Knowing When It’s Time to Hire

Knowing When It’s Time to Hire

Blog/ Professional Services/ Small Business

178127014How many employees does your business need? The answer depends on a number of factors, including what kind of work you do and what plans you have for the future! Providing the best products and customer service will help you find success, and this guide can help you see if new employees will let you achieve those goals.

Make a List of Responsibilities
Start your research by making a list of all of the responsibilities held at your business. This includes all of your responsibilities as well as any held by any other employees you currently have. Try to include every individual item so you can have an outline of everything that gets done at work. This outline can help you determine if you have the right number of employees or it is time to consider hiring more.

Consider Your Growth
Every business wants to grow! Analyzing your growth is essential for deciding if it is time to hire. Look at any reports you have detailing how much and what type of business you do each month. Compare your status now to your status from a few months ago, or even a year ago if possible. The more growth you are experiencing, the more likely it is that you should hire new employees.

Think About the Benefits
New employees can bring a number of benefits to your business! Hiring new team members means handing out fewer responsibilities to each one. That means employees have more time and energy to focus on their job instead of spreading themselves too thin with too many projects.

Talk to Current Employees
If you already have employees, it is a good idea to get their input when deciding whether or not to hire new ones. Ask current employees if they feel challenged or overwhelmed and if they think new team members could help you experience more success.

Even with new employees, you might need help with customer service. Contact One Call Center offers answering services, after hours support, secure messaging, and other services to help you help customers! Contact us at 1-800-278-3347 to learn more.

Keeping Customers Happy During the Holidays

Keeping Customers Happy During the Holidays

Blog/ Marketing and Sales/ Small Business

56295349The holiday season is coming up! Your customers are shopping for gifts, making this season one of the busiest of the entire year. If your business is not prepared for this season, you can miss out on sales and possibly drive customers away. Follow these tips to keep customers happy during the upcoming holiday season.

Plan for the Season
The holiday season is extremely busy for all businesses. This can put a strain on customer service responsibilities, making it difficult for your customers to find what they need in time. Schedule a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the upcoming season with your employees and come up with strategies for handling the extra work. Hiring a call center is a great way to handle customer service responsibilities without taking away time and energy from other responsibilities.

Check Your Website
A lot of today’s customers research companies online before visiting stores in-person. Many of these customers also purchase online instead of going to stores. A slow or poorly designed website can mean bad news, especially during the holidays. Check your website to make sure it is working properly and is easy to navigate. You should also test the mobile version of your website as many customers will be visiting from smart phones and tablets. Take measures to ensure that your website can handle extra traffic that is likely to come through during the season.

Look at Customer Information
Loyal customers will have purchasing history you can look back at to get an edge this holiday season. This information can help you decide what types of products and services to focus on this season as well as what types of sales to offer. You can also use this data to offer customers rewards or thank you cards as a special touch for the holidays.

Get the help you need to keep customers happy this season with Contact One Call Center! We specialize in customer service, after hours support, secure messaging, and much more. Find out how our services can help you by calling us at 1-800-278-3347.

The Importance of Leaving No Call Unanswered

The Importance of Leaving No Call Unanswered

Blog/ Customer Service/ Small Business

200225959-001In the business world, customer service is essential to your company’s success. It is important to give your customers easy access to help when they need it. Keep reading to find out why you should improve your call centers to ensure that every call is answered.

Dealing with Customer 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 call center and 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.

Offering New Services
Improving your call center efforts helps you spread the word about new services that your company is offering. If a customer calls in to your business and always manages to find a real person with whom to talk, it gives you the opportunity to talk about new features and services that might interest them. Take advantage of customer calls by using them to inform your client base about important updates for your company and the services you offer.

Improving Your Company Image
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.

Take advantage of Contact One Call Center’s unique answering and secure messaging services to help your company keep your customers happy. If you want to avoid unanswered calls, our call center can help. We offer live receptionists, bilingual support, and after-hours support. Check out our website or call 1-800-278-3347 to learn more about our call center services.

Small Business Success Story: GasBuddy.com

Small Business Success Story: GasBuddy.com

Blog/ Small Business

492263535Owning a small business requires a lot of time, dedication, and foresight. If you want to learn how to grow your small business, it is helpful to look toward other companies that have found success. Keep reading to find out how GasBuddy.com started out as an idea and managed to explode into a hugely successful company.

A Great Idea
GasBuddy.com was the brainchild of Jason Toews and Dustin Coupal. Toews, a computer programmer, and Coupal, an eye doctor, were as frustrated as the rest of the country about rising gas prices. They decided to develop a website that helped drivers find the cheapest gas in their areas. In June of 2000, they officially launched GasBuddy.com. For the next 10 years, they worked hard to entice drivers to log onto their website and share information about local gas prices.

