Google Voice for Business: Using Google’s VoIP service for your business

Google Voice for Business: Using Google’s VoIP service for your business

Answering Service / Call Center Support/ Customer Service

The Basic Features of the Free Version of Google Voice

In this article, we are talking about the free consumer version of Voice, which has been around since 2009. In 2019, Google released Voice for Google Workspace, which we will discuss in another article.

Most small business owners find Google Voice when looking for a cheap or free telephone option for their business. Google Voice remains one of the most popular free VoIP options on the market.

We’ve written before about Google Voice and how it isn’t suited for business use.

While the consumer version of the app isn’t recommended for business use, even by Google, many business owners explore the option anyway.

If you’re considering Google Voice, here’s a rundown of the basics:

Google Voice Cost

Voice is free. Any Google account can also create a Voice account and get set up with free calling, texting, and voicemail to the U.S. and Canada.

Numbers

Voice allows you to select a free number from a batch of numbers Google has available in a particular geographic area. So you can get an area code of your choice.

Google doesn’t support 800 numbers or vanity numbers.

If you wish to port in your existing business number and connect it to your Voice account, you can.

You are limited to one number per Voice account, so you can’t create multiple phone numbers and manage them out of the same Google account. If you wanted to manage multiple numbers on the Voice platform, you would need to sign in and out of the Google accounts they are connected to.

Each Voice account is connected to an existing mobile number, and you can’t tie your mobile number to multiple Voice accounts. Google restricts a phone number from being connected to multiple Voice numbers, so you can’t create as many Voice numbers as you want and have them all connect to your cell phone.

Call Handling

Getting a free Google Voice number is one of the most common reasons business owners turn to Google Voice. It protects your personal number and creates a professional number you can use for business contacts.

Voice will forward calls to your business number to the mobile or landline number of your choice. And using the app, you can make outbound calls using the business number from your cell phone, while masking your cell number.

After Hours Calls

Voice allows you to specify the hours that you want calls forwarded to your cell. After hours, calls are sent straight to voicemail.

Texting

The app offers SMS texting, with all messages coming from the Voice number. Records of all text conversations are stored in the Voice platform in a searchable format.

Voicemail

Voicemails are transcribed and can be emailed to you (according to the settings you choose). You can also listen to voicemails in the app and forward them, just as you would on your cell phone.

Contacts

Contacts are stored within the Google account the Voice account is tied to. So if you’re using your personal Google account for your business Voice number, your personal contacts will be commingled with your business contacts.

Reliability

Voice operates primarily over Wifi, though it does use cellular data when wifi isn’t available. That said, the connections are much less stable than you’d want for a business phone service.

Who Google Voice is Good For

The consumer version of Voice is a good option for consumers, but it isn’t recommended for business use – by Google or by us.

The only business situation Google Voice is a good fit for is solopreneurs who use it solely to create a business number that is separate from their personal number.

If your business has multiple employees answering the phone or if you experience high call volume in which reliability and call quality are key, Voice for consumers is inadequate.

If you are a business owner who needs a true answering service solution – meaning calls get answered around the clock – Contact One can help. We provide 24/7 answering services from our offices in sunny Tucson, Arizona, with trained operators in both English and Spanish.

More Small Business Services Articles:

  1.  Financial Rebuilding: How an Answering Service Can Help Staff Return to Full Time 
  2.  Tips for Better Customer Service
  3.  Let Contact One Help You Reduce Costs
  4.  5 Myths About Call Centers Debunked
  5.  Can Competitors Help Business?

What We’ve Learned About Human Connection – Customer Service Lessons

What We’ve Learned About Human Connection – Customer Service Lessons

Customer Service

Seamless Human Response. We’ve been talking about this at Contact One for years. It’s the reason we exist.

But this year, we’ve also seen how important human connection is.

Throughout this pandemic, and especially as we go into the holiday season, we’ve been grateful to be in the business of connecting people to people.

