4 Tips For Communication Clarity With Answering Services

Misunderstandings are something that you want to take every possible effort to avoid when running a business. Being crystal clear when working with your answering service will help you avoid confusion or miscommunications between you and the service, as well as between the service and your customers. These four tips will help you ensure that everyone has a smooth experience when you employ an answering service for your operation.

1. Clearly Outline the Scope of Expected Duties

This is very important. It is also important for business owners to recognize the difference between an inbound call center that is set up for customer service and an answering service. Your answering service agents shouldn’t be expected to provide a full suite of customer service. Create clear scripts to maintain consistent communication with your clients, as well as carefully outlining the scope of the calls that can be handled by the service.

2. Utilize Available Communication Tools

Answering services have a wide variety of tools that they use to get messages to their clients. Utilize any and all communication methods and technologies that the company has in place to ensure that you get the most up-to-date reports. These can include online message retrieval, calendar or CRM integration, and more.

3. Create Customer-Focused Scripts

When you set up an account with an answering service, you will work with them to create a script that they will use when taking messages from your customers. Creating a clear script that puts the focus on customer service is a great way to ensure that your company’s messaging is clearly communicated, even when the person on the other end of the phone is a subcontractor rather than a direct employee.

4. Review the Contract Carefully

It is always a good idea to carefully go over the terms of the contract that you sign with an answering service. Discuss the services that will be offered and what they will cost with a representative of the company before you initialize the service. This ensures that you know exactly what you’re going to get. It creates a set of fair expectations for your organization and the answering service that you’re using. By carefully defining the terms of the business relationship, you set yourself up for a business relationship that could be very beneficial for both parties for a long time to come.

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