A Brilliant Idea
Although they found some success with their website, they knew that they could do better. In 2009, they saw how much business mobile apps were generating for tech-savvy companies and decided to join the fold. They launched apps for Android and iPhone and catapulted their business to new success. They now have 6 million loyal users who visit GasBuddy.com via their mobile apps.

Perseverance
Toews and Coupal both had successful careers before they started GasBuddy.com. Although their website did not gain instant success, they did not give up on their dream. By researching the industry and finding new ways to reach their customers and to entice new ones, they managed to make a name for themselves in the small business world.

If you are looking for new ways to interact with your customers, Contact One Call Center can help. We offer customer service assistance that makes it easier than ever for your clients to interact with your business. From answering services to order taking, our customer service experts are here to ensure that you improve your client relations. To learn more, check out our website or call 1-800-278-3347.

Secrets of a Successful Small Business

Secrets of a Successful Small Business

Blog/ Small Business

119012745If you are new to the world of business, you might have trouble figuring out how to grow your company. This guide will help you figure out how other small businesses have gained success so you can find new ways to improve your own.

Figuring Out Your Brand
The only way to successfully market what you do is to find your focus. Take some time to really think about what your business does, how you do it, and the way that you want to interact with your customers. Once you have a firm grasp on what you plan to do, you can start to figure out the best way to brand it. This includes developing a company logo, thinking about producing merchandise, and taking advantage of social media to spread the word about your business.

Make Yourself Different
If a customer sees six companies that offer basically the same services, it will be difficult to entice them to use your company. The key to success in the small business world is to make yourself different from your competition. You should constantly research your industry to stay on the cusp of cutting edge services and technology that helps you stand out.

Focus on Your Products and Services
Enticing customers to use your products and services will only get you so far. If you want to enjoy the benefits of repeat customers, you have to offer quality products and services. Make an effort to give your customers quality products and services that will keep them coming back and inspire them to tell their friends and family about your business.

Contact One Call Center can help you strengthen your customer relations and find ways to make your business different. With our answering services, live chat options, and e-commerce help, we give you the resources you need to make an impact in your industry. To learn more about what we do and how it can help you, check out our website or call 1-800-278-3347.

Small Business Success Story: SwitchFlops

Small Business Success Story: SwitchFlops

Blog/ Small Business

122578143Running a small business requires passion, dedication, and a strong effort toward customer service. A lot of successful small businesses have found unique ideas that set them apart from other companies. Keep reading to find out how SwitchFlops started out as an idea and flourished into a successful business.

The Idea
At just 16, Lindsay Phillips realized how much women will do and spend to get a beautiful pair of shoes. After creating a ceramic shoe in her high school art class, she saw that she could make a big impact on women’s shoe fashion. She added Velcro straps to her shoe designs and called the product SwitchFlops. Thanks to her innovative idea, women can now buy a pair of shoes, change out the strap, and get a variety of looks.

The Process
Phillips waited four years to earn a patent for her idea. During this time, she did everything she could to learn about the industry to prepare herself for owning a business. She attended classes at Rollins College and got a retail job to learn more about how to merchandise and manufacture a collection. By the time she got her patent, she was more than ready to start her business.

The Success
Even though Phillips could not find an American manufacturer willing to produce her first shoes, she did not give up. She finally found a company to manufacture her shoes in China. What started as a business that ran out of storage shed quickly blossomed into a $30 million business. Phillips had the foresight to change her management model to handle this growth and soon hired a professional CEO to oversee her business. SwitchFlops now has more than 4,000 locations throughout the world and plans to open more in the near future.

With the help of Contact One Call Center, you can find success for your small business. We offer customer service help that allows you to improve communication with your clients. To learn more about our services, visit us online or call 1-800-278-3347.

Keeping Customers Happy

Keeping Customers Happy

Blog/ Marketing and Sales/ Professional Services/ Small Business

134214747As a business owner, your customers are your livelihood. If you want to find success in the corporate world, you must figure out how to keep your current clients happy and how to entice new clients to utilize your services. Use the following tips to ensure that you are paying the proper amount of attention to your customers.

Pay Attention
Sometimes the most important aspect of customer service is taking the time to really listen to the things that they say. It is essential that you and your staff pay close attention any time a customer talks. If you deal with customers in person, you should make an effort to greet them all and try to address people by names. If you deal with customers on the phone, it is important to take the time to listen closely to what they say. You should always make an effort to pay close attention to your customers so you can figure out exactly what they need.

Personalize Services When You Can
Customers really respond to personalized services. If you want to give your clients the best opinion of your business, you should make an effort to personalize services whenever you can. Live chat and answering services are great additions to your customer service model that help you give personal attention to your customer base.