Here’s what we’ve learned about human connection through our 40 years in the customer service business. We hope some of these tips will help you in your business, as they have in ours.

Most people just want to be heard and understood.

Angry, irate, unreasonable customers – they’re a reality in every business. But most of the time they just want someone to hear their complaint and acknowledge it. There’s a workable solution to 99% of customer complaints, but the only way to get there is to begin with someone listening to the customer and acknowledging their dissatisfaction. Chatbots, text messages, and email won’t help here. Human-to-human voice or video contact is the best way to make an unhappy customer happy.

Tone matters.

Most people can’t correctly interpret tone in written word, especially in emails (though emojis can help). The best way to convey the appropriate tone is by direct phone, video, or in-person interaction.

Talking on the phone is a skill that takes practice.

Many people are uncomfortable talking on the phone these days, so they move to other, less direct ways of communicating – text, email, chat. But, as noted in tips one and two, human-to-human contact is often the best way to be understood, so developing phone skills is critical to good business. We pride ourselves on training our agents to be expert phone conversationalists. Plus they get hours and hours of practice, which is the most important part of skill development.

Technology changes, but people are still people.

Our company has adapted so many times over the years to keep pace with technology. It’s mind-blowing to consider the pace of change over the last 40 years. From cell phones to VoIP, to the widespread use of email and then chat services and texting, we’ve stretched and grown to meet customer needs. But the need that has never changed is the need for human connection.

In 2020, just like in 1980, people still want to speak to other people when they have a problem.

That hasn’t changed, and our guess is that it won’t.

Happy holidays,

Jeff

Press 0 for a representative… maybe

Press 0 for a representative… maybe

Customer Service

I called my bank recently and found that they, like many companies these days, had changed their phone directory so that dialing zero doesn’t immediately send you to customer service. My need didn’t fit into a clearly defined service option, and pressing zero did nothing, so I listened to the automated message a few times and picked the option I thought was most likely to get me to a live human.

The Importance of Speaking to a Representative

(Pro tip – If you need to speak with a human and you can’t get past the automated system, dialing the sales team is a sure-fire way of reaching a person who can then connect you to the correct department.)

Being unable to reach a real person when I just had a quick question was highly annoying. And I thought about the general state of customer service communication these days.

We have found more and more ways to avoid direct conversation with the companies we buy from. We love the ability to email support, leave comments on Facebook for the customer service team, use the website chatbots, and even text about our orders.

But nothing angers us more than being unable to reach a real person when we have a need.

It’s easier to use these tools than to pick up the phone…  until we have a real problem, a real hurry, or a real need.

And then the fastest way to solve a real problem is to reach a real person.

This becomes clear anytime you have to listen through an automated menu before reaching a human, like I did with my bank.

Technology helps us do wonderful things.

Our Services

Our team at Contact One does a lot of non-spoken communication for clients. We offer chat service, email support, and online scheduling, but we’re also there when people want to speak to a human.

It isn’t enough to add chat features and email support if customers can’t be helped by a real person when they need it.

A chatbot can’t de-escalate a frustrated customer, and an automated phone system does nothing but further inconvenience an already pressed for time caller.

Are all of the other technological tools supportive of an excellent customer experience? Yes, of course.

But as long as people are people, a human on the other end of the phone will always be the most critical component of customer service.

Cheers,

Jeff

What to Look for in an Answering Service

What to Look for in an Answering Service

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Bringing in an outside answering service is a big decision for business owners, but can be a great addition. Experienced answering services like Contact One can improve customer service experiences, increase sales, and save you time and money. If you are considering hiring an outside answering service, look for a company with these attributes

     1. Excellent Customer Service

When evaluating answering services, first consider the level of service you receive from them! Our priority at Contact One is to train every agent in customer service and phone etiquette because we know that without satisfied customers, an answering service loses its value. There’s no room in a competitive market for subpar customer service. You should also ask prospective vendors about their customer service principles and escalation protocols.

