Photo by CC user Vera Kratochvil on http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/
Competition has risen drastically in almost every industry over the past few years. After the market crash of 2008, millions of people found themselves out of a job. In order to get back on their feet, many people instead decided to launch their own businesses. The government began to offer a series of incentives and offers to entrepreneurs in the form of tax incentives and subsidies. As a result, over the past five or six years, hundreds of new businesses have been launched throughout the United Kingdom.
Many markets have already become saturated. There are viable alternatives available for virtually every product you might want. As a result, perhaps the only way by which a small business can distinguish its service is by offering superior customer support. Customers want to feel valued. They want to know that the money they are paying was worth it, which is why it is important for you to provide quality support and after-sales service.
However, setting up a customer support department is not as easy as it looks. Most small business owners do not have the capital or the resources to allocate space in their office to set up a separate customer support department. A vast majority of small businesses only operate with a handful of employees. Your customers will obviously expect support around the clock. You will need to purchase telephones, set up a live chat option on your website and reply to customers’ emails regularly. But it’s unlikely that one of your employees will be available via phone at all times. In many cases, you might end up missing calls just because employees were busy or not in the office.
Hiring a Message Taking Service
There are companies that can take messages on your behalf whilst you are busy working. If you want to offer prompt service to your customers, hiring a message taking service is an excellent idea. A message taking service can ensure that no calls are ever missed. The company will answer all telephone calls and take down any messages from consumers. Obviously, it’s important not to show that the services were outsourced. That’s why the message taking service will make it seem as if the call is being handled by a member of the company only. There are certain customer queries that just can’t wait, which is why the company will deliver all messages to your email, fax or SMS.
The Benefits
Even though you may not realise it at first, hiring a message taking service is an excellent option. For small business owners, the benefits will become clear in the long run. Customers will begin to rely on the after-sales support and service offered by your company. It will also free you from the hassle of having an employee sit by the phone at all times, allowing you to work on improving your services and products to make your company grow.