The Importance of Customer Service to a Business

When one thinks of increasing profits, they often think of ways to expand their business. Whether it's reaching wider global markets, advertising, or creating a web presence, the most enticing measures all involve drastically growing operations. Of course, these methods don't always work, and companies are left with potentially useless extensions that cost thousands or millions of dollars. Much like the country in which we live, our businesses rarely look inwards for areas of improvement. It is in one of these neglected areas, customer service, that a business can stand to gain or lose the most. A telephone answering service can assist with your customer service by offering a live voice to manage your telephone calls even when your office is closed.

The benefits of improving customer service can be business-altering. What good is finding hundreds of new customers if none of them are satisfied with your product or the way you do business? Just as important as expansion is an oft-maligned aspect of business: retention. Having one customer come back ten times is just as valuable as grabbing ten new customers, except that it involves less money and effort. The only thing that it costs is attention and friendliness. For someone running a company with a million things on their mind at once, this can seem much more daunting than you would think.

Outsourcing phone lines to a phone answering service is a great first step towards improving your company's practices and infrastructure. Firstly, it involves taking a little bit of time to look in the mirror and figure out what it is you want your customers to know. Consulting with an answering service may provide you with suggestions that you hadn't thought of before, but more importantly it will force you to define your company in terms of how you want it to be seen. This is something many people don't spend much time thinking of, but it always has a pronounced effect on the way people think about your business.

Unlike branching outwards, improving customer service does not require massive expansion of infrastructure or technology. Hiring an answering service requires no complicated installation of software or hardware and no new office space. Operators are familiar with your business, but located in the confines of their home or office. As such, the profession boasts an unusually low turnover rate because of employee satisfaction. They are professionally trained to deal with customers in the warmest, most courteous manner possible so that people will stop dreading the cold machinations of automated services.

The roots of virtually all businesses can be traced back to a single, local location that built its reputation on hard-work and kindness. While business class may overemphasize flashier aspects of business management and growth, the most important part of your business (the consumer) has not forgotten these basic laws of decency. When it comes down to it, they don't care how impressive your trans-continental shipping system is or how many new products you've launched in a year. They want to get what they want, quickly and with minimum hassle, and they want to feel like they are cared about. Before expanding, it's usually time to think about maximizing what you already have.