Things You Didn’t Know About Business Call Routing

What happens when someone calls your business? Do they get passed around to different people and departments until someone can finally help them? Do you often get interrupted by phone calls that someone else should be dealing with? From a customer experience standpoint as well as an internal productivity perspective, how calls are routed within your company matters…a lot.

Thankfully, businesses have an ideal solution at their disposal: call routing service. This extremely effective tool is a bit like an air traffic controller for your inbound phone calls. It allows smaller businesses to project a large, professional appearance and it even helps big companies establish a streamlined, high level of customer service. Call routing services give organizations of all sizes the ability to get callers to the right person in the shortest amount of time.

Call Center Agent

Defining Call Routing

For the uninitiated, a call routing service is a call management tool for businesses. There are both live and automated versions. The live version puts callers in touch with a real, helpful person right away. The representative determines the correct department or person the caller needs to speak with and then transfers them accordingly.

Automated call routing tools makes users press buttons or follow prompts to self-route the call to a certain department. Most people are familiar with this automated call routing feature from each time they have called their cable company. Since nobody likes those automated encounters, we’ll focus on the live version in this article.

A good business call routing system maximizes employee time while eliminating wait times for callers. It also routes each call to the person who is best equipped to answer. For instance, you can have Spanish-speaking callers routed to an agent who also speaks Spanish. This can resolve many of the most common delays in telephone customer service.

This example is just the beginning. Here are a few more ways call routing can transform your business:

Call Routing Projects a Professional Image

Businesses are often run by teams of multitaskers. These hard-working professionals spin many plates, answering phone calls as they help customers and juggle other daily operational tasks, too. When you’ve got a highly-trained, experienced live receptionist taking your calls, distracted, delayed conversations become a thing of the past. Every time someone dials into your business, they’ll be treated to a friendly, helpful conversation – or be connected to the right person or department. Business call routing services make the entire process a breeze.

The fast response time to incoming calls doesn’t stop when the business day ends, either. Virtual receptionists can handle small business call routing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That means that the sun never truly sets on your opportunity to connect with callers. Even when you’re not available personally, there will always be a professional available to represent you, your policies, and your procedures. In the event the phone call is an urgent matter that meets your requirements, the call can be routed according to your preferences.

Impress Customers with Call Routing

Call routing allows you to maximize your responses to customer inquiries, but it also allows you to foster more meaningful relationships with each person who dials in. By striking up conversations that effectively target the reason for the call, agents can put callers at ease more quickly. Shortened response times also add to this dynamic – the longer the wait, the more frustrated the caller may become.

Call routing best practices prioritize the customer experience above all else. While there are certainly many benefits for employees, too, a partnership with a business call routing service puts an emphasis on each individual caller. Routed calls ensure there is always a real, live human being available to answer questions and address concerns. Having to send callers to voicemail when you’re unavailable becomes a thing of the past once you partner with a call routing service. This degree of service won’t soon be forgotten in the minds of your callers! Indeed, they may be more inclined to call back and do more business with your organization after seeing how easy it is to get in touch.

Customized Call Routing Adds a Personal Touch

A one size fits all approach to call routing is no longer the standard. Call center call routing is now highly customizable. Agents can answer the phone using a specific slogan or catchphrase to greet callers. They’ll also follow carefully crafted call scripts designed to mimic the same language you and your team use in-house. Many times, callers never even realize they’re speaking with a third party telephone call routing service.

This level of customization ensures you’re calling the shots even when you’ve logged off for the day. By tailoring this inbound call routing service to the precise specifications of your brand, you provide a level of consistency unmatched in your industry. Don’t be surprised when you start to earn a real reputation for quality service.

Call Routing Increases Productivity

Call Agent Dialing a Phone Number

Imagine how much more you and your colleagues might accomplish in a day without the phone constantly interrupting your workflow. It’s a challenge to be present with customers when you’ve got daily operational duties to finish as you’re on the phone. As much as we’d like to think of ourselves as excellent multitaskers, the reality is that humans are incredibly bad at doing two things at once. Call routing services take this additional to-do off your plate entirely, giving you the freedom to focus on other important tasks.

Call center routing also gives you the freedom to completely unplug from the office. With a live receptionist covering the phones, you’ll be able to finally achieve the work/life balance of your dreams. By eliminating unnecessarily distracting phone calls, you’ll be more productive in the workplace and more relaxed at home. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Call Routing Decreases Wait Times

Customers hate getting the runaround on the phone. Being passed from person to person like a Thanksgiving turkey is an experience nobody appreciates. A call center routing service can close the gap between the kind of customer experience you’re currently offering and the high level you’ve always hoped to provide.

Competing with the big fish in the pond is easy when you’ve got call routing features to rely upon. When a caller dials your business, they’ll be instantly connected with an agent. Rather than being put on hold while an in-house team scrambles to multitask, callers can launch into their question or concern as soon as they dial. Given how much the average person spends on hold, this kind of service can really make your business stand out from the pack.

Call Routing: Essential for Businesses of All Sizes

Call routing creates a seamless workflow that makes it easy to save money while improving the customer experience at the same time. In turn, this leads to better customer retention rates. Almost every effective effort to improve customer retention is worth the investment. The most successful businesses know this and are always willing to consider options for improvement.

It can also be a mental drain handling call routing when you’ve got other things to do. Should you find your focus dwindling and your professionalism slipping, you’ll want to turn to call center routing services for support. Simply knowing you have a backup of helpful agents representing you can bring serious peace of mind to your daily duties. Organizations that have a good call routing system in place are likely to even see a positive impact on their company culture.

Call Routing Saves Money

It’s true what they say: in order to make money, you’ve got to spend some money. When your budget is limited, though, investing in staff can be a real challenge. This is especially true if you want to prioritize talent. Experienced, professional employees often come at a premium. In addition to salary, you’ll also be responsible for outfitting them with supplies, technology, and training – not to mention sick days and vacation time.

If you’re ready to expand your administrative team but don’t have much room in the budget, call routing services may be the solution. For a fraction of what it might cost to bring on a full time administrative assistant, you can gain access to 24/7 support for your inbound calls. Callers expect to be able to reach your business on their terms. By filling in the gaps of call coverage with a call center service, you can ensure that no call ever goes unanswered.

Try MAP’s Call Routing Service Today

Here at MAP Communications, our call routing services present the ultimate opportunity for businesses of all sizes to improve their customer experiences. If you’re hoping to save on staffing costs while also transforming the way your inbound calls are handled, you’ll want to give our services a try. From decreased hold times to increased productivity and a healthier work/life balance, there’s no limit to how our offerings can improve the daily operations of your business.

MAP has worked for three decades to provide call routing services for businesses of all sizes and varieties. You need look no further than our testimonials page for evidence of our value. No matter your industry, we’re committed to providing customized call routing services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Featuring some of the fastest pick up times in the business, we’ve become synonymous with success.

Want to try MAP for yourself? We’ve got good news: we’re currently offering a free trial of our call routing service. Click here to sign up!

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