Providing Exemplary Customer Service Even If You are a Small Business

Small or new businesses must provide exceptional customer service from the beginning to compete with established competitors. This is often a challenge when a business has few employees and limited resources. However, it is important to understand these problems and address them before they happen to ensure optimal customer satisfaction and continued business growth.

Problems a Small Business Faces

One of the biggest issues that a new or small company must deal with is the lack of staff for sufficient customer service. This situation can be seen in the one-person office when many phone calls must go to voice mail to be answered later or when the office is closed because the person is out running errands or visiting another location.

Another problem is before/after hours or during lunch breaks when the office is closed. Even if the hours are posted for customers to see, it may result in them going elsewhere because they must have access to the business outside of their own working hours.

For a business that is run remotely out of the owner’s home, telephone and email access may be the only ways for customer contact. Even with a physical location, a small staff can only handle a certain number of customers at a time.

Solutions

The most obvious option for after-hours or times when the owner/manager is away from the office is to have calls forwarded to a cell phone. While this is one solution, it may not be the most effective choice. Sure, your customers will get to talk to a live person instead of leaving a message. But how much will you be able to help them if you are driving or don’t have your files or laptop open and ready to access?

The best help you will be able to offer is the promise that you will call them back as soon as you return to the office. While this is definitely better than no contact at all, you didn’t solve their problems.

A better solution for many situations is to have a call service answer phone calls when you are not available. Some business owners hesitate to use this option because they think it means no direct contact with their customers at all. However, that is not the case. You can set up a call center to only answer calls outside of your regular hours or in specific situations. They may answer calls when you are already on the phone.

You may also wonder if talking to a person who is not part of the company is any better than leaving a message. The fact is that you can provide specific instructions on how you want a variety of issues handled. A professional service will be able to take care of most routine calls without any problem and the customer won’t know the difference. The only issue would be when unusual problems arise that require extra effort. Even in this case, the call service would take important information and follow a protocol that would give the customer peace of mind to know that the problem was being resolved.

It is possible for even small companies and one-person businesses to provide outstanding customer service with the correct solution. These owners must think outside of the box for a resolution that ensures that they meet customer needs and remain competitive.

Ashley Meszaros is the Owner/President of We An-Ser Communications in Calgary. We An-Ser Communications provides award winning call center services in Calgary, dispatching, medical answering services, man down services, lone worker support, wireless panic services and more. They service the North American market.

Ashley Meszaros is the Owner/President of We An-Ser Communications in Calgary. http://www.wean-ser.com/calgary-call-centre-services/