Posts Tagged ‘business answering services’

Virtual Receptionists for Service Providers

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Virtual receptionists come in especially useful for commercial and residential service providers. Give your company an airvirtual receptionist of professionalism from that very first call for an estimate. Even if you run a small business, a virtual receptionist can make it sound like a large and well-organized corporation. Virtual receptionist services ensure that every call is answered without missing an opportunity for business. Receptionists will greet callers with the business name and efficiently gather information to direct the caller appropriately.

Service providers that offer 24/7 emergency assistance receive calls around the clock. Naturally, not all of these calls can be taken and voice mailboxes fill up quickly. Some businesses don’t even have the time to go through all of their messages, let alone return calls. Allow a 24-hour virtual receptionist to handle this for you. Especially in emergency situations, callers are more likely to keep dialing until they reach immediate assistance. When a caller reaches a live person, they are much less likely to drop the call.

Whether you are fixing a broken air conditioner or sending out roadside assistance for an overheated car, virtual receptionists for service providers ensure that your business is reachable 24 hours a day for the ultimate in customer care. Virtual receptionist services allow you to customize scripts in line with your business objectives so no information slips through the cracks. Answering services can take incoming calls 24 hours, after business hours, or simply just for overflow. Automated services can also be used solely or in combination with a live receptionist to screen calls before answering. Several options are available depending on the size of your business and its needs. Choose to receive messages via email or text, or even implement bilingual call center agents for Spanish-speaking callers.

Virtual receptionists take over the administrative duties so that you have time to run your business. Virtual receptionists will manage scheduling tasks, collect accurate client information, dispatch calls to technicians, put through emergency service callers, record messages, and provide post service customer satisfaction calls. Service packages can be purchased with no contract according to your call volume. As a service provider, your leads can now become clients with the help of a virtual receptionist.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Business Answering, Small Business Tip, Virtual Receptionist, Virtual Receptionist Services | No Comments »

ATSI Awards Gold Call Center Certification

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                            Contact:  Charlene Glorieux

Executive Director
Association of Teleservices International
(866) 896-ATSI
www.atsi.org

ATSI AWARDS GOLD CALL CENTER CERTIFICATION

(Ventura, CA May 10, 2011) – Association of Teleservices International (ATSI) is pleased to announce that Alert Communications has re-qualified for the Gold 24/7 Call Center Certification Award for which they were originally awarded in 2007. 

The Certification indicates that Alert Communications has met or exceeded high standards in the following areas: business practices, life safety, operations, including normal and emergency procedures, 24/7 preparedness, proficient recovery techniques, personnel hiring, training and ongoing evaluations through a peer review program focusing on 99.9% annual run time. The award of this certification is based on a set of nearly 60 criteria needing to be met or surpassed.

“Alert communication has based its corporate culture around customer satisfaction, and we are very pleased to receive the recognition from ATSI.” said Frances Starr, CEO of Alert Communications. As a nationwide, bilingual call center, Alert Communications has over 40 years of experience providing customer service, designing accounts in all types of organizations, and creating client workflow efficiency.

ATSI, based in Atkinson, NH, is an international trade association established by and for entrepreneurs in the TeleServices business. This includes telephone answering services, voice-mail services, telemarketing services and any other business, which provides enhanced communication services. www.atsi.org

-###-

Tags: ,
Posted in Articles | No Comments »

Alert’s Bilingual Answering Services Translate into Great Customer Service

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Recently, an event planner contacted Alert Communications to ask about our Spanish-language answering services. Most of her customer base is in the Hispanic market, and she is a one-person business. The busier she is, the less time she spends in her office. And when she’s out meeting with clients and vendors, she can’t answer potential-client calls. What worried her was the number of hang ups on her answering machine.

We were happy to explain to her that we offer 24/7 bilingual Spanish answering services to a number of businesses serving the Hispanic market and our bilingual call-support solutions would ensure her potential clients were always able to speak directly to someone who would understand them. By gathering detailed lead information regarding the pending event, our professional agents help prospective clients feel cared for, assures them that their needs are important and saves the planner a ton of time. With these details she can now return the call and hopefully close the sale. Alert can answer her calls when she’s going to be out of the office, after her regular business hours or all day, every day.