      2. Transparency

Look for an answering service that provides complete transparency, taking work off your plate, but keeping you up to date on all necessary information from calls received. Contact One becomes part of your team. Our job is to answer the calls that you can’t, answer questions about your business, and direct callers to the appropriate person/department if they require more assistance. The only thing you will be missing is the burden of answering the calls. Any important information will be sent to the business owner (or other management as directed). When interviewing an answering service, ask what types of detailed call reports you can expect to receive and at what frequency.

     3. Knowledge in Your Industry

Look for answering services that specialize in your industry. Contact One has worked for decades with clients in the healthcare, legal, spa and salon, real estate, and contractor industries. Our receptionists will know the things your employees know, and they’ll be able to answer the questions your employees can answer. Ask the answering service about their experience in your field, and what their industry-specific training protocols include.

     4. Price

Many business owners don’t realize that the cost of hiring a full-time receptionist is typically considerably higher than the cost of utilizing Contact One’s services. We offer customized packages based on your business’ needs and offer flat-rate services. Answering services should be able to explain their fees and rates to you and what their contract entails (long-term service agreement, month-to-month, etc.).

     5. Live Receptionists and Live Chat

Many consumers still prefer to speak with a live person when they have a question or a problem when setting an appointment. In a survey conducted by The Marketing Scope, 62 percent of consumers prefer to talk to a human rather than a machine. That’s where Contact One comes in. Your customers will never experience long wait times and always speak to a real person. And if your business also needs live chat tools, our team can provide those, too.

If you think Contact One could be the answering service for your business, contact us! Experience our first-class customer service yourself by calling (877) 959-0158, or visit our website and chat with us, or contact us by email https://contactonecallcenter.com/contact/.

 

Financial Rebuilding: How an Answering Service Can Help Staff Return to Full Time 

Financial Rebuilding: How an Answering Service Can Help Staff Return to Full Time 

Answering Service / Call Center Support

Companies around the world have been forced to make staffing adjustments to survive the COVID-19 outbreak. These include salary reductions, furloughs and layoffs, as well as cutting back on staff hours. It’s never an easy decision to reduce staff or hours, especially during an international crisis. If you need trained, skilled workers but can’t afford them right now, Contact One is an option. By conserving resources now, you position your company to rehire and bring your staff back full time when the crisis passes.

  1. Reduce customer service costs

Even in times of crisis, as your business adjusts to market demands, customer service is a major factor in its success. If you need a customer service representative but hiring or retaining an in-house employee with salaries, taxes and benefits is not feasible for your business right now, an outside answering service with set fees can help you reduce costs and ensure a predictable expense.

     2. Eliminate training costs

Training is an important part of the hiring process, but it’s also expensive. According to Small Business Trends, the average cost of training an employee is estimated at $1200-$1800 for small businesses. With an answering service, your customer service representatives are already trained, without the interview, hire and training process required. Our services can help you manage cash flow in the short term, so your business survives this and can reopen the doors and rehire employees.

     3. No missed customers

Customers are essential to business survival, but it can be hard to take every call with a limited staff. Our answering service is available 24/7 to take calls — in English and Spanish — for your business. This not only improves your business’s reputation, but assists customers faster, helping to keep your vital customers. 

     4. Reduce overtime, PTO and other expenses

One area you’ll save money on with an outside answering service is by avoiding paying receptionists/customer service representatives overtime or for working holidays. Contact One monitors your calls 24/7, and doesn’t charge extra for after-hour or holiday service, saving your company thousands of dollars.   

     5. Improve employee productivity

Depending on how often your business gets calls, it can take a lot of time away from other areas of work. If you’re working on a skeleton crew, but still need help, we’re an option. Hiring us as an answering service gives your existing employees more time to focus their time on revenue-producing activities.