Show Your Appreciation
Another great way to keep your customers happy is to show them how much you appreciate their business. Try to offer some incentives like discounts after a certain number of visits or a gift card for referring a friend. These small gifts go a long way toward showing your customers how much you enjoy working with them.

If you want to improve your company’s customer service efforts, turn to Contact One Call Center. Our order taking, reservation setting, live chat, secure messaging, and answering services help you improve your communication with customers. For more information on our services and how they can help your business, visit us online or call 1-800-278-3347.

How Customer Service Has Changed Over the Years

How Customer Service Has Changed Over the Years

Blog/ Customer Service/ Small Business

iStock_000004801857XSmallCustomer service is the foundation of any successful business. Without it, you cannot build a strong customer base that helps you succeed in your industry. Learning how it has changed over the years can help you find the best way to serve your customers. Keep reading to learn more about the evolution of customer service:

Phone Calls to Talk to Representatives

Before 1995, customer service was only handled on the phone. Customers called a company if they had a question or concern and talked to a representative who would attempt to find a solution. Although there are a variety of other methods of contacting a company today, many people still prefer to call and talk to a person when they need something.

Emails and Web Help

Once the Internet became a worldwide phenomenon, people started turning to other venues for their customer service needs. Email became a popular facet starting around 1996 and remained a major aspect of customer service until about 2000 when more people started using websites for their service needs.

Chat Help

Around 2005, companies turned to live chat services to give them another edge in the customer service industry. Live chat services enable customers to reach out for assistance without even leaving a business’ website and they are still used today.

Mobile and Social Media Services

Since 2008, companies have taken advantage of the fact that a majority of their customers have smart phones by creating customer service apps. Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter have made it easier than ever for customers to contact businesses.

Contact One Call Center is here to help you improve your relationship with your customers by offering answering services, after-hours support, and live chat help. Take your customer service efforts to the next level by taking advantage of these services. To learn more about how we can help you interact with your customers, visit us online or call 1-800-278-3347.

The Ins and Outs of Managing Growth Successfully

The Ins and Outs of Managing Growth Successfully

Blog/ Customer Service/ Small Business

Teamwork in the officeAny business owner is excited when his or her company grows, but they are not always prepared to handle it. If you want to keep gaining success in your industry, it is important to figure out the best way to manage this growth. Use this guide to ensure that you handle your new success well enough to keep your business growing even more:

Figure Out the Best Way to Manage

One manager in charge of a small team might suffice when your business first starts out, but it does not always work when it starts to grow. If you want to continue to find success in your industry, it is important to find a new management model that can encompass the new size of your business. Whether you have to hire more managers or create more departments, this new management plan can help your business grow even more.

Keep Up with Your Customer Needs

As your client base starts to grow, it is important to find new ways to cater to your customers. Improving your customer service efforts is one of the most important elements of managing growth success. Instill new venues through which your customers can interact with your business so they always can talk to someone when they try to contact your company.

Pay Attention to Your Numbers

If you want to continue to succeed, it is important to stay on top of your business statistics. Maintain control over decisions relating to your sales numbers and financials so you have a say about the direction in which you want your company to go.

No matter the size of your business, Contact One Call Center is here to help you improve the way you talk to your customers. From answering services to disaster preparedness, we are here to give you the assistance you need when your business starts to grow. To learn more about our customer service resources, visit us online or call 1-800-278-3347.

Small Business Success Story: WRAPPED

Small Business Success Story: WRAPPED

Blog/ Customer Service/ Small Business

141213711Small businesses that have succeeded in their industry give other startup companies hope. WRAPPED is one of these successful businesses. Keep reading to find out how this paper goods company has managed to stand out in their industry:

They Do what they Do Best

WRAPPED founders Ryland Arnoldi and Sam Seidman have always had a passion for art. Although they were both on the path toward big careers in the financial industry, they wanted to create products that combined artistic appeal with a natural edge. By combining their efforts, Arnoldi and Seidman managed to turn this passion into a business that creates beautiful, artistic pieces of wrapping paper and paper goods.

They Maintain an Active Role in the Business

Instead of leaving all of their business decisions to others, Arnoldi and Seidman worked together to maintain an active role in their company. By taking control of these important decisions, they were in charge of everything having to do with their business. If you want to find success as a small business, it is imperative to retain a controlling stake in the decisions that affect your company.

They Found a Niche for their Product

The founders of WRAPPED were smart enough to choose a product that spoke to a wide range of potential investors. Instead of compromising and molding their product to the market, they went out and found investors who wanted to give them money for the products they wanted to create.

If you want to achieve success in your industry like WRAPPED has, it is important to focus more attention on your customer service efforts. Contact One Call Center has resources like answering services, live chat, after-hours support, and disaster preparedness to help you open the lines of communication with your customers. With our help, you can build a bigger client base to bring your business to new levels of success. To learn more about our services, visit us online or call 1-800-278-3347.