No matter what your business is — from an event planner to a realtor or a marketing firm with leads coming in 24/7 — we are your bilingual resource. While providing translation and interpretation services, our Spanish-speaking agents ensure every lead is handled according to your instructions, resulting in more new business for you! .

If  your customer base is in the Hispanic market or you want to start targeting that market to grow your business, talk with us today to find out how our Spanish answering services can help you provide the customer service your callers need.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support including: spanish answering.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Business Answering, Small Business Tip, Spanish Speaking Answering Services | No Comments »

“Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company–and Revolutionized an Industry”

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Every cloud has a silver lining, and Marc Benioff’s is no exception. “Behind the Cloud” is his story of how Salesforce.com went from an idea to a billion-dollar company — and changed an industry. Salesforce.com turned software-as-a-product into software-as-a-service. Instead of buying and installing a customer-relationship-management software program, Salesforce.com revolutionized the industry by offering it as a “cloud computing” service to businesses on a per-user, per-month fee.

Benioff explores nine elements in growing from a start-up company of three employees using card tables and folding chairs in an apartment in 1999 to a company with a billion dollars in revenue in 2010. No one’s using card tables or folding chairs anymore, either. 

The nine areas Benioff talks about in the book are:

  • Start up — Get through all the normal start-up phases.
  • Marketing — Figure out how to stand out from the crowd and be heard.
  • Events — Build buzz and drive customers to your business.
  • Sales — Have your customers be your sales team.
  • Technology — Develop products/services that customers love.
  • Philanthropy — Care about more than just the bottom line.
  • Global — Introduce your product/service to new markets progressively.
  • Finance — Raise capital and generate a return.
  • Leadership — Align everyone so they know vision, values, methods and obstacles.

Benioff lays his business-development philosophy and marketing strategy on the table. And to say some of it (especially some of his advertising) is edgy is a bit of an understatement. But it was all incredibly successful for Salesforce.com.

What I found most interesting throughout the book, is that Benioff observes and judges Salesforce.com’s performance not from his founder/leader perspective, but from how his customers, his investors, his employees and his competitors see the company.

What went on “Behind the Cloud” is a very interesting story and definitely worth the read.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support including: legal media and marketing support.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Changing Business Culture, E-ffective Marketing | No Comments »

They’re Coming — Can You Handle It? Leads from Your Media and Marketing Campaigns

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

You are fully focused on marketing your business. You’re exploring direct-response advertising over the Internet, on select billboards, in radio ads, and you’re even considering a television ad. But have you figured out who’s answering those direct-response calls when they start coming into your business? It’s important if you want to turn your leads into conversions.

Two ways to turn leads into conversions:

  1. Have a real person answer prospective-client calls. An answering machine or voicemail can only answer a call, not questions.  There may be times during the day or after hours when no one is in the office to take potential client calls.  Route those calls to an on-call attorney or have an industry-savvy receptionist at a live call center answer them.  Prospective clients want to speak with a real person and if one is not available then they’ll often hang up and call another law practice. 
     
  2. Take the caller to the next step in the ‘selling’ process.  Sales gurus say that each contact with a prospect should take them to the next step in the selling process.  If you’re outsourcing your potential client calls, rather then just taking a message the receptionst could collect intake information, connecting qualified leads or schedule consults.  All of these would qualify as taking the caller to the next step in the process

And here are the ways Alert Communications can help:

  • Manage your leads 24/7, and record calls for quality assurance.
  • Develop custom scripts to qualify those leads.
  • Deliver qualified leads to your sale people via call transfer or e-mail.
  • Schedule appointments and confirm scheduled appointments.

We can answer your calls 24/7, after regular hours and/or for overflow. Our live and automated services enable customized call routing, which can help you manage costs and increase the efficiency of your call traffic. We even provide Spanish-language support at no charge.

