Manners matters. All the intelligence in the world is great, but if the string attached to it is aloof absence, thanks but no thanks. Most people will tolerate mediocrity if the person or company delivering it gives good effort, positive vibes, and is simply pleasant to be around. And hey, it’s all the more better if their product or service is exceptional too. In this day and age where word of mouth travels at the speed of gigabit ethernet and reviews are abundant on Yelp, Google, and every social network, no company can afford to skimp on customer experience.
In this article, we cover:
- The importance of customer experience.
- What to do when you can’t answer every call.
- How YouMail Virtual Receptionist helps small businesses.
This sentiment isn’t just for the big corporations that can afford multi-million-dollar customer service call centers. We’re talking to you too, mister or missus small business operator. Whether you’re running a local flower shop, a dental office, or you’re a flooring contractor, you too can level up your customer experience game. It’s not out of reach. We’ll say it again.
Customer experience is not out of reach for small businesses!
In fact, customer experience is more critical to small businesses. When you’re competing on a local level with a handful of similar companies, how can you become the most popular choice? Last we checked, most people can’t tell the subtle differences between a good flower arrangement and a great one. And maybe you’ll get someone in the door one time for an emergency root canal, but if your practice comes off as cold and careless, good luck ever getting them back in the chair every six months for routine cleanings. And home improvement contractors better carry themselves with professionalism or else they will lose that bid to the next guy who does.
I’m just a team of one or a few, you may think. I simply don’t have the resources to provide better customer experience. Saying “thank you” and “please” a lot will have to suffice. Yes, do always say please, thank you — but you also have some options at your disposal to boost customer experience. Particularly, you could get yourself a virtual assistant.
You Can’t Answer Every Call
With a virtual assistant, small business operators can automatically greet callers with a custom away
text or email message anytime they’re unable to answer the phone. These automated messages can include a picture, your logo, a link to your website, or a button the caller can hit to book an appointment. Virtual assistant software, like a real receptionist, should be able to collect contact information for every caller so you know exactly who called and how to get back to them easily. Callers should also be able to press a number to get routed to another team member or an alternate number for you.
At YouMail, we call this service our Virtual Receptionist. We realize that no matter how productive you are, you can’t answer every call. Our virtual assistant feature exists so that you can sleep easy knowing that any missed caller will receive a premium experience.
YouMail Virtual Receptionist allows you to greet specific callers by name and with a personalized greeting. When it answers, it offers callers help, automatically transferring urgent calls to ensure your operations are always moving forward. YouMail Professional Plans are also affordable, so you don’t need to pay a Fortune 500 company’s ransom to get your virtual assistant off the ground.
Virtual Receptionist is just one of many small business–friendly features offered by YouMail. All of our Professional Plans include caller ID, visual voicemail, conference calling, auto attendant, the best robocall blocking in the world, and more. Our app is available for iOS and Android, and accessible on almost any device: your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, PC, or Mac.
So the next time you don’t land the job or get the repeat business, consider your options. There are communications tools available to improve your customer experience, which will lead to more fans of business and amplify those great manners of yours. Find the right YouMail Professional Plans for you and get started right away.
Please and thank you.
