Feb 21 2011
Answering Services too busy to celebrate Presidents Day
Category: News
If you were to ask someone to pick their favorite holiday, Presidents Day is probably not the first one that comes to mind. Situated in the middle of February, most folks don’t see the holiday as much more than a long weekend. While it is a welcomed day off, the third Monday in February is not met with the same fanfare that accompanies most holidays. Many Americans observe Presidents Day and many do not. Which is why this holiday is particularly troublesome to most answering service employees. Presidents day is what is known in the industry as “tweener” holiday. The reason for this is that there is no rhyme or reason as to which offices close, and which will remain open. Holidays like Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, July 4th and even Memorial Day and Labor Day are much easier for answering services to navigate. These holidays are more clear cut as to which offices are closed (most if not all).
Feb 16 2011
Must Have Technology for Small Business
Category: Technology
This is a guest blog by Alyn L. of Triangle Computer. For more information on guest posting opportunities on this blog, please contact Specialty Answering Service.
With technology constantly changing and being updated, it can be hard for a business – especially a small business — to keep up with. You don’t necessarily always have to have the latest and greatest technology to make your small business successful, but having the right technology for you and your business can be crucial to its success. Here are several aspects and types of technology to consider for your small business and how they can lend to its ability to succeed in the high tech world of today.
Feb 15 2011
The New Office Suite; It’s Virtually Invisible – A Story About Going Virtual
Category: User Submitted Stories
The following is a guest submitted story about going virtual. If you have a story or real life tale about your business going virtual, please contact us. You could be reading your story here!
When Amy Moyer opened her marketing company, she didn’t contact a realtor to help her find office space. It wasn’t because Amy was comfortable negotiating a lease on her own. It was that she wasn’t getting an office. In today’s business environment, companies no longer need brick and mortar. Amy would be running her company out of the comfort and privacy of her own home. Her employees would be doing the same, working out of their own homes. And while on any given day, you could be speaking with Amy while she is sitting in her pajamas, you would never know it.
Feb 9 2011
Advertising and Your Answering Service
Category: Marketing
This is a guest blog by Zach M. of Direct Sat TV. For more information on guest posting opportunities on this blog, please contact Specialty Answering Service.
The advertising methods you use for your business directly affect your answering service. Calls are generated by a range of advertising types. Your answering service sales representative should be well aware of the different forms of advertising your business uses. By keeping your answering services informed, this will allow them to staff accordingly. You do not want your customers calling for your business and have to wait for a line to become available or not be able to get through at all. If you use only newspaper and direct mail advertising, then call volume will not be exceedingly altered, but radio and television advertising will generate bursts of calls. When your business utilizes both direct mail and newspaper advertising, the amount of calls generated is fairly consistent. Your telephone answering service will staff itself according to this consistent call volume, so that they will be prepared to professionally answer all incoming calls in sufficient time.
Feb 9 2011
4 Reasons Digital Phone Service is Great for Business
Category: Technology
This is a guest blog by Diane J. of Classes and Careers. For more information on guest posting opportunities on this blog, please contact Specialty Answering Service.
As a business owner, you want to be able to use the latest technology to help you be more effective, sell more products, or provide more services to your customer anywhere and at any time. On the other hand, it can be hard to predict which technologies are going to really give you a competitive edge in the future and not just in the short term while the new technology is hot. One of the hot new trends in business communications is digital phone service, or VoIP phones. VoIP phones look just like normal phones but they connect to the internet instead of regular phone lines. This unique quality gives VoIP phones a great advantage for your business.
Feb 8 2011
Here’s an Idea, Stop Throwing Your Customers Away
Category: Social Media
This is a guest blog by Alan R. of Animated Web Services. For more information on guest posting opportunities on this blog, please contact Specialty Answering Service.
As a web designer, I see a lot of poor business decisions made by the people who own websites. One of the worst things I see people do is simply let their customers leave their site because they are not properly equipped to handle them. If you have a business that requires people to cal in or people want to call and discuss some aspect of the purchase, you need to have the proper team to handle the calls. Sometimes businesses only put an email address on their site. This is okay for some businesses but a lot of businesses have customers that want to have a phone number to call in to.
Feb 4 2011
Super Bowl provides a much needed breather for Answering Services
Category: Funny (We Think So)
Are you ready for some football? I know someone who is? The operator at your answering service. With Most of America tuned into the Super Bowl this Sunday, the world seems to come to a halt. Once the game starts, the grocery store aisles are empty. The local Walmarts and Targets look deserted. And the phone seems to stop ringing at your answering service. With the big game on, people are less likely to call their doctor, their plumber or their HVAC company. As a result, the operators at the answering service are afforded the ability to work a leisurely shift.