    6. Stand out from your competition

During this time of quarantine, it’s important that consumers spend money wisely, and that means being careful about which businesses they trust. Always being there to answer your customers’ calls will make your business stand out from the rest. Having an answering service that is always there to take your incoming calls will build a good reputation for your business. 

If you are considering using an outside answering service, or just want to know more, contact Contact One at 1 (877)-959-0158. We can help save your company money, and help speed up getting your employees back to full time. 

 

Why Have an Answering Service for a Medical Practice

Why Have an Answering Service for a Medical Practice

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Customer service is important with all businesses, but it is even more essential in the healthcare industry. Lasting patient-doctor relationships rely on continuous communication, even after-hours. When a patient calls, they may be in pain or not feeling well. For this reason, it is important that the patient gets the answers they need quickly. Fast answering and excellent communication gives them a sense of relief and support. 

If your practice has a growing number of patients, it can be a challenge to juggle your practice while maintaining communication with patients. This is where a medical answering service can be of great help. Hiring a medical answering service for a doctors’ office is like hiring a receptionist to answer the phone. Incoming calls are routed to live, remote receptionists who are well-trained to handle healthcare-related calls. These receptionists know what information to collect and how to handle it. They can handle basic customer service inquiries, make appointments, and forward emergency calls to the right parties.

 

Medical emergencies can happen during any time of day or night. If one of your patients needs to make an appointment or speak with a doctor right away, they’ll be relieved to find out that your medical answering service is always available. Your answering team will be HIPAA compliant, be available 24-hours a day, and forward urgent cases to the appropriate extensions. Speaking with a live representative, regardless of the time of day, can make patients feel better about the care they’re receiving.

A medical answering service can also save money for your practice. Hiring and training new employees costs more time, money, and resources. A reliable call center trained in medical answering services has established systems and processes to get the needed work done. Utilizing a medical answering service is a more cost-effective way to delivering top-quality customer service to patients instead of paying for an employee’s salary and benefits. The people who will take your patients’ calls are well-trained, are available 24/7, and are available during holidays.

 

Think your medical practice could benefit from an answering service? Contact One is a call center based in Tucson, Arizona that provides answering services to various industries. Our team is HIPAA-compliant, available at anytime of day, and will provide high-quality service. Our expertly team of virtual receptionists will provide you with a variety of services. 

Call us at 1-800-278-3347 to find out more about what we do, and how your medical practice can benefit from our answering service.

 

What is Contact One?

What is Contact One?

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Contact One is more than just a call center. Contact One is the first experience a customer has when contacting a business. We know that first impressions are critically important to a business’s success, so we make it our priority to ensure it’s a great one.

At Contact One, we are proud to go above and beyond the average call center. When you hire our answering services, you can rely on us to provide you with receptionist services, appointment setting, and call center support. By integrating our agents into your team, you can ensure that you achieve the highest levels of productivity and customer service.

Unlike getting another full-time, in-house employee, our answering service can save you more money without compromising customer support. Our call center agents take your calls promptly and professionally, do customer support, schedule or cancel appointments, redirect calls, and so much more. On top of that, you can get these services for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Whether your business needs receptionist services, medical answering services, or call center support services, Contact One is ready to manage your calls. We’ll save you time, money, and make sure that no call goes unanswered. 

To hire Contact One for your customer service needs, give us a call at (800) 278-3347. We are proud to be a leading answering service in Tucson, and you will find that we can dramatically improve your company’s productivity and customer support capabilities. We look forward to helping you find the right solution for your business. 

More Answering Services Articles:

  1. Why Have an Answering Service for a Medical Practice
  2. Benefits of Having a Medical Answering Service
  3. Don’t Hang Up! Keep Customers On the Line!
  4. How Outsourcing Answering Services Can Help You Win the New Year
  5. Hiring the Right People

Tips for Better Customer Service

Tips for Better Customer Service

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Excellent customer service is crucial to your business’ bottom line. Top-notch support captures new business and keeps valuable customers coming back to you. Being friendly and helpful, however, can be difficult at times when dealing with certain issues and clients. It is important to know how to deliver consistently excellent customer service, and what things to focus on to ensure a client’s satisfaction. 

