If you don’t want your customers to switch to your competitors, customer satisfaction should be on top of your priority list. One sure way to keep them satisfied is by having a professional yet customer-friendly phone strategy. Something as simple as your automated on-hold messages may seem inconsequential, but when people need help, you don't want them to feel ignored or neglected. Here are tips on designing great on-hold messages.

Hire professionals to record your on-hold message

On-hold messages are your customers’ first point of contact with your business when they need help, so your messages should be professionally recorded. You may be tempted to have an in-house production because it will initially cost less than hiring a professional voice talent and renting a studio, but in the long run, professionally recorded messages in your company’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems will be more beneficial.

Voice talents have the skills and equipment to give your phone system that professional, friendly, and pleasant feel. If you want to sound sincere about helping your customers with their issues, invest in professionally recorded on-hold messages.

Use calming on-hold music to keep callers engaged

Another strategy to keep customers from hanging up while they're on hold is putting on music while they’re waiting. The trick for keeping callers calm is picking the right music. You might think that your choice of music is a minute detail, but it can make or break whether customers decide to leave or stay. You need to find a balance between engaging and relaxing, which is much easier when you have the power to pick or change tunes in just a few minutes. Cloud-based phone systems allow you to do exactly this by letting you test out different tunes.

Provide clear and useful information

Not everyone who calls your customer service hotline has a problem. Sometimes, people just need a piece of information. Use your IVRs to help callers find non-critical, frequently asked information such as business operating hours, special offers, and minor account updates. You can also deploy a more complicated system that redirects customers to specific concerns, like account management and payment instructions. This frees customer service representatives to take care of issues that need actual human interactions, like walkthroughs and policy misunderstandings.

Connect the call to a real person

According to a study, 83% of customers prefer human interaction over automated channels when solving customer service issues. Your automated recordings may lessen customers’ agitation or frustration, but nothing beats talking to a real person. Always provide an immediate option to talk to a customer service representative in your IVR. Most companies dedicate a particular number during calls to be connected to a real person who can help them with their concerns.This shows that you are serious in addressing your customers’ problems.

There are so many ways a VoIP system can help your business reach new heights. Our team of trained technicians can install affordable, cutting-edge phone solutions that are easy to use. Give us a call today to learn more.

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The many features available for VoIP may overwhelm and confuse you. You might even overlook a lot of them. How do you keep track of all its applications and functions? We’ve compiled a list of features included with your VoIP service that often go unnoticed.

Busy lamp field

The busy light notifies you when people can’t take your call. You avoid disrupting someone from an important phone call, and you can choose to wait or call someone else. You can manage your call times more efficiently, especially if you make several calls a day.

In-call coaching

Train your employees on how to speak with clients over the phone using add-on services like Barge and Whisper. Barge enables you to silently monitor your employee’s phone conversation, while Whisper allows you to coach your employees during a call, without the customer hearing you.

Hot desking

It lets you transfer your phone settings and preferences over to another IP device. Any available IP phone can become your “personal” phone when needed.

Hold Music

Make waiting more tolerable for your customer with hold music that’s tailored to your brand's identity. It also reassures your caller that their call is being redirected, instead of hearing just dead silence.

Hidden conferencing features

VoIP video meetings have features that can mute other people, organize internal voting systems, and more.

Hands-free dialing

Save time looking for someone in your phonebook by adding a call button above someone’s email address.

Call screening

It displays the caller ID on your device, so you can ignore or pick up the call.

Click-to-call

This website widget makes it convenient for your customers to call you by simply clicking on a button on your page.

Analytics

This function provides an analysis of your VoIP usage, giving important details like: Who calls you the most, who you call the most, and your customers’ geographical distribution, among others. Such information is useful in tracking call usage, costs, etc.

Get the most out of the VoIP services you paid for. To know more about the latest in VoIP trends and services, contact us today.

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VoIP apps let users send messages, make phone calls, and do other tasks through an internet connection. Most apps offer the essential services for free, and they can harmonize with your devices for consistent usage. Here are some of the top VoIP apps.

WhatsApp
The increasingly popular WhatsApp provides more than just text chats between users. There is also an call option, the equivalent of VoIP calls with the option of using video. So if you’re texting with a business colleague, friend or spouse, and need to communicate more clearly or face-to-face, you can easily switch your text chat to a more personal voice or video one. WhatsApp texting and VoIP service is free to download and use, and is available for all major smartphones.

Skype
Even seldom Internet users and the non-tech savvy are likely to be familiar with Skype. This VoIP trailblazer was allowing users to place calls over the Internet long before many even knew what VoIP was. But for those who are unfamiliar with this service, Skype users can place voice or video calls to other Skype users for free. You can also call a landline or mobile that doesn’t use the app for a very small fee. As for new changes, you can now conduct conference calls with the group video calling function that Skype has recently added.

Viber
Like Skype, you can use this service to place free VoIP calls to other Viber users. You can also call non-Viber users for a low fee, which is usually less than most cellular service plans. And because Viber is primarily a mobile app, it also has some nice benefits if you’re using it on your cell. Unlike other free VoIP services, Viber doesn’t require a username. Instead, you simply use your cell number as an identifier, which makes it easy for you to call contacts on your phone. What’s more, it also doesn’t eat up a large amount of data per call, only using 250KB per minute.

Viber is available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices, and requires no registration to use the app.

Google Hangouts Dialer
If you’re a Google Apps user, you’re likely familiar with Hangouts. What you may not know, however, is that you can install an app, Hangouts Dialer, that enables VoIP calls. Once Dialer is installed in the Hangouts app, you can use it to call any phone number in the world, including landlines. Best of all, most calls to Canada and the US are free.

For business owners who are a bit tentative of VoIP, these four apps will give you an easy opportunity to test the waters. If you have any VoIP questions, or are ready to start saving money and install a VoIP system in your business, call us today!

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