacting the answering service company that interests you and discussing options is always a good idea to see if they are the right fit for you.

Looking for top-of-the-line operators to help give your business more cohesion and satisfy your growing customer base needs? Contact TOUCH Communications to learn more about how we can advance your business’ communications!

Vacations are always enjoyable, but for some businesses they can cause a new variation of stress. Who is going to take care of messages, assist clients and direct people when they have questions or need direction? Everyone needs a vacation, some time out to recharge and be refreshed, but how can we have a stress-free vacation when there is a business to run?

By carefully managing details before departure, you can easily lower stress on you and your staff while continuing to make money while you are away.

How to Enjoy Stress Free Vacations with Live Call Answering

A live call answering service such as that offered by Touch Communication can be an answer to your business and vacation prayers. If you are feeling a little nervous, don’t worry, there are many benefits to using this type of service.

Touch Communications’ live call answering service operators are there whenever you need to use them. Our operators are highly trained and professional, and are able to take care of any calls before or after your business opens and closes. In simple terms, Touch Communication extends your office hours. During summer hours, this can easily benefit any business as clients have more time to get service at their convenience.

The live-call service can answer calls that can’t be answered by an office member who is gone on vacation or may have gone home early due to summer hours. Appointments can be scheduled, phone calls can be screened and bilingual calls can be handled.

How Can Touch Communication’s Live Call Answering Service Help?

When you use our services, Touch Communications will work with you to ensure our live call answering operators will seamlessly represent your company. When a client or customer calls, they will not be able to tell the difference between us or your company handling the calls. They will receive the proper care and customer service they deserve.

Our services help your business continue to function well while you are gone. On staff members can focus on their work since they won’t have extra work or stress placed on them. Live call answering service can also schedule (or re-schedule) appointments over the phones during vacation time.

There is nothing worse than being a customer and getting an answering machine message that the person you are trying to call is on vacation. It can feel like hitting a wall as customers naturally enjoy speaking with a person, rather than a machine. An answering service continues the flow of the business, making your summer much more enjoyable while your business continues to operate smoothly.

So plan that dream summer vacation, and trust that Touch Communications is keeping your business thriving while you relax and soak up a little sunshine. By looking out for your clients and business, you are also looking out for yourself. Enjoy the summer weather with knowing there is nothing to cause you stress this by including Touch Communications in your summer business plans!

No one calls a business with the intent of leaving a voice message. When a potential client calls a business for information, pricing or to retain their service, they want to speak with someone that is going to help them. The last thing they want to do is leave a message. There’s a strong chance they’ll hang up the phone and call someone else, most likely the competition. People buy from other people, not from voice recordings. Never lose a sales lead again. Switch to live call answering.

Money is at stake every time your phone rings. You don’t want to lose one lead. How can you make sure you have enough phone coverage at your business without breaking the bank on more people, equipment and more phone lines. The answer is simple. A live call answering service and Touch Communications.

Touch Communications is an answering service that that works for you. We consider ourselves an extension of your business. The days of just taking a message and paging are over. We get to know your business so you can trust us with your business. We provide 24/7 live answering and our staff provides a seamless experience for your customers with the same care they have come to expect from you.

Our 24 hour live answering service allows a business to run smoothly even during peak times and after hours. A growing business will reach a critical point when they will require a 24 answering service. Let your employees focus their undivided attention on each customer without worry of getting a business signal or call waiting. They can have peace of mind knowing that an established company is handling overflow calls and taking detailed messages.

Sales calls are the lifeblood of your business. What’s the point in spending money on marketing or any other aspect of your business if you’re not accessible to your clients? Although a lot of business and sales are done online, there are plenty of people who still prefer speaking with someone on the phone. Many potential clients prefer to speak to an actual person. Getting one sale a month through a live telephone answering service
could mean that it pays for itself.

Unlike a receptionist or your staff, a live telephone answering service can be on hand all day and night, every day of the year. This is important because it means outside of regular office hours, your business has a real person manning the phones, ready to deal with inquiries and provide answers to any other aspects of customer service required. It could also mean sales when your company is closed for business until the following day.

Having a live answering service means that calls will never ring through or go unanswered. Also, during busy and peak periods the live service will be able to handle any unexpected spikes in the number of calls, meaning you’ll never lose out on potential calls.