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.

With technology evolving the way it is, it’s getting easier and easier for smaller businesses to compete with larger ones. Regardless of whether your business is a young tech start-up in your business partner’s mom’s basement or you have a small operation in a downtown office or shop, one way to improve your brand identity and make your business appear more professional is to use the services of a call centre such as those offered by Touch Communications.

Let’s examine some of the ways call centre services can improve your image:

Customers don’t have to know you don’t have a fancy office

There are many types of businesses where the customer never has to visit a brick and mortar location in order to get service. These businesses include website design firms, tradespeople, real estate agents and several others. Typically what customers will observe first is your company website and how they are received and treated when they call your company.

Make a good impression in these two areas and it will leave a positive brand image in the minds of your customers.

Small staff? No problem

As a small business, you might not always have enough manpower to answer every call that comes to your company. It is likely more important for your people to be out on sales calls, or otherwise dealing face to face with clients or working on projects rather than answering calls from people who may just be kicking tires.

When you use call centre services from Touch Communications, it frees your staff up to perform these other duties. Our professional CSRs can provide callers with basic information, set up appointments through a web-based portal, and even forward emergency calls to an assigned staff person in your organization.

This helps boost your brand image both in the eyes your callers who are dealt with in a friendly and professional manner as well as in the eyes of your face to face customers who will have the full attention of your staff.

24/7 Service

Most businesses today simply don’t have the capacity to be available for callers 24/7 – and this is especially true of smaller organizations. Despite this fact, customers and potential customers want information when they want it, and many will not bother to leave a message should their call be forwarded to voicemail.

With call centre services from Touch Communication, however, it is like having someone in the office all the time who is ready to take your customers’ calls. Your callers will appreciate the fact that someone is there to answer their questions, listen to their concerns or book their appointments.

But how will customers feel about getting forwarded to a call centre?

That’s the truly beautiful part about all of this. They won’t know! When you contract call centre services from Touch Communications, your unanswered calls get transferred to our call centre, where our professional CSRs will answer the call using a script that you provide.

Our CSRs will have the ability to perform a number of other functions decided by you – such as appointment booking, or transferring certain calls to your cell phone. From the customer’s perspective, they are dealing entirely with your business.

And it is this reliable, professional, and friendly service that will help to set your brand apart from the competition. So if you’re ready to take the next steps in growing your business, contact us and our team will be ready to help you get started.

As the holiday season approaches, many businesses are facing their busiest time of year. To cope with the added demand, companies are stocking up on inventory, hiring seasonal employees and looking for ways to maximize their efficiency.

One way to manage the extra calls is to employ the call centre services offered by Touch Communications. Especially during this holiday season, you want to ensure that you never miss a call – let us explain how this service can help you.

Seasonal call centre services

At Touch Communications, we have a professional team of customer service representatives dedicated to ensuring that your business provides the best customer experience possible. When a customer calls your business number, and you are not able to take the call, it gets automatically forwarded to one of our CSRs.

Our people will answer the call just as you would at your own business with a script provided by you. From the customer’s perspective, it is just as if they are speaking to one of your own employees. We can provide basic information, set up appointments or even forward the call to a designated person in your organization.

Better than voicemail

Some business owners may think that they don’t require call answering services because they already have a voicemail system in place. But callers who get put through to voicemail are less likely to become customers. More often than not, they will simply hang up and call one of your competitors.

After all, when you’re busy putting up the lights and decorating the tree, buying presents for the kids, and trying to organize turkey dinners with extended family, who has time to sit around and wait for someone to return your call?

And with our call centre services, callers can speak to a live person seven days a week at any hour.

Give your customers more face time

Especially if you operate a business that involves serving your customers face to face, then utilizing call centre services this holiday season can be a big help.

Instead of keeping your employees busy talking on the phone, hand that job over to our qualified CSRs. It’s much better for your own employees to be on the floor helping customers who are visiting your place of business. Whether your customers are visiting you because they are doing their Christmas shopping, getting their home ready for guests, doing winter maintenance or any other task that becomes more common this time of year, they will appreciate the extra attention they receive from you and your staff.

Meanwhile, the potential customers who call in and receive service from Touch Communications’ call centre will feel just as taken care of and valued.

Unsurpassed service – even if it’s just for a season

At Touch Communications, we are known for the high quality call services that we provide to our customers every day of the year.  But even if your business only requires call centre services seasonally for a few months – or even a few weeks – you can expect to receive the same professional service and expertise.

The holiday rush shouldn’t be sending your customers to voicemail. Call us today and let us put together a plan for your company.

In today’s marketplace, having a competitive advantage can make the difference between a business that does well and a business that simply fizzles away. But finding a competitive advantage is not always easy. Let’s face it – there is not much difference between the way one mechanic changes your oil and the way another one does it. And most companies will never be like Apple, offering that one exclusive product that everybody wants.

But one way a company can gain a competitive advantage is by using a live call answering service like TOUCH Communications.

What is live call answering?

Live call answering, put simply is directing your incoming calls to a call centre when you or your staff are not available to take the call yourselves. To the caller, they only know that they are calling your business. Our representatives are your representatives, answering the phone in the way you instruct and helping the customer accordingly either by answering simple questions, redirecting their call to an appointed person in your company, setting up an appointment etc.

Now, you may be wondering how this gives you a competitive advantage. After all, these are all things you would do yourself if you answered the telephone. The fact is however, that you can’t always be available to answer the phone during business hours – never mind, 24/7.

So here are a few ways live call answering gives you a competitive advantage:

• 24/7 – As we mentioned, live call answering service is 24/7 – that means the customer can get the answers they want when they want them. They will learn to call your business and not your competitor.
• Increased sales – When someone calls your business and gets put through to voicemail, chances are, they will not leave a message. Instead, they will go to your competition and do business with them. Likewise, when they get voicemail calling your competition, there is a good chance that they will hang up and call you. By always having someone answer your incoming calls, you are setting the stage for increased sales and for growing your customer base.
• Brand perception – Even though it may not be your fault, it can make a bad impression when no one is available to take a call – especially during business hours. Always having a friendly and helpful customer service representative to answer calls helps to improve your company’s image in the eyes of your customers.
• Spend more time helping customers face to face – the more time you and your staff spend talking to people on the telephone, the less attention you can give to customers face to face. Whether you have a storefront that customers visit or whether you provide services at the customer’s home, it is rude to be constantly stopping your interaction with them in order to take phone calls. With live call answering service, you can have peace of mind that the caller is being helped while you are focusing your attention on the current customer.

As a business owner, you know the importance of gaining a competitive advantage. But you also know that such advantages are hard to come by. Live call answering is one area where we can help.