From powerful accounting programs to high tech gadgetry, business owners have all the best technology at their disposal. Why then, do many companies neglect their business phone system? No matter how much technology progresses, the business phone will always be the primary method of all business communication and not allocating the appropriate amount of resources to it could cost your company money.
Best of all, you no longer need to have a pricey traditional phone system. The bottom line is that if your business phone system can overcome these four common mistakes, your company can be successful.
- Allowing Business Calls Go to Voicemail
Your largest business phone system cost isn’t the monthly bill but the act of allowing calls to go to voicemail. If a caller has a pre-sales question or trying to place an order, that call should be the number one priority, and permitting it to go straight to voicemail could cost your company a sale. Typically about 85% of the time, the caller won’t bother leaving a message; they’ll just move on to one of your competitors.
Having a business phone system that is capable of a proper hold queuing system is an absolute necessity. This allows your company to handle an unlimited number of callers until you are ready to answer.
- Picking the Wrong Phone Number
Depending on what type of business you are, the choice between a toll free or local number can be huge. If you are a small, local business having a number with the corresponding area code will impart upon your customers that you are a part of the community. On the other hand, internet based companies or national chains would probably go with the toll free option.
- Phone Operating Hours
Most businesses aren’t 24/7 operations and need to account for the hours that they are closed. This is the one time that having a call go to a voicemail box is not only permissible, but encouraged; you don’t want potential customers hearing endless ringing when they call after hours.
Your afterhours voicemail message should be professional and clearly indicate what your hours of operation are. This allows you peace of mind that, when your company is closed, callers won’t feel as though they’re being ignored.
- Failing to Delegate Pre-Sales and Post-Sales Calls
While ongoing customer support is vital to the success of your business, it is important to differentiate between a post-sale call and someone who is ready to purchase from you. A pre-sale call should be your top priority. This is where a call menu (IVR) can help you prioritize incoming calls. A call menu will greet callers with “press #1 for…press #2 for…” etc. By successfully utilizing a call menu into your business phone system, you can send calls to the appropriate staffer, i.e. a pre-sales call to a sales specialist and a post-sales call to customer service.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to find a business phone system to overcome these obstacles. Contact Advanced Communications Systems, LLC today to find the business phone system that fulfills your businesses needs!
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