Small businesses are increasingly aware of the numerous benefits of an answering service. In addition to increasing a company’s ability to provide excellent customer service on a regular basis, answering services reduce the workload that employees face with regard to customer service calls. An after-hours answering service also helps in this regard, since calls often will come in after regular working hours.
Of course, not everyone speaks English, and for those who only speak Spanish, calling a company who can’t understand what they are saying can be incredibly frustrating. Even worse, small businesses that aren’t able to have a conversation with a Spanish speaking caller will likely lose that business.
Fortunately, there is a solution:
The benefits of a bi-lingual answering service
Using a bilingual Spanish answering service is a great way to offer something valuable to your customers — regardless of whether they only speak Spanish or simply are more comfortable speaking in Spanish.
Spanish speakers are among the fastest growing demographics in the United States. While this is particularly true in states like California and the Southwest, it is increasingly the case in metropolitan areas as far as Seattle and Washington D.C. By ensuring that these Spanish speakers are able to communicate with your company via an answering service, you are much more likely to earn their ongoing business.
In addition, by providing the call answering service with specific instructions on how to handle different types of calls, you can dramatically reduce the amount of time Spanish speakers need to spend on a call before having their inquiry answered. By training the call answering service on the common calls your company typically receives, you’ll improve customer service while also ensuring that only high-impact calls make it to your in-house customer service team.
It’s worth noting that there are still relatively few companies who take the time to offer a full bi-lingual answering service to Spanish speaking customers. While some small and local businesses might have one or two Spanish speakers in the office, often they won’t be available right when a Spanish speaker needs them. However, with a bi-lingual answering service that is available 24/7, your company will stand out from all the others in your industry. This in turn can lead to long-term customer loyalty from Spanish speakers, who will remember that your company went out of it’s way to earn their business.
Ultimately, the benefits of a Spanish answering service are similar to the benefits of a standard answering service. The obvious benefit is opening your company up to an entire demographic that is historically underserved.
Map Communications specializes in providing local businesses with answering and virtual receptionist services that improve customer service and make your company appear larger than it might actually be. Our bi-lingual team is also highly trained and able to provide your Spanish speaking customers with the exact answers they need, and can also provide your company with analytics data about the types of calls that are coming in, specifically from Spanish speakers.
For more information about how Map Communications can help your business appeal to Spanish speakers, please call us today at 888-252-6555.
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