Improving Customer Experience with Call Center and Answering Services Never in history have consumers had so many choices when it comes to communicating and interacting with businesses— from email, to social media, to text messaging, to online chat and traditional phone calls, consumers have more options than ever. Despite the numerous methods of communication today, however, one thing remains true: Consumers still want the option of contacting a live person to place orders, resolve problems and answer their questions. Customer Experience Is Everything Exceptional customer service is more important than ever, given the abundance of choice consumers have today. A 2011 study conducted by Harris Interactive revealed that:

● 86% of consumers quit doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience ● 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer

experience ● 50% percent of consumers give a brand only one week to respond to a question before they

stop doing business with them These statistics illustrate the importance of customer experience in an ever-competitive world. How Smaller Businesses Can Stay Competitive As a business owner, you simply can’t take the risk of missing phone calls from prospective and existing customers. Regardless of your industry—whether retail merchandising, law or computer repairs—your number one priority is customer satisfaction, which often begins and ends with a phone call. This is where a communications expert like Personalized Communications comes in: A professional call center or answering service can help business owners ensure that their customers’ needs are being met 24/7. Whether you need help with inbound orders, screening prospective employees, registering people for an event or setting appointments, a professional communications company can help streamline these processes at a fraction of the cost of hiring additional staff. Consider the expenses associated with additional employees—recruitment and hiring, management, equipment costs, office space, telephony equipment, office products, employee benefits—the list goes on. By outsourcing call center or answering services you can eliminate many of these costs. More than Customer Service Beyond traditional services like order entry and customer support, a professional communications company may also be able to help your business in some unexpected ways. Personalized Communications offers customer survey assistance, for example, to help you measure satisfaction levels within your client base. This information is invaluable for many businesses, alerting owners of red flags and needed improvements, and highlighting areas where customer needs and desires are being met effectively. The importance of client retention to the bottom line of a business cannot be overstated. Satisfied clients tend to become repeat customers. Repeat customers keep your business alive.

Hell Hath No Fury like a Consumer Scorned Losing a client because of a negative experience can sting even more when the client complains online via a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter, or a review site like Yelp or Angie’s List. Studies show that negative reviews on sites like these are impactful. The worst thing a business can do is ignore customer complaints. The Harris Interactive study found that while 79% of consumers who shared complaints about a negative experience had their complaints ignored by the offending business, more than half of the remaining 21% whose complaints were addressed had positive reactions to the company. This clearly illustrates that addressing complaints pays off. Ignoring them likely has the effect of reinforcing a customer’s negative view. About Personalized Communications Personalized Communications has been providing expert inbound call center and answering services for over 30 years. We are equipped to serve businesses of varying size and pride ourselves on a highly trained professional staff of phone representatives and state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment. Personalized Communications tailors services to meet the specific needs of each client and has helped countless clients improve their bottom line. Learn more about the services we offer at www.callcenteragency.com. Sources: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/cust-exp-impact-report-epss-1560493.pdf