Can you feel it? The air is getting warmer. Your employees – and maybe even you – are staring out the window more frequently and there is talk of heading to the nearest patio after work. And then, there’s the vacation requests that are starting to flood your inbox. Of course, after all the hard work they’ve put in this year, your employees deserve the break – but you also need to keep your office running during the summer months. Live call answering from Touch Communications can help keep your business operating even while your staff are enjoying Pina Coladas at the beach!

How live call answering can help you over the summer months:

Lots of businesses experience a natural slowdown – and may even close for a week or two – between June and August, but that doesn’t mean you want to miss out on a sale should a potential customer happen to call you during that time.

With live call answering services you can have your summer shutdown and have one or two employees available on call. When a call comes into your business, it will be answered by one of Touch’s professional CSRs – and if necessary, transferred to either yourself or to another designated staff person. Since there are no long term contract periods with Touch, it is the ideal service to use for a month, the entire summer, or throughout the whole year.

Even if your business doesn’t close during the summer, chances are you’ve got several people on your team that are requesting vacation time. If there are a number of people requesting the same time off, you may be forced to say no to some of them. And while saying no to your employees is sometimes a necessary evil of running a business, it can cause discontent in the workplace and may even mean that some of your best employees will start “brushing up their resume”.

Live call answer service can pick up some of the slack, meaning that more of your people can enjoy the summer that they have planned.

Run your business even while YOU are on vacation:

What if you don’t have a team? What if your business is … well… just you? In that case, going on vacation can be a challenge. Of course you’ll notify your best clients that you’re going to be away, but you might still have that nagging feeling that you’re going to miss that big deal because you didn’t answer your cell phone.

Touch Communication can help here too. When you use our live call answer service as a sole proprietor, you can specify what kind of calls you’d like to have transferred to you while you are away. Our trained CSRs will be able to answer callers’ basic questions, set up appointments for you on an online calendar for when you return.  Even further, we can even screen calls and transfer the ones that you request.

Calls can be transferred to you anywhere in the world – whether it’s to your cell phone while you are at the cottage, or to the front desk of your resort.  Just work out the details with us before you leave!

Summer is a great time to get away from it all – but for business owners, this can be difficult. Let Touch Communications help you get your summer back – with live call answer service.

Why in the world would I pay a call centre to take my calls when I have an answering machine or voicemail that works just fine? That’s a question that we get asked a lot.

And sometimes, even if it isn’t asked out loud, we know people think about it.

In this article, we cover a few of the reasons that switching to a live call answering system just might make sense for your business:

Reason #1: Missed calls cost more than you think

If you compare the price of Touch Communication’s service to a $30 answering machine, then we really can’t compete. But what is harder to calculate is the cost of all those missed calls – from the potential clients that simply didn’t leave a message.

In today’s age of Internet and instant access to just about everything, consumers have become a rather impatient bunch. MANY callers won’t bother to leave a message and wait for you to return your call. They will simply hang up and call your competition instead.

For many businesses, when you calculate the cost of missed calls, a live call answering service can actually be a revenue generator.

Reason #2: Be there for your customers during an emergency

In certain types of business, it is common to offer 24/7 emergency service. Plumbers, electricians, tow truck operators, etc. might even gain more business in non-emergency situations if the client knows ahead of time that they’ll be able to call on them any day or the week, day or night.

But of course, an answering machine is woefully inadequate to handle an emergency! And since emergencies don’t happen every day, it can be expensive to pay an employee to sit by the phone all night.

Live call answering from Touch Communications provides the ideal solution.  When an emergency call comes into our centre, we can ensure that the caller gets transferred to you or another designated person within your business.

Reason #3: Be there for your customers on a whim

Ok, so maybe your business doesn’t help clients with flooded basements – maybe it sells unique jewellery online. Now, no one NEEDS to order to a pink glass pendant at 3:00 AM, but what if they WANT to?

If you have a wonderful e-commerce site, sometimes online shoppers have questions and would prefer to speak to a real live person before making a purchase. Live call answering service makes that possible.

Reason #4: Always look professional

No matter what type of business you operate, you always want to give a good impression. And in the business world, voicemail and answering machines are quickly becoming considered “old technology.” It can give the impression that your business is small potatoes.

When one of your callers is greeted by a friendly and professional Touch CSR, it is a positive experience for them. The caller will feel that you have someone “on the job” who is ready to take care of them.

