 No matter what type of business you own, an important way to keep customers happy is to make it easy to get in touch with you. When customers have a question or concern, they don't want to have to hunt around your website looking for a way to contact you. The most successful businesses offer multiple methods of communication and make sure they are easy for customers to discover and navigate. Here are five communication methods you can adopt and how they can benefit your business.
1. Phone While it's true that we're living in a digital age, research shows that customers' most desired method of contacting a business is by phone. Calling a business and getting to speak directly to someone is the most straightforward way to resolve questions and concerns. Providing a 24-hour phone service lets customers know you're always available for their concerns. 2. Text Texting is quick and convenient and allows customers to get the answer to their questions fast. Letting customers know they can text you gives them a simple way to get into contact even when they're busy with other tasks. 3. Email For issues of less immediate importance, email is an excellent way to communicate with customers, especially if you are able to respond to their emails quickly. Building a list of customer's emails also allows you to contact them about any promotions or sales you might have going on. 4. Chat Building a real-time chat function into your website lets customers resolve their issues simply. If your customers are visiting your website looking for a way to contact you, having a live chat function available provides a valuable experience they will appreciate. 5. Social Media Having social media profiles on multiple platforms allows your customers to easily stay in touch with your business. Being able to post a comment on your social media profile and receive an answer shows customers that you are engaged and attentive to their needs. Offering customers multiple ways of communicating with you is a vital method of demonstrating trustworthiness and building a reputation as a company that cares. With Insta Answer, your customers will be able to reach a caring and knowledgeable person any time they have an issue, day or night. To learn more about how we can serve your business, contact us.
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 If you're looking for ways to make your property management company more successful, there are some very common mistakes you can avoid. Following these tips will help you increase your profit margin and retain high-quality tenants.
1. Avoid Extended Vacancies Extended vacancies are never ideal, as they can quickly disrupt your cash flow. In order to avoid this situation, make sure you're planning ahead as much as possible by advertising your upcoming vacancies and keeping properties in ready-to-rent conditions. 2. Be Mindful When Choosing Locations Before investing in a property, consider factors such as proximity to school districts, public transportation, and community amenities. Well-located properties are always highly sought after and attract more potential tenants. 3. Stay on Top of Maintenance Issues Renters don't want to take a gamble that issues with the home or apartment will be fixed before they move in. Fixing maintenance issues promptly is a great way of keeping current tenants happy and attracting new ones. Additionally, any time spent on maintenance issues in between tenants causes a longer vacancy period and lost revenue. 4. Make Rent Payments Easy Make sure your tenants understand everything that's expected of them with the rent collection process. Rental agreements should clearly state when the rent is due, what is considered late, and what fees apply to late payments. Consider providing an online system that allows tenants to automate their rent payments, which makes everything as simple as possible. 5. Provide Positive Customer Service Experiences Current and prospective tenants form their opinions of your business based on their interactions with you, so it's important to have the best people representing your company. Answering calls promptly and being knowledgeable and friendly are important aspects of customer service you should always provide. If you're looking for a simple way to provide better customer service, give Insta Answer a call. Our agents are experts at handling real estate issues and make sure your clients can always get in touch with you, day or night. To learn more about how we can improve your business, contact us today.  Who doesn’t want to increase their business’s revenue? Let’s jump right into how you can save and make more money by increasing your sales and decreasing your overhead…
Seek Out New Customers The growth of your business depends on maintaining an expanding customer base, so finding new customers should always be a priority. However, acquiring a new customer is proven to be much more expensive than retaining an existing customer. So, the easiest and cheapest way to expand your customer base is to offer incentives to your company’s current customers that pushes them to initiate referrals for your business. Revise Your Pricing Structure Accurately and thoughtfully pricing your services makes an obvious difference in your profit margins. As such, it’s prudent to review your current pricing structure and adjust your rates accordingly. Consider raising your prices in small increments over time to impact your gross profit in the long run. Monitor Your Overhead Overhead expenses tend to gradually increase in such a way that it may be hard to notice how great of an impact these increases become over time. Make sure to keep track of your overhead and review changes in a wide scope to get the full picture of how it’s affecting business. Managing and limiting your overhead costs is an easy way to consistently