Evaluate Answering Services Before You Buy!

Shopping for an answering service can be tricky because not all services are equal.  Hidden fees, unreliable infrastructures, outsourcing to non-U.S. agents and limiting access to your call recordings are just a few of many issues that an answering service or call center might have and, if you're not careful, you can end up stuck in a long-term contract with exorbitant bills and unreliable sub-standard service.

So, how can you avoid choosing the wrong service?  We've put together a list of more than 30 questions that you can utilize to compare answering services.  Here are just a few of the questions you should ask any answering service that you are considering:

• Does your normal rate include answering on holidays, weekends or nights?
• Can I forward my phones any time I wish without penalty or additional charges?
• In the event of a power outage, will the service continue to function?
• Is my account data protected by a firewall and backed-up daily?

(You can view the rest of the questions by clicking here.)

If you choose an unreliable or unprofessional answering service, you risk upsetting your existing and potential clients so take your time and ask questions.  If you're looking for more information about AnswerFirst and our answering services then click here to download our free pricing and information packet.

AnswerFirst Reveals Their New Brand Identity

We're happy to announce that we have finally revealed our new brand identity.  Our new logo, website, sales documents and social media presence can be seen at the following locations:

Logo and Website: http://www.answerfirst.com

Sales Documents: Please fill out a pricing packet request at http://www.answerfirst.com/pricing

Social Media: Visit us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Do you like what you see?  Let us know!  Leave comments on this blog post or on our social media channels.  For more information about our answering services, virtual receptionist services and call center solutions visit us

AnswerFirst Communications: Your Valentine's Day Answering Service

Looking for an answering service or call center? We can help! Contact us today at 1-800-645-2616.

Inside AnswerFirst: The Marketing Department

At AnswerFirst our management staff is split into four departments: Operations, Sales, Marketing and IT.  Each department is responsible for specific duties that are crucial to the success of the other departments and AnswerFirst, as a whole.  Through collaboration and focus these four departments are consistently successful at achieving our mission to provide the best customer service to our clients and our clients’