Building trust and credibility is one of the first challenges of running a small business. This can be tricky when no one knows who you are, and your team comprises just a handful of people.
However, you can fast-track your way there with professional communication tools like a telephone answering service and managed live chat. With a trained team of customer service experts behind you, you’ll create an illusion of size, making your small business look professional, capable, and more established.
Interested in knowing how? Bizik, a leading telephone answering and managed live chat provider, explains everything below.
Instant support
No matter what your business size, callers expect speedy service. Their willingness to wait drops significantly after the first three rings, and if you place them on hold at any point, they won’t wait more than a couple of minutes before hanging up and never calling again.
Unfortunately, this is a frequent risk for small businesses. Without a proportionate team to handle incoming queries, people are left waiting longer, which increases your chances of losing valuable customers. However, with professional communication tools like telephone answering and managed live chat, you can offer instant support regardless of company size.
Providers will normally pair your business with a suitable virtual agent (or team of agents) to sustain the level of your incoming calls or chats, so no matter how busy it gets, you can rest assured that every customer receives prompt and high-quality support every time.
Consistent customer service
It’s one thing to deliver great customer service the first time, but it’s another to consistently provide a positive experience every time you answer the phone. Consistent service people can trust is crucial, as this will encourage loyalty and faith in your business.
This is often easier said than done for a small company with limited resources. Unlike a large organisation, you could struggle to handle a sudden influx of calls or provide adequate cover when an employee is on holiday, which can jeopardise the customer’s experience.
By choosing professional communication tools, there’s no need to compromise. Whether a customer contacts your business by phone or via live chat, your dedicated virtual agent(s) ensure that every experience is treated exactly the same as the last.
Whatever your team size, availability, or workload, an outsourced professional communications service delivers exceptional service every time, giving the impression that you run a much larger and more experienced business.
Virtual receptionists make a business look bigger
Professional communication services also include a virtual receptionist, whose presence gives the impression that there’s a large team behind them. Their role is efficiently screening and transferring callers to the correct person or department.
However, as there are few people in a small company, customers wouldn’t typically expect to speak to a receptionist first.
So, when they dial your number and are greeted by a virtual receptionist who welcomes them and can transfer the call or take a message, your company looks bigger, organised, and professional.
Impress callers with after-hours support
It’s unusual for a customer to attempt contacting a small business (or any business, for that matter) at, say, 9 pm and get a response (unless maybe you’re Jeff Bezos). So, imagine the lasting impression you’d leave on your customers if you could answer their call or chat after hours—not to mention the incredibly positive experience this would create.
You can do just that with professional communication tools. Some telephone answering service providers offer after-hours voicemails, which record messages and allow agents to respond the following day.
At Bizik, however, our live support agents are on hand day and night to ensure your customers are heard. This unrivalled level of support will leave your callers impressed and make your business look much bigger than it is.
Customers can choose how to contact you
Due to having limited resources, the way people can reach you tends to be limited in a small business. There’s normally a phone line, but multiple options are rare until manpower expands. So, if someone lands on your website and sees that they can choose their preferred method of contact, this can make your small business look much bigger.
Choice is crucial for building customer satisfaction and a positive consumer journey. A survey by the global communication platform, Mitto, shows that 70% of modern UK shoppers “demand” multiple contact points while shopping online.
Live chat is considered one of the most efficient ways to communicate with a brand, and a staggering 90% of respondents said that their experience improves when the brand is available across more than one communication channel.
Therefore, it’s crucial for small businesses to take advantage of professional communication tools that allow them to meet this demand and simultaneously create the illusion of size.
Summary
There’s no need to wait for your small company to expand naturally before offering exceptional customer service and gaining a competitive advantage. With professional communication tools like telephone answering and managed live chat, you can instantly become one of the big players in your industry.
If you’re interested in implementing professional communication tools in your business, get in touch with Bizik. Choose from telephone answering solutions, managed live chat, or both, and you’ll be paired with dedicated virtual agents who will answer every query in your name and style. Try Bizik completely free for a week and see how it can transform your business.
