Tweet

Press 1 - A Look At Automated Telephone Support

Guest post by: Nicolas DAlleva

Article Overview: Some type of telephone automation in business communication is unavoidable. If you are contacting your bank and inquiring about your balance or if you are calling a retail store to place a product order, there are many technological advancements with automation that allow for almost complete autonomous support.

Press 1 - A Look At Automated Telephone Support

Everyone has, at one point or another, used an automated telephone support system. These systems are typically connected to a main office line or toll-free number associated with a particular business or organization. An example most people are familiar with is calling into a utility company such as the cable company when you're television is out. Others may remember times when calling into a tech support line and navigating through myriad menus and options to get in touch with a real person, only to be placed on hold soon thereafter. Less frustrating, many companies use automated telephone support systems in a less annoying way by giving callers the option to speak to a number of groups within a company such as the billing, technical support, sales, or human resources departments. Indeed automated telephone support is a very popular feature in modern businesses. Despite its popularity, the automated answering service isn't always executed properly. As we all know, when it is misused, it can be one of the most frustrating experiences you will ever have when using the telephone. When it is used correctly, however, it can be an effective and powerful yet simple solution for companies of all sizes. An effective automated telephone support system comes down to whether or not it saves people time and saves the company utilizing it money. The biggest reason why companies use this sort of method of directing calls is simplicity. Because advertising space or marketing literature can only reasonably support a limited amount of information, a company might choose to only offer one main office line, frequently a toll-free number.

Because new customers or those inquiring about a particular business and the products or services they offer, the might not yet know which extension is appropriate. For example, you might be in the bookkeeping department of a company and a customer has some questions about their recent bill. Whereas your company might need to list a different number for each department, using and automated telephone support system allows the caller to navigate a menu and enter the correct extension for your department. The first time they call, they might not know the number for your extension but after hearing the system tell them to press a certain number for your department they will know.

Many people assume that having an automated telephone support system is less than ideal because callers are greeted by a recording. For the most part, however, this is not a problem because most callers want the fastest route to speaking with a live human being. If this means first listening to a machine, then it is not an issue because of the relative speed a machine can connect calls. It is important to remember that for this sort of system to work well, you need to make sure that whatever extension the caller dials takes them to the appropriate place.

Nothing is more frustrating than to lead a customer through a maze of extensions and redirects, only to have them end up leaving a voicemail anyway. This is why good planning and design is crucial. A great number of automated telephone support users have been wildly successful with combining this service with a live operator-based call center. Using an answering service along with automated telephone systems works wonders because it gives callers the option of deciding who to speak to, but if the contact is unavailable they can leave a message with a live human being instead of voicemail.

Related Articles
  How I Navigated Through Telephone Hell
  Choosing the Right MT4 Automated Trading Expert Advisor
  Automated Online Business - Is There Such a Thing?
  Top Home Based Business Ontario
  Getting Media Attention
  Tips To Write An Effective Press Release
  Press Release Key Components: Who, What, When, Where and Why
  43% of business is initiated by a telephone call
  Telephone Answering Techniques for Businesses
  Automated Home Business: Who Automates Them?
  How To Write A News-Worthy Press Release
  How to Organise an effective press conference
  5 Topics You Probably Didn’t Realize Can Be in a Press Release
  How Automated Social Media Actions May Be Costing You Sales and Referrals
  5 Benefits of Publishing a Press Release
  Getting Your Press Release Noticed
  Avoid Software for PSD to HTML Conversion
  Benefits of 24/7 Call Center Answering Service
  Misconceptions About VoIP
  The Benefits Of Using an Answering Service

Article Tags: automated support, call center, live answering, phone answering



Related Forum Posts
Re: The Best Method for Online Marketing - In order to write a press release, you must determine the subject of your story. It can be about an event that affects your industry, or it can be about a change in your company that will affect your customer base. Press releases are in all actuality ‘cookie cutter’. Once you get the hang of writing them, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Press releases conform to an established format.
Re: Domain name sugestion - Hi Anelly, Support-Box.com sounds very good to me. Easy and catchy.
Re: YOU CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT DO IT ALONE - Hi Barry, I couldn't agree more. Support is so important, even if it's just encouragement. But, having others to turn to for guidance and help can be very beneficial in moving your business forward.
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Hey Trent, Thanks . . . . I believe strengthening one's resolve depends on 3 things : 1- Support 2-What you read. 3-How you talk to yourself. How about sharing how you maintain your persistence? How about everyone else? I really am curious. Thanks Barry
Press Release Builder Tool - Hi Shri - I would be happy to. What do you need from me? Please PM me the details. Also, if anybody has suggestions for how to make the Press Release Builder Tool more valuable please let me know!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Five keys to business success

10 Steps to Excelling at Franchise Sales

If I Were Starting A Network Marketing Company...

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.