Managing Multiple callers

US rapper, the Game, provoked chaos at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recently. Offering his 580,000 followers a chance of a music internship with him he asked them to telephone a phone number which turned out to be that of the police department. The calls jammed the switchboard for hours and delayed responses to genuine emergencies.

Whether the number was tweeted as a prank or the result of an error is not known but the incident is a graphic illustration of the problems any organisation can have when faced with above expected levels of calls. So want remedies are available to SMEs to help them cope with high call volumes?

One of the commonest reasons for sudden high call volumes is following the launch of a new product. Far too often whilst great attention is paid to multiple-marketing avenues the same care is not taken to helping employees to cope with increased volumes of calls and orders. Key to the remedy is the virtual switchboard. With all the functionality of an elaborate PBX switchboard at a fraction of the cost the virtual switchboard could be programmed to:

• Identify callers through push button or speech options and automatically transfer calls on to the right department or an outside call service
• Identify callers based on their dialling code and transfer them as appropriate
• Manage multi call queuing
• Offer callers the ability to leave name and phone number so they can be called back

It doesn’t matter how small the business, giving your clients the impression that you are prepared for their call is vital for reputation and trade. Even a one man band can benefit from using a virtual assistant service. This means that whether you are on another call or away from the office your clients will still receive a response. Alternatively a straight divert service will allow your calls to be routed to whereever you are. So, for example, calls to your office number can be diverted to your mobile when you are out and about.

Whilst not as potentially life threatening as the delayed calls to the Los Angeles Sheriff, failing to deal with your own telephone calls can quickly lead to lost business and frustrated clients. Using one or more of the methods outlined above will help your call answering to run smoothly and that can only be good for client relationships and for business.