Customer service is a fundamental element of any business. But if you run a small start-up, chances are you will be juggling this area alongside all other aspects of your business. When the phone is going off repeatedly, and you need to break from the rest of your work, it can be frustrating, and it can harm your productivity levels. 

Obviously, customer service should be a high priority; without your customers, there will be no money coming into the business. However, on the flip side of that, if you are spending your entire life answering phones, you may not be dealing with the core elements of your business. It becomes a bit of a catch-22 situation which you will constantly be fighting. 

With this in mind, you should explore some other options for handling your customer service needs. The ideal solution would be to have the staff to deal with your service in-house. However, if you are still a relatively small company, this may not be an option financially quite yet. In the meantime, you may need a robust solution that can see you through a period of growth and development. 

Virtual Phone Services 

Virtual phone answering services may be helpful in your situation. By using the services of a company that offers this option, you will be able to have all of your calls answered promptly. Basic questions can be answered accurately, which will meet your customer’s needs and help you to provide them with a high level of service. 

One of the best aspects about utilizing a service such as this is that it keeps you free to progress your business in the ways that count. You’ll pay by the call, so there is no need to employ a call handler who is paid for times when there are no calls coming through. 

Outsourced Support

One way of dealing with your customer service needs is to outsource your phone support to an external company. Having your phones answered and your customers assisted by another company will mean that you get the help that you need whenever the phone rings. Your customers will be happy as they will get the answers that they need. 

Call Handling Software

One great way of managing your calls is to use call handling software. You can set up options for your customers to direct them to an appropriate response. If there is someone in your team that they are best speaking with, it can be routed to that person. If there is information relating to a frequently asked question, then this can be provided in the automated response. Customer details can be taken before they get put through to you, meaning you can save time on the call as you will have their details already. 

Artificial Intelligence Chatbots

One of the best ways of reaching your customers is through social media. If your company is already doing this, you will realize that it is a great way for customers to connect with you. Often, people don’t want the hassle of phoning up. Dealing with companies over the phone can be hard work, you may need to wait in a queue for a long time, and then speaking to an advisor can sometimes feel like a chore. By using direct messaging, customers can fire off a quick message from their phone and immediately get their queries out there. The problem with social media comes with the expectations of the users. Because of the speed and convenience that a message can be sent, customers can expect to get an equally quick reply. It doesn’t necessarily work that way if you are having to reply to lots of messages. 

By using artificial intelligence chatbots, you will be able to have all of your messages from customers replied instantly. Your customers will be happy, as many of their questions can be responded to automatically. Chatbots can learn and develop over time, improving the service for your customers. And, when they can’t answer a question, they can hand it over to you for a response. 

Reducing the number of messages that you have coming through to you will be massively beneficial for your productivity. 

Provide Efficient Service

Your customer service needs to be efficient. If you can keep your call times down, you will find it much easier to manage your workload. Your customers will be happy because they are getting dealt with quickly, and there will be less wait before getting through on the phone lines. Asking the right questions helps, and providing accurate and well-worded responses will ensure the customer gets the right message.

Infographic created by TeamSupport, a customer support software company