1. Think From The Customer’s Perspective: In order to ensure positive and productive communication with customers, the customer’s perspective must always be kept in mind. Consider tone of voice: a customer who is spoken to in a tone that is courteous, pleasant, and professional is much more likely to respond kindly and calmly.

2. Body Language: Even though you are speaking with a customer over the phone, body language matters. A customer service representative who chews gum or seems distracted during a conversation, projects an attitude that is careless and rude. Make sure that while speaking to a customer, you are attentive, sitting upright, and are not distracted by your surroundings. A customer can tell when you are engaged in the conversation, or if your focus is elsewhere. 

3. Learn to read your customers: Customers don’t always feel comfortable telling you they cannot afford your product or service. When a customer starts hinting (or out right asking) about price, offer alternatives. Don’t assume the customer knows all that they need to know in order to make an informed decision.  Make suggestions that can save them money. Most of the time the customer doesn’t know what to ask for and is relying on your expertise.

4. Don’t keep callers waiting too long: While being on hold is often a fact of life, many callers get very frustrated with being on hold for long periods at a time. Try to keep their time on hold to a bare minimum, and if you must, make sure to check in with them often to assure them that they have not been forgotten about and that you will be with them as soon as possible. Partnering with a call center can help your business to minimize incoming call wait times.

5. Don’t sound overly scripted: Avoid launching into a script right from the beginning of a conversation. Instead, try to establish a rapport with the caller and take time to ask leading questions and listen. Additionally, being polite is a must so always use “please” and “thank you” when speaking to customers. Be careful not to overuse “please” and “thank you” as this can seem patronizing and may annoy certain callers.

6. Treat callers with patience and respect: Above many things, most callers want to be heard and treated with respect. Callers will often hang up in anger if they believe you are not listening properly or treating them disrespectfully. Be sure to listen carefully while they explain their problem to avoid asking them to repeat themselves. Try to empathize with the caller’s request or issue before offering a solution.

It is important to note that all of these tips can be applied before the sale is complete. There is a common misconception that customer service starts when a customer has a problem. In reality, good customer service starts when you pick up the phone. Giving your client the best service possible will not only benefit the sale, but will lead to return customers in the future.

Bad Customer Service

Bad Customer Service

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There is nothing more frustrating than receiving bad customer service from a business. Bad service can range from being kept on hold for long amounts of time, to verbally insulting the customer. Such practices can make a customer feel unimportant, ignored, and angry. The results of an upset customer can be detrimental to a business’s success. This blog will discuss examples of bad service practices, the effects bad service can have on a business, and how to avoid them.

Most people have had some sort of negative experience with a service representative, especially over the phone. One type of bad service is neglect. If a call center answers a client’s call only to put them on hold, it will look bad for that business. This includes constantly transferring a caller. The more people a customer has to deal with, the bigger the chance for miscommunication and increased frustration. A customer will not want to work with a call center that just transfers customers to other people instead of trying to help them. Even if a representative is kind and patient, a customer can still become frustrated when they spend too much time on hold and not enough time moving toward a solution. 

Another type of bad customer service is bad attitude. Bad attitude can come from a variety of things. Sometimes, a customer service rep has personal problems that causes them to become easily irritated. Another cause is from a rep not enjoying their job. Finally, being tired can cause a representative to sound bored or not engaged over the phone. Even though a customer can’t see a call representative’s face, they can tell if they are truly interested in helping them. 

The third, and most notable type of bad customer service, is verbal insult. It takes an especially bad customer service representative to say rude remarks to a customer. Unfortunately, it does happen. This is a very fast way to establish a bad reputation, as customers who experience verbal insults will likely tell people about it.