improve your profit. Reduce Your Direct Costs Lowering your direct costs is as easy as negotiating prices and discounts on all your company’s purchases; comparing prices between suppliers and choosing accordingly; and eliminating any unnecessary purchases you’re making. Reviewing your direct costs pinpoints exactly where your company is overspending and should cut back on. Boost Your Conversion Rate By generating new leads, you actively grow your business and increase your visibility, but those leads don’t make a difference in revenue unless they’re converted to sales. Putting more care and attention into sales conversions is a fast and cost effective way to increase your profits. Properly executing the steps above can be a daunting and time-consuming process for anyone, let alone busy business owners. But if you take initiative and stay on top of your expenses and sales, your business will thrive. Lighten your workload so you can focus on the business at hand by calling Insta Answer. Our 24/7 answering service will give you the assistance and peace of mind to expand your business and increase your profit like never before. Give us a call today.  At first glance, customer complaints may seem impossible to predict at times, but when put to the test, researchers learned that the root causes of why customers switch their oil and gas supplier boils down to 4 main pain points. Knowing what pitfalls to avoid can be all your company needs to strengthen its customer base and boost your sales. Let’s get started... Bad Customer Service Poor customer service experiences is the number one reason why someone is likely to switch providers. According to Better Business Bureau (BBB), 44.6% of customer complaints to oil and gas companies are accredited to poor customer service. Dealings with representatives who are rude, impatient, or uninformed on specific issues and/or company policies drives customers away more than any other grievances they may have. Hidden Fees The second most common reason, accounting for 29.3%, is hidden fees such as installation fees or rental fees. When customers aren’t provided with the necessary information from the beginning and are subsequently blindsided by unexpected expenses, they’ll be understandably frustrated and more inclined to consider taking their business elsewhere. Complete transparency is not only preferable, but necessary to a lot of your potential customers. Delivery According to the BBB, delayed, cancelled, and mismanaged deliveries made up 27.4% of customer complaints. When doing business with your company, customers are putting their trust in you. Providing poor service and unsatisfactory deliveries sends the message that your company is unreliable and doesn’t make its customers a priority like expected. Price 16.4% of complaints are the result of unaffordable prices from your business. As experienced business people, you understand and anticipate fluctuations in the price of propane, and you know that your company may be doing all it can to provide the best prices it can. But to the average customer, high prices may seem unreasonable and not worth the trouble. Resolving and preventing those complaints is paramount in securing new customers as well as maintaining a loyal customer base. That being said, the way to keep these complaints to a minimum is obvious: Provide excellent customer service, be upfront and transparent about your company’s fees and policies, improve coordination with your delivery team, and communicate your pricing thoughtfully and persuasively. The easiest way of doing all this is just a phone call or click away. Contact Insta Answer’s virtual answering service and our industry experts will keep things running smoothly by providing your customers with the best service possible.
 As spring kicks into high gear and the weather heats up, more HVAC customers are beginning to make the switch from heating to air conditioning in their homes. With this shift comes a new wave of issues cropping up that your company will be called upon to address. To help you prepare for what’s to come, we’ve compiled a list of the top 4 calls your company should expect to get this spring.
Thermostats For those with systems that use an outdated or discontinued thermostat system with their HVAC systems, transitioning from providing connectivity with the heater to connectivity with the air conditioning can be difficult and potentially affect their unit’s efficiency. Some customers will likely call, requiring a replacement of their thermostat. Circuits Sometimes, turning on an air conditioner for the first time may be a non-starter. In which case, the problem can sometimes be fixed by flipping the switch in a circuit breaker. However, if this problem becomes a common occurrence, a larger problem may be at play that customers need you to resolve. Ductwork Some other causes of a malfunctioning air conditioner include separated, leaky, or otherwise damaged ducts. Likewise, they could get clogged by debris and need cleaning. These instances cause cool air to escape rather than fill a home. Coils Air conditioning units contain both an indoor evaporator coil as well as an outdoor condenser coil. Over time, the unit will be exposed to a variety of unwanted substances like leaves, twigs, mus, grass, dirt, etc., which can cause buildup on those coils. Customers will leave you with the task of cleaning their air conditioner to ensure that things keep running smoothly. Dealing with customers’ complaints and faulty HVAC units can not only be stressful, but also take up time your company may not have, or time you could spend focusing on other aspects of your business. To help alleviate the burden of springtime repair requests, call Insta Answer, your non-stop 24/7 virtual answering service. |
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