Feb 3 2011
Send Candy or Flowers to Your Answering Service for Valentine’s Day
Category: News
They answer your calls twenty four hours a day. They never take a break. They answer each and every phone call that you can’t get to. And they treat your business like their own. You only pay them pennies an hour. They are your answering service. The dependable voice on the other line of the telephone. They are your businesses lifeline. They can’t do enough for you. But, what can you do for them? How do you say “thanks” for a job well done, to the staff of your twenty four hour call center.
Feb 3 2011
Answering Services Relying on Backup Power More than Ever
Category: News
Electric utility workers are busier than ever, and that’s because ice storms across the United States have brought down electric lines leaving thousands of businesses and homes without power. Many answering services are experiencing outages within their own offices. Unfortunately, answering services need to stay open and constantly have power. With their power down, answering services must generate their own electricity, allowing them to remain open 24 hours a day.
Feb 2 2011
Answering Services Beware: Storms to be an issue in 75% of the United States
Category: News
If I were to check the weather forecast in your part of the country, there would be seventy five percent chance that it would not be something sunny and pleasant.
About Our Blog
Looking for a telecommunications blog? Well, you've come to the right place (smile). Specialty Answering Service's Telecom Blog provides all types of posts and ramblings about - you guessed it - telecommunications. This means phone talk, communications chatter, network discussions, and such.
Recently Written
- A Comparison of Answering Service Operational Models
- Do Agents Prefer to Work for a Small Call Center?
- Getting the Most Out of Your Call Recording
- Specialty’s “My Phone & Me” Photo Contest
- Best Practices in Hiring for Call Centers
- Key Metrics to Measure Effectiveness of Your Third Party Call Center Relationship
- Call Center Agent Skills: Depth or Breadth?
- Call Center Agents VS. Automation: Which Side Are You On
- The Difference between Lead Generation and Sales
- Free Answering Services? Can They Really be Real?
Categories
- Advice & Information
- Answering Service Lifestyle
- App Reviews
- Business
- Call Centers
- Cool Stuff
- Customer Service
- Free Stuff & Contests
- Funny (We Think So)
- Legal Answering Services
- Marketing
- Medical Answering Services
- News
- Outsourcing
- Phone Reviews
- Receptionist Services
- Regional Answering Service
- Running Your Call Center
- Social Media
- Technology
- User Submitted Stories
- Virtual Office
- Voicemail
Archives
- May 14, 2012–May 20, 2012 (2)
- May 7, 2012–May 13, 2012 (3)
- April 30, 2012–May 6, 2012 (1)
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- April 9, 2012–April 15, 2012 (1)
- February 27, 2012–March 4, 2012 (2)
- February 20, 2012–February 26, 2012 (3)
- February 13, 2012–February 19, 2012 (4)
- February 6, 2012–February 12, 2012 (2)
- January 30, 2012–February 5, 2012 (5)
- January 23, 2012–January 29, 2012 (7)
- January 2, 2012–January 8, 2012 (3)
- December 26, 2011–January 1, 2012 (1)
- December 19, 2011–December 25, 2011 (3)
- December 12, 2011–December 18, 2011 (5)
- December 5, 2011–December 11, 2011 (3)
- November 28, 2011–December 4, 2011 (3)
- November 21, 2011–November 27, 2011 (3)
- November 14, 2011–November 20, 2011 (2)
- November 7, 2011–November 13, 2011 (3)
- October 31, 2011–November 6, 2011 (2)
- October 17, 2011–October 23, 2011 (2)
- October 10, 2011–October 16, 2011 (1)
- October 3, 2011–October 9, 2011 (1)
- September 26, 2011–October 2, 2011 (3)
- September 19, 2011–September 25, 2011 (7)
- September 12, 2011–September 18, 2011 (7)
- September 5, 2011–September 11, 2011 (7)
- August 29, 2011–September 4, 2011 (4)
- August 22, 2011–August 28, 2011 (4)
- August 15, 2011–August 21, 2011 (1)
- July 11, 2011–July 17, 2011 (1)
- June 20, 2011–June 26, 2011 (3)
- June 13, 2011–June 19, 2011 (3)
- June 6, 2011–June 12, 2011 (3)
- May 23, 2011–May 29, 2011 (2)
- May 2, 2011–May 8, 2011 (1)
- April 11, 2011–April 17, 2011 (1)
- March 21, 2011–March 27, 2011 (1)
- March 14, 2011–March 20, 2011 (2)
- March 7, 2011–March 13, 2011 (1)
- February 28, 2011–March 6, 2011 (1)
- February 21, 2011–February 27, 2011 (5)
- February 14, 2011–February 20, 2011 (2)
- February 7, 2011–February 13, 2011 (3)
- January 31, 2011–February 6, 2011 (8)