The effects of bad customer service can seriously hurt a business. First, it can lose customers. A caller who had a bad experience with a representative from that business will most likely find a different place to take their business. Another effect of bad service is bad reviews. Customers are more likely to review a business after having a bad experience than a good one. People who find your business on social media or the internet can see these reviews, and may choose a different place because of it. Lastly, customers who had a bad experience with a customer service representative often tell their friends and family. This word of mouth press can be dangerous because it can’t be controlled. It’s also hard to change people’s opinions once they’re made. 

Luckily, there are many ways to avoid bad customer service. The first is by minimizing wait times. If answering calls is difficult for busy businesses, hiring a call center can help. This will avoid the problem of not being able to reach a business, and avoid long wait times. Another way to avoid bad customer service is by managing anger. Taking deep breaths, and trying to understand why a customer is upset, can help keep an employee calm. It can also help reduce the customer’s anger. Finally, speaking to a customer as if face-to-face with them is a good way to sound enthusiastic over the phone. A customer can read a representative’s tone, so sounding upbeat and interested is important. With an up-beat voice, the caller will feel heard and valued. 

To sum it all up, bad customer service isn’t just detrimental in the short-run, but can also have long-term effects. Long wait times, unenthusiastic service, and rudeness can lose a customer, their business, and create a bad reputation amongst other consumers. Good customer service is essential to a company’s success. Even the most simple of calls deserves quality service. This will help keep existing clients, avoid losing a sale, and hopefully increase positive reviews. At Contact One, we pride ourselves on our exceptional customer service. We know how valuable each caller is to a business, and strive to give clients the attention they deserve. To find out more about what Contact One can do for your business, call: 1-877-959-0158!

 

 

 

Answering and Wait Times: Keep Them Short

Answering and Wait Times: Keep Them Short

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Customers have been trained to expect fast services. In order to maintain quality customer service, you have to have quick-response system. Technology can give you the speed that you need to get an edge over the competition. Instant chat and answering services will show your customers that you care about their business. Making it easy for your customers to reach your business is essential to maintaining client satisfaction. 

Complaints

If a customer is upset about your products or services, and they cannot get ahold of anyone in your company, it will only upset them more. Increasing your answering service efforts ensures that these customers can find someone to talk to when they have an issue so you and your staff can work toward finding a solution.

On Hold

No one likes to wait on hold, but there are times when a business has more callers than staff to handle those calls. You could over-staff but, you will end up having higher employee costs and lower productivity. You could let the callers wait, but eventually callers will hang up and find another company to do business with. Neither of those options would be good for the bottom line. Here are two solutions you could try:

  1. Use a staffing calculator (Erlang-C is commonly used). This will help you calculate the average number of employees needed to keep your average hold time to a minimum. Every customer and business has a different tolerance for hold time, but most studies show that customers are willing to wait for about 18 seconds. You will need your average call time (in seconds), average calls you handle per hour, and what you would like your average hold time (in seconds) to be. You can experiment with different scenarios with your business.
  2. Hire an Answering service for overflow and ask your telephone provider to install “no answer” call forwarding. This will allow you to maintain the most efficient staffing levels, but when you have un-expected influx in call volume your callers will not have to wait for an answer.

Answering Every Call

Customers rarely take the time to express their frustrations, they just go elsewhere. For example, there is a perception that patients will put up with bad customer service from a medical center as long they get to see a doctor. This is not true in today’s competitive environment. Answering the phone promptly, professionally, and providing a one call resolution may be the only chance businesses have to obtain a new patient. 

 

If your customers can always get through to someone at your company, it gives them a better impression of your business. Whether they are calling with a complaint or a question, the ability to talk to a real person helps them gain confidence in your business and your customer service efforts. This might inspire them to help tell other people about your impressive customer relations, which could earn you some new business. No matter the outcome, quick answering and friendly, patient service can only benefit your business.