4 March, 2019
Having a call forwarding service can help your business enhance the customer experience. Here’s what call forwarding means for the future of your business.
We live in the digital age with all sorts of communication technology, and yet 73% of client-contact communication is done through voice calls. Yes, even with the advent of Whatsapp, iMessage, Skype and chatbots, voice calls rule the roost.
With that in mind, a call forwarding service can dramatically enhance your business’ customer experience. How does it do that? To answer that question, let’s take a look at what call forwarding means, and how it’ll benefit your business.
What Does Call Forwarding Mean?
So, first things first, what’s call forwarding? Simply put, call forwarding allows telephone calls to be diverted from one phone to another. For example, a customer can call your landline phone number, and you can pick up the call on your mobile.
And the same is true the other way — if you know you’ll be in the office all day, you might want to take all your calls on the landline. So, when a client calls you on your mobile, get the call forwarded over to your desk phone instead.
The other boon of call forwarding is that you can get a city office number from an office outside the area. For example, if you’re after a London office but can’t afford the rent, a dedicated 020 number can be yours with a call forwarding service.
1. Boosts Productivity
When you’re tied to your desk waiting for that all-important phone call, the loss of productivity can be frustrating. To counter the lack of activity, why not get your call forwarded, meaning you can step away from the desk without missing the call?
With call forwarding, you can take that phone call on the way to a meeting, while you’re travelling for business, or even on your way to your kid’s school play. Now it’s possible to increase your productivity while never missing a call again.
2. Increase Your Availability
When it comes to serious business deals, an ‘Out of Office’ notification is the last thing clients want to see. With call forwarding, however, you can choose to open up windows of availability while you’re away.
This goes for your colleagues and business partners, too. Using a call forwarding service reassures clients that you’re on-hand when they need to talk. And, of course, closing deals means more money in the bank when the deal is done.
3. Offer 24-Hour, Round-the-Clock Service
They say that somewhere in the world, it’s happy hour, and the same is true in business. Your customers have different circumstances and lifestyles, so the best opening hours for one person can be useless for another.
Call forwarding means your customers can speak to someone 24 hours a day, at a time convenient to them. Remote working is a real option now, and if you employ staff in a different timezone, call forwarding will revolutionise your operating hours.
4. Customers Can Talk to Real People in Real-time
Humans hate IVR, or “robo-calls”. In fact, just the sound of an automated voice on the end of a line can cause a customer to hang up.
For happy customers, your reputation for customer service needs to hinge on speaking to a real person in real-time. Call forwarding takes care of this, so your customer service team can take calls from anywhere at any time.
5. Allows Work-from-Home Flexibility
Call forwarding has another big benefit: it offers work-from-home flexibility to you and your employees. Not only does working from home benefit workers (think of the time and money saved on commutes), but it means savings for a business, too.
For each employee that works from home, a company can reduce its heating, lighting, electrical and technology costs. In fact, work flexibility can even mean a company can downsize its physical footprint, and boost its profit margin instead.
6. Maintains Client Contact
Sometimes, for a business deal to go through, a customer needs to speak to their contact person (think property, business mergers and the like). If their contact is unavailable and they get fobbed off, clients might well call the whole thing off.
With call forwarding, that scenario’s a thing of the past. If a client’s contact person is out of the office, calls to their number can be diverted to a colleague who’s ‘in the know’. The contact-client relationship is maintained, and your deal safe as houses.
7. Ramps Up Your Company’s Reputation
If you do opt for the dedicated 020 London call forwarding option, for example, you’ll make your business look bigger. In their minds, customers link larger companies with being more professional, so this can definitely work in your favour.
Another important thing to note is that an excellent reputation for customer service will make you money. In fact, 86% of people are willing to pay more for an enhanced customer service experience.
8. Show Your Clients You Care
Last on our list but definitely not least, call forwarding means that you show your customers you care. The message, “Please continue to hold. Your call is important to us”, in effect declares the exact opposite.
To show your customers you really care, you need to put your money where your mouth is and be available to talk when they need to. When you’re happy to help at any time, with things big or small, your customers will realise you actually mean it.
What Call Forwarding Means for Your Business
If voice calls are the main means of communication in the business world, then you need to make the most of them. To do that, your business needs call forwarding. Call forwarding means a boost in your reputation, and great customer service.
With call forwarding working for you, your availability will increase, your staff can work in different locations, and your productivity will go through the roof. If you want your business to grow and thrive, then call forwarding is an absolute must.
Are you ready to take the leap and move your business a rung up the corporate ladder? Then contact us today, and let us hook you up with the best call forwarding service for you.
