Nowadays, a telephone is an essential part of an office. This is so that information can be traded very quickly and easily. If the office needs to make orders or get in touch with potential clients, then all an employee has to do is pick up the phone and dial. More importantly though, if potential customers need to get more information about the service or product, then they can dial in without having to travel just to know if the service is right for them. This is all good during office hours. The question then is, what does your phone system do for you after office hours?
With the changes in technology nowadays, you can do so many things with your phone system in order to make it productive even after you have gone home. Here are a few actions that your phone system can do for you as well as the up and downsides of each of the options.
- Give callers a message – this is the most basic function of phone systems. In fact, a machine that is capable of answering the phone after office hours is not considered advanced technology, but a standard. This is very useful though because you can use it to set the expectations of the customer. You can tell the caller your business name (just to make sure that he has not dialed the wrong number), office hours, and alternate numbers that you can be reached at. If the line you have is a sales line, then perhaps you can provide the phone number for the after-sales support that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Allow callers to leave a message – this is also a service that not all people take advantage of, because it may not be in the best interest of the business owner to have him loaded with messages when he comes into the office. However, you can decide to use this feature depending on your business. If what you have is a sales line, then you can ask the caller to leave a name, contact number, and a preferred time to call so that you can call him back instead of him calling again. Of course, this particular option will need more manpower during office hours because of the number off callbacks that you would need to make.
- Set a voice response unit – this would be for the more complex and elaborate phone systems, but it can definitely help a business that has more than a few calls handled a day. If you are an office with multiple departments, a phone system can take the place of a relay operator and can even redirect calls to the right departments after office hours. Such a phone system can also have a set of frequently asked questions programmed into it just so that customers can get their answers without having to speak with a customer service representative. The last option though can be helpful to some, but irritating to others.
There are a lot of things that a phone system can do right now. With some research, you will be able to find the perfect phone system that can benefit your business. It could keep you open to customers even after office hours, and perhaps save a little money by having the system automated as opposed to having a receptionist. A phone system can be most beneficial for you, as long as you are able to handle it, and allow it to handle your customers, correctly.