If you’re expanding your marketing and media efforts to promote your business, or your business provides that service to others, talk with Alert Communications to learn more about our 24/7 media and marketing support services.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support including: legal media and marketing support.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Attorney Answering, Business Answering, E-ffective Marketing, Small Business Tip | No Comments »

Are You Selling Socially?

Monday, March 21st, 2011

The Internet is a great way to sell, but how do you find the right people online? Check out some of these small companies and web sites that can help your sales force effectively use social media.

  • Online vendors – eBay and Craigslist are great ways to reach a large market, but find a niche market for what you sell. Check out sites like www.clickbank.com or www.amazon.com to find categories or sites like www.etsy.com to direct sell your products/services.
  • Promotion – Once you find the right place, let people know you’re there. Your sales people can promote products on Twitter and create a company fan page on Facebook.
  • Group buying – This is becoming more popular with sites like Groupon, Deals for Deeds and Social Buy. Remember that most of these sites are regional so make sure you find one in your area or one that will sell your products online.
  • Foursquare – This is a powerful tool, allowing salespeople to offer rewards/special deals to loyal customers or new ones. Some businesses offer certain discounts only on Foursquare. It’s a great way to measure the effectiveness of specific promotions.

Regardless of which route you pursue, beware of one thing – preserving your brand. Define your brand and determine how to market it without compromising your authenticity. Then you can use social media to sell your products or services with real results.

If you have advice to share on how to use social media in sales, please share your comments below.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support including: Call Center Service, Live Answering Service, Spanish Answering Service, Attorney Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist Service.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in E-ffective Marketing | No Comments »

Don’t Damage Customer Loyalty on Your Web Site

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Chances are your customers will either find your business online or visit your site once they purchase from you. So are you doing everything you can to build customer loyalty online?

I could give you a long list of things to try on your web site to increase customer loyalty, but I’d rather give you some tips to make sure you don’t lose it.

  • Keep it simple – If your web site is too difficult for people to navigate, they will look elsewhere. Use easy-to-read signs to guide them, and make sure your navigation bar is simple and in the same spot on every page.
  • Deliver on promises – Nothing is more aggravating than finding out “guarantees” are only lip service. If you’re not going to do it, don’t put it on your site.
  • Limit bells and whistles – You want people to immediately know what you do. Don’t distract them with flashing icons, pop-up windows and rotating banner ads.
  • Be current – Promote new products, services, discounts and special offers. Tell people when an out-of-stock will return. Don’t frustrate them by waiting until check out to tell them.  
  • Don’t hide your contact info – If it’s too difficult to reach you, visitors may go elsewhere. Offer a variety of ways to reach you – toll-free phone number, e-mail address or a live, online chat.

While you work to discover new ways to build customer loyalty with your online presence, be sure your site isn’t working against you.

Is there something else you’ve done to make sure you’re not damaging customer loyalty? Please share your comments.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications provides 24/7 call answering support including: Call Center Service, Live Answering Service, Spanish Answering Service, Attorney Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist Service.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Community Service, Cultivating Customer Loyalty | 1 Comment »

Don’t Let a Lack of Staff Lead to a Lack of Business

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

You can’t afford a full-time receptionist in your small business, but you also can’t risk missing a call. Is there a fix? Yes. Alert Communications’ small business answering services eliminate that risk.

We use advanced technology and trained agents to mirror the job of your on-staff receptionist, intake specialist, appointment scheduler or emergency dispatcher at a fraction of the cost. No matter what industry you’re in, we can tailor our services to meet your financial and business needs — without signing a contract.
—Emergency calls – Our agents follow your customized escalation protocols so each call/message gets to the right person, right away. We also provide reports so you can track your calls.
—Work-hours calls – Alert agents can handle calls during lunch times or whenever you don’t have coverage in your office.
—After-hours calls – We provide 24/7 phone answering service 365 days of the year, so your calls are answered on sick days or during vacations.
—Bilingual calls – Alert offers 24/7 bilingual answering services at no extra charge.