Live call answering CSRs can perform a number of tasks for your business including answering basic questions, scheduling appointments, and transferring calls to specified personnel within your organization – all things that an answering machine can’t do!

As the weather starts to warm up, it is hard not to get excited about the upcoming summer festival season. Most of us love to enjoy festivals and other events but only a select few really understand all the hard work and people hours that go in to making one of these events a success. Experienced event planners discover “hacks” along the way – tools and strategies that help to make the job easier. One of these hacks is to use a call answering service such as Touch Communications.

Let’s take a look at a few of the ways that Touch Communications can help make your festival or event run more smoothly.

Volunteer Coordination

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many festivals and other big events – and the bigger the event, the more volunteers that are needed. Touch Communications can help you manage this festival army by helping coordinate schedules. Volunteers can call in to our centre with their availability and our CSRs can input them into an online schedule.

They can also call in for information or with any questions they may have.

24/7 Information Line for Vendors and Performers

If your festival includes vendors and/or performers – especially from out of province, it’s important they can have a number they can call at any time in the weeks and days leading up to the festival. They may need to inform the organizers of special needs or request information.

Since they may work at odd hours or reside in a different time zone, having access to a call centre that is open round the clock will be a huge bonus for them – so don’t be too surprised when they want to come back to your festival next year!

Emergency Access to Event Organizers

If you’re busy with all the logistics of running your big event, the last thing that you want is anybody and everybody calling you with matters that they can either handle themselves or delegate to someone else. You do however want to be reachable if there is a legitimate emergency.

You can arrange with Touch Communications exactly want kind of calls you want to be put through to your personal cell phone and who you’d like to take calls from. Our professional and friendly CSRs will put through the calls you want – and for the calls you don’t want, we can professionally answer any questions or direct the call to someone else on your team.

Organizing a large event such as a festival takes a lot of coordination, but a call centre such as Touch Communications can make that coordination easier. And since we don’t require you to sign long term contracts, we are the ideal solution whether you need to use our services for several weeks or only a few days. Yes, the weather is getting warmer and all of us are looking forward to festival season – and here at Touch Communications we are looking forward to helping you make your event a success.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

We all have them. Those high maintenance customers who take up a large chunk of our time and only provide a moderate return on our investment of time and effort. Then, of course, there are the tire kickers who never do any business with us. The problem is though that you never know when a tire kicker or high maintenance client is going to be the source of your next big sale. You still need to provide great customer service, but how do you do so and still remain productive? Live call answering from Touch Communications may be the solution you are looking for. We help businesses get more done by taking the challenging and time consuming calls for you.

Satisfy callers by letting them talk to a real person

Not every person who calls your business needs to talk to you directly. They may be calling because they have questions that someone else can answer for them. You could have them leave a message, but then you are not offering the best possible customer service. You could answer the phone every time yourself or have one of your employees do it, but then you are losing productivity.

Live call answering services from Touch Communications gives you the best of both worlds – satisfying your caller and leaving you free to run your day to day operations.

Professional call screening

Of course, some callers really will need to get through to you. When you contract live call answering services from Touch Communications, we can customize a process by which certain calls will get transferred to you or another person in your organization.

A-list clients, callers who are experiencing an emergency or callers who are ready to make a purchase are all examples of calls that you can choose to have transferred.

Callers with questions or who are looking to book an appointment can usually be helped by our professional customer service representatives.

An extension of your business

Some people are nervous to hire a call centre because they feel that callers will find it impersonal or that their business brand won’t be well represented. But here at Touch, our goal is to be an extension of your business.

Our CSRs answer the phone and interact with callers with your script and according to your business procedures. Most callers never even realize that their call is going through to a call centre. And even if they do realize it, many would agree that speaking with a live person at a call centre is still more personal than speaking to someone’s voicemail.

More face time with customers

Every minute that you spend on the phone with callers is a minute that you are not helping customers face to face. Yes, sometimes helping people over the phone will be necessary but very often it is a job that the CSRs at Touch Communications can handle.

Using live call answering services means that you’ll be able to increase the productivity of your business, and increased productivity means increased profitability.

Give us a call if you think live call answering might be the solution you are looking for.

Every business relies on sales in one form or another. So if you have people calling your business to make an inquiry, it quite literally pays to turn that call into a conversion. A conversion could be a sale – or a precursor to a sale (like an appointment or consultation).

