“An outsourced
telephone partner will translate company needs into an
effective telephone script and call
handling strategy.”
The quickest and most efficient solution is to put a blend of telephone answering and live chat services in place. Telephone answering systems can maintain a professional welcome with specialist receptionists taking messages and relaying calls to remote workers as appropriate.
Working to a set brief and with good knowledge about a business’s products and services, these receptionists provide a frontline response when businesses are under siege with new enquiries. Alternatively, you could use a free digital switchboard service which uses AI voice technology in the Cloud to allow callers to ‘self-serve’ without the need for a receptionist at all.
Interestingly, working in tandem with live chat improves things further. It helps to increase website performance by stimulating engagement and converting visitors into enquiries. It can also be used to triage enquiries quickly in order to keep volume away from the phones. At times of heightened demand, a multi-channel approach is useful to capitalise on, rather than drown in, enquiries.
A helpline response
Unprecedented demand in the cleaning industry has encouraged many companies to look at setting up dedicated, outsourced helplines as way to prioritise products and services and respond to the needs of the market.
Helplines can be used to separate enquiries, capitalise on demand, demonstrate expertise and provide a more dedicated service, particularly when focusing on particular products or COVID-19 related queries, such as deep cleaning or medical waste collection.
A helpline doesn’t need to integrate with an in-house telephony system, so it’s quick and easy to set up. Giving the phone line its own separate number means that with simple marketing, it can take volume away from a business’s main number and guarantee the appropriate level of call-handling resource to meet demand. With the option of national 0333, freephone 0800 and regional numbers,
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there is a number to suit the audience and brand image of every business.
It’s also important to think about the helpline’s identity. Is it the COVID Specialist Cleaning Helpline or perhaps one dedicated to care homes or clinical waste collection? Whatever you choose, it’s important to ensure a professional and on-brand greeting so that callers feel reassured and confident they’re in the best hands.
Cleaning companies also need to think about the information they want to gather and log. Do you simply want to capture names, phone numbers and a snapshot of their enquiry? For cleaning contractors keen to gather more comprehensive information from callers, it’s possible to integrate helpline information with CRM systems, quickly turning calls into permanent data records. This is the best option if furloughing has left businesses without administrative people to do this manually, and a good supplier will be able to act as both receptionist and data- inputter for your helpline.
With all of this, managing caller expectations is very important, particularly in times of heightened stress and anxiety, so it’s necessary to have a follow-up strategy which includes how quickly calls will be returned. An outsourced telephone partner will translate company needs into an effective telephone script and call handling strategy.
Responsiveness matters
At a time where customers need more reassurance than ever before, cleaning businesses need to be visible and that means being accessible. Whether it’s using overflow or complete telephone answering services, digital switchboards, live chat or helplines – cleaning companies can get ahead, capitalise on demand and ‘be there’ for clients by prioritising call handling.
In a pandemic, responsiveness is everything and it starts with answering every call.
www.moneypenny.com
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