80 percent of business communication occurs by phone, and with the rising popularity of mobile phones, caller communication leads to more than one trillion dollars in spending in the U.S.
If you get too many calls, however, this will be a challenge that must be overcome. Having a high call volume will overwhelm your staff, and it can also cause your business to lose money. High call volume will also lead to a decline in customer service, as there are many callers that need addressing but very few callers getting their needs addressed on time.
About High Call Volume
Call volume refers to the amount of people who call your office during a period of time. Depending on your business, you could be getting tens or even hundreds of calls per day. The main reasons people call are about product pricing, business inquiries, and in the case of medical answering services, booking appointments.
If high call volume is not a problem for you now, it very well could be in the future, when a call volume spike occurs. All businesses will experience spikes in call volume, leading to a higher number of calls at a time than ever before.
High call volume can lead to many major problems inside and outside your business. Firstly, customers will move to your competitors after a bad customer service experience. Secondly, it will prevent you from getting new customers due to the lingering reputation. Finally, it can also cause staff to quit their jobs due to the overwhelming work and lowered morale.
What Causes High Call Volume?
There are four occasions in which high call volume occurs. They are as follows:
Seasonal Spikes
Seasonal spikes happen when new products reach the market, when you host a special sale, or when the holidays are coming up. Seasonal events and product launches are the only instance where high call volume is to be expected.
Internal Errors
You can cause more calls to be made in a period of time if you have representatives that are poorly trained, not the right agents, or simply there isn’t enough staff around. If you don’t have enough staff, or they aren’t trained to properly help the customers that you are service, changes are certainly necessary to undo this problem.
Marketing Gaffes
If there is a problem with your website, and there isn’t a way for callers to get information about hours, products, and the like, more people are going to call your office for that information than normal.
Why Hire an Answering Service?
With an answering service, you can have every call answered without your staff having to pick up the phone. When a caller calls your number, the call can be transferred to a trained call representative, in which they will get the help they need depending on your business. They work for doctors, lawyers, property managers, and much more. Answering services can also work around the clock so that you and your staff can go home at night without worrying about missed calls.
You can save money with a flat rate plan so that you pay for answering services each month and you can easily have a certain amount of calls handled. An answering service will certainly prevent your business from declining customer service and other catastrophic issues.