Conversions are so important that many businesses employ specific strategies just to turn calls into conversions. These strategies may include providing staff training on specific scripts, or having follow-up protocol. But did you know that using a call centre can also increase your call conversions?

Let’s take a look at some of the many reasons why using a call centre can increase conversions:

Professional Customer Service Representatives

Smaller businesses often require their staff to tackle a variety of roles. For example, a company that specializes in home renovations may have carpenters, plumbers and electricians – who may all also answer the phone when someone calls.

And while these individuals may all be excellent at their respective trades, they might not have the necessary sales skills to convince the caller to schedule a consultation.

On the other hand, most of the sales reps here at Touch Communications don’t know the first thing about renovating a kitchen – but we are excellent at talking on the phone. Since customer service is our expertise, we know how to make the caller feel at ease and can instill the proper amount of trust and excitement in them to entice them to book a consultation.

24/7 Service

Most small businesses don’t have the budget to hire someone to be on call 24/7 – and even if they did, many wouldn’t get enough calls during off hours to justify the expense. But when you contract call centre services from Touch Communications – it’s like having your own personal assistant ready to answer calls anytime day or night.

This feature can be especially helpful if you sell products or services through your website. People enjoy online shopping because it’s accessible all the time and more convenient than changing out of their pajamas and driving to your location. Sometimes, however, a caller might have a question about one of your products and wish to speak to a real live person.

If someone is ready to make a purchase at 3:00 am, the last thing you want to do is make them wait until 9:00 am as they may end up changing their mind or buying from your competitor. A quick, informative chat with one of our helpful CSRs may be all that is needed to seal the deal.

Call forwarding for emergency service

If your business offers any type of emergency service, you want to be sure that calls can get through to the right person. A caller with an emergency is not going to wait very long to get through to the right person – they will move on and find another business that can help them.

If one of your callers has an emergency, the CSRs from Touch Communications are trained to assess the situation and transfer the caller to the appropriate person in your company – which usually results in a conversion.

If call conversions are important to your business – and they should be – contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

As a small business owner, it’s pretty normal to feel tied down to your business. If you’re a sole proprietor or only have a small team, it’s natural to feel that you can’t get away for that much needed break. Thoughts like “what if there’s an emergency?” or “what if I miss the big sale?” are all too common.

While it might seem counterintuitive to use a call centre while you are away on vacation, it could be just the thing you need to give you peace of mind that your customers and your business are being taken care of.

Here are five good reasons why it might make sense to hire a company like Touch Communications to handle your calls while you are sipping margaritas on a tropical beach somewhere:

1. Your business isn’t “closed” – Having to essentially shut down your business because you’re away gives the impression that you run a very small operation. (And while you may indeed run a very small operation, it’s not usually to your advantage to give that impression). So instead of being “closed”, a better idea is to have a friendly customer service representative answer the phone and help your customer.

2. You don’t lose productivity – One reason why so many small business owners find it hard to get away is there is so much “catch-up” to do when they return. Sales professionals like financial advisors and real estate agents rely on being able to have regular appointments with clients and prospects. While you’re away, why not let a CSR from Touch Communications book your appointments for you so that you’ve got meetings lined up when you return and you don’t lose an extra week of productivity.

3. It helps you provide value to your customers during emergencies – Unfortunately, emergencies don’t take a vacation just because you do. If a caller has a genuine emergency, one of our CSRs can identify it and take appropriate action as per your instructions. This could be providing the caller with an emergency contact, putting the call through to a designated person or even contacting your resort to get in touch with you should you choose.

4. You can still personally serve your clients – As our world becomes increasingly digital, it is possible for some professionals to work from just about anywhere. Individuals such as lawyers, accountants, website developers and others can assist clients remotely and the client will never know whether they are wearing three-piece suit or Bermuda shorts. And while it’s true that you might not want every caller to be put through to you, there may be a few large clients that you’d still want to serve even when you’re on vacation. Since some deals can take months or even years to close, you might want to request that a call centre representative transfer certain clients directly to your mobile phone.

5. You can actually enjoy your vacation – Your vacation should be a time of relaxing and refreshing, but that can be hard to achieve if you’re worried how taking a break will affect your bottom line. With call centre service from Touch Communications you can feel confident that your business is being taken care of while you are taking care of yourself.