The myriad of things we can/should/might/ do to make our company successful can be overwhelming. Technology, finances, employees, insurance, customer service, marketing, customers – too much to do and too little time to do it. The order of this list is not random, but rather in the likely order of the demand on your time. Notice that the customer came...
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Tis the season of organization! For the past month, store ads have been touting racks, bins, boxes and software that will help us eliminate clutter and accomplish more - rather than spending time looking for things. We know it is not always easy to make sure things stay organized. Finding information easily is one reason we suggest our clients receive...
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Web and mobile-based communications are taking over as our primary means of contact. Statistics revealed by Forbes magazine indicate that 80 percent of callers who reach voice mail don’t leave messages because they don' think they'll even be heard. Speech technology vendor, Nuance Communications, recently conducted a survey with Research Now and found that 95 percent of those polled say...
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Buildings crumble without adequate foundations. So do marketing efforts. For the inaugural edition of my marketing column, I wanted to lay a foundation for all the future articles. That foundation – both for this column and for all marketing initiatives – is your website. It’s neither hyperbole nor overstatement to suggest that every aspect of your marketing is affected by...
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“I’d probably use your services, but I know you’ve got a lot of plumbers on your service, how do I know my calls will come to me and not accidentally go to my competition?” asked a fellow I met at the Chamber meeting. From time to time this question comes up and I can proudly say I have never had...
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Whenever someone new comes on board, whether an employee or a customer, a great policy is to wait a few weeks and then ask, “Is our service exceeding your expectations? Is there something you don’t understand or that we could do differently that would make our service work better for you?” Such valid questions, and such varied answers, come from...
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Voicemail is in the past! Web and mobile-based communications are taking over as our primary means of contact. Statistics revealed by Forbes magazine indicate that 80 percent of callers who reach voice mail don’t leave messages because they don't think they'll even be heard. Speech technology vendor Nuance Communications recently conducted a survey with Research Now and found that 95...
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"I don’t care if I never answer my phone again!” The frustration in his voice came through loud and clear. “I told my customer I would have his deck finished today. When he came home from work, half the deck boards still had to go down, and the railing had to go up. I thought I’d never get done. If...
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Less than two decades ago, more than 85% of American workers worked for a specific company. Today over 40% of us identify ourselves as free-lancers, self- employed, independent contractors, on-demand workers, or Gig-workers; these titles all refer to Contingency Workers. These are non-permanent workers who are hired by companies on a temporary basis to fill gaps. What’s more, both the...
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Our industry is a well-kept secret! A recent conference focused on how to “Rebrand” our services so that people would pay attention to the new services we offer. This is not the first time we have tried to reinvent ourselves. We have tried Contact Center, Call Center, Telemessaging Company, and TeleServices Company, and we still hear, “Oh, this is a...
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