With our options, you have the flexibility to choose when to forward your calls to Alert. We also can work with you to combine your existing automated system with our live services for customized answering. Take advantage of the small business answering service options Alert Communications offers, and never miss a call again.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications is a 24/7bilingual inbound call center, specializing in professional attorney answering, virtual receptionist, Spanish answering and business answering solutions.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Business Answering | No Comments »

Live Answering Service for Santa?

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

live answering serviceAs I started thinking about the upcoming busy holiday season, I thought about how busy good old St. Nick is quickly going to become. And that, inevitably, raised the question — wouldn’t his life be much easier with a live answering service??

There’s no question he needs 24/7 phone answering, but he also needs more than simple message taking. Imagine the variety of call protocols he’d have to have.

- Is someone calling about the availability of a specific toy? That would need to get to the right elf. Customer service of the highest priority.

- Maybe Blake or Brenda is unsure whether they’re on the naughty or nice list. That would obviously have to go to someone pretty high up in North Pole management. And the agent handling those calls would have to be sympathetic but always in control of the conversation.

-  What about questions on cookie preferences? If you want to score points with Santa, it’s a good idea to have his favorites on the plate. That call might have to go to Mrs. Claus or whoever she decides to have on call each day. Or maybe the call protocol changes daily to reflect Santa’s current choice.

And what about incoming information? Santa must have a standing order for weather updates starting on Dec. 23 or Dec. 24. That info needs to get to him immediately. Wouldn’t text messaging be perfect so he could be up to date throughout his delivery schedule?

Of course, bilingual services — or more appropriately, multi-lingual services — would be a huge help. Though I’m not sure any call answering service could provide coverage for as many languages as the variety of callers Santa gets.

So after thinking about it, maybe my holiday prep work isn’t quite as overwhelming as I was thinking. After all, I get a couple of e-mails, a few phone calls and some lists to work from. I don’t need multi-lingual services or call protocols. And thank goodness — I don’t need 24/7 coverage!

I think I’ll leave the worldwide present-delivery business in Santa’s capable hands this year — but I’d be more than happy to tell him how Alert Communications’ answering services can lighten the load for him next year.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications is a 24/7bilingual inbound call center, specializing in professional attorney answering, virtual receptionist, Spanish answering and business answering solutions.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Business Answering | No Comments »

Call Answering Services in Real-life Terms

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Whenever I talk about the benefits of call answering services, I feel like I’m running through a list of bullet points. Those benefits are hard to convey in real-life terms. A while back, though, I received an e-mail that did a great job of doing just that. Let me tell you the story.

In early February, a 17-story building in the Northeast caught fire. The police needed barricades to close off the street to traffic. That call came through a call answering service.

The fire department needed the transit authority to send buses to help evacuate the people from the building. That call, too, went through the same call answering service.

When the Red Cross needed to provide water and shelter for the tenants, that call also went through the same call answering service.

Many residents of the building had pets suffering from smoke inhalation, and they needed a veterinarian. That call went through the same call answering service.

After the fire was put out and the barricades were taken down, a contractor was needed to clean up the debris. That call, too, went through the call answering service.

When salt and sand were needed to spread on the streets to prevent icing, the call for the trucks went through that call answering service.

When the electrical safety authority had to restore power to the building, that call also went through the same call answering service.

Calls from evacuees wanting to know if they could go back home were handled by that same call answering service.

Sadly, in this case, when two lives were lost, and they needed the coroner, the call answering service took that call, too.

It’s easy to think about call answering services handling after-hours phone calls, but when you see the reality of how the service unfolds, it takes on a whole new meaning. The woman who wrote the e-mail about this incident not only works at the call answering service that handled all those calls, but her mother was a tenant in the building that caught fire that night. For her, the benefits of call answering services will never be just a list of bullet points.

Frances Starr, Director of Sales & Marketing for Alert Communications.  Alert Communications is a 24/7bilingual inbound call center, specializing in professional attorney answering, virtual receptionist, Spanish answering and business answering solutions.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Business Answering | No Comments »

« Older Entries