How to Use Your Phone System for Better Call Management
Three features you need to be using
You know how important it is to answer the phone when your customer calls—it can mean the difference between losing and winning their business. After all, a customer chose to call you—not your competition, and you should make the most of that opportunity. Your business phone system is one of your most powerful technology assets.
Consider how you’re currently using that system; are you taking advantage of the features available? And we’re talking more than just the basics.
With the right features and reporting capabilities, you can take your business’s call management to the next level.
Three phone system features your business needs
Beyond the basic features such as voicemail and caller ID, there are a few features that can take your call management to the next level.
1. Call Forwarding
Say you’re an on-call service company and an emergency takes everyone out into the field—what happens if no one is available to take calls at the office? You’d miss out on valuable business opportunities. Call forwarding gives your employees the flexibility to have calls forwarded to a cell phone number so they can be on-the-job, but still available to potential customers.
2. Call Forwarding Not Reachable
If a power outage affects your business, there’s no need to stop operations completely—you can still get your calls. By enabling Call-Forwarding Not Reachable, calls to your business will be automatically rerouted to a different number while the primary number is out-of-service.
3. Hunt Group
What happens when a potential customer calls your business and gets a busy signal? They’re likely to hang up and find someone who will answer their call. The Hunt Group feature routes calls from busy phone lines to one that’s free. So, if your call volume is particularly heavy and your main phone line is busy, customers can still get through to someone.
Reporting can Help
Call management isn’t limited to just the phone features that help your business answer calls. Often, your telephone provider or phone system can offer reports on your call volume, so you can track your calls and determine the best way to allocate your resources.
Of course, it’s great to know how many phone calls you’re receiving each day, but digging deeper into that data can provide powerful insight into your business. For example, you can get reports on the busy signals your callers are experiencing and see what calls you’re actually missing. This can tell you if you need to add another phone line because customers are maxing out your call capacity, or if you need to add another staff member or hire a call-answering service to answer overflow calls on Friday afternoons because too many customers are missed as a result of high call volume.
Your business may find that the tools are already available to help effectively manage your call volume. Talk with your phone system provider or call center to see what features and reports you can leverage for better call management.
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