As a mother of five, I understand the importance of establishing trust from the very beginning. Someone picking up the phone the first time I dial out speaks volumes. For me, this is the first test when deciding whether to start my kids on a new program.
It’s very simple, and I’m sure every parent would understand: whenever I’m thinking of what’s best for my kids, I need to know that if I entrust them to someone else, that team will always answer when I call.
Voicemail really doesn’t cut it. After all, what if I need to get in touch with them once the kids are in their care? What if I want to chat with them about something important or urgent? What if it’s outside of working hours?
These things do happen from time to time, and it can be a big deal.
What’s good for families is good for business
Answering the phone promptly doesn’t just make sense for parents, of course. A great caller experience is good for business, too. It means that if you’ve spent money on a paid advertising campaign that runs 24/7 (as many good businesses do), that you also have a great lead capture process in place, for when a visitor is ready to act on your campaign.
It just makes sense.
We heard some great advice about this during the lead outreach session at this year’s Mathnasium convention.
You can also watch Russ Dunford, Mathnasium franchise leader from Alabama, chatting about how families often make decisions in the evening. Here he is in this two-minute video, joined by Jerry Stitzel from AnswerForce:
Offering great customer service, 24/7
When you offer an enriching math program, as Mathnasium does, you can help your franchise stand out even more by offering human support at every step of the journey. This happens all the time inside your center. Why not over the phone as well?
And really, should it matter whether an important phone call comes through conveniently at 10am, or perhaps less conveniently, at 10pm? I don’t think so.
If you’re a parent, you’ll appreciate that it’s often impossible to get things done until after the kids have gone to sleep.
The thing you must ask, if you run a small business or franchise, is: who am I making the contact process convenient for?
The business operator, during business hours? Or my customer, in their time of need?
The answer should really be yes to both. If it’s not quite like that for your business, AnswerForce can help make the contact process simple, productive and responsive for both you and your customer. That holds true, whatever time of day or night it may occur!
Here’s the good news for franchisees and other small business owners: after-hours call answering doesn’t need to cost more than service provided during standard working hours.
It’s your business, and great service that drives lead capture always matters. It should always be accessible to every business — this is something I really believe.
Get in touch with me to chat more about how we can work together to support your customers and your business, together. Book some time with me today!