Making the connection – understanding call management

Article provided by Ian Osborne, Chief Executive, Yac. www.yac.com

In today’s fast-paced world, one of the most important requirements for any business is to be available, such as on the end of a phone, whenever a customer needs you. Yet even this most simple of functions can be difficult; but with the prospect of customers meeting the engaged tone and perhaps even turning to a competitor, it cannot be ignored.

Thankfully technology can play an integral role in enabling businesses to offer a high level of customer service to their customers, specifically in supporting their call management.

Call management solutions focus on helping businesses better handle their incoming calls, including setting up customer greetings, queuing calls, and routing calls to mobile phones or other numbers so they can be answered more efficiently. Many invest heavily in the appropriate PBX (private branch exchange) hardware and software available to help improve this area of their businesses, and the benefits of well managed incoming calls means they reap the rewards of happy customers and connected business communications.

But many small businesses face a dilemma. When budgets are tight and money is needed to invest in a wide range of other areas, putting aside anything like a significant sum to cover the cost of a traditional PBX is extremely difficult. Recent research we conducted amongst our customers put the average cost of a standard call management solution, along with the cost of servicing and maintenance, at around £2k – quite a hefty investment! So what can small businesses do to get around this problem?

The primary solution is to look to the web for inspiration. As technology has evolved, so has the means of delivery for the functionality and flexibility of call management solutions. Specifically, suppliers in the market are now offering totally web-based solutions, which don’t need hardware or software to be installed, and thus can be harnessed at a fraction of the usual cost. An additional benefit is the ability to turn the solution off as quickly as it was turned on, which allows it to be used for ad-hoc projects and without the commitment of a long-term contract.

These call management solutions can be set up, changed and turned off in real-time, and so support any business in creating a flexible office environment; a must in today’s competitive and fast moving world. So many small businesses rely on working from home or while on the move, and solutions that support this way of working enable them to stay connected regardless of where they are. They match all of the functionality of traditional PBX solutions, but because of their self-administration over the web; can be easily and quickly changed according to the needs of the business.

Delivering a high level of customer service is paramount to all businesses today, and for small businesses, making the necessary investment needed to ensure customers are well managed over the phone is important to delivering a professional image and a quality service.

Our research suggests that many are still collectively wasting millions of pounds, when instead they could be choosing call management solutions that deliver far greater flexibility and scalability, at a fraction of the cost.

The message for small businesses is clear – staying connected to customers and prospects is of vital importance to business success, but doesn’t need to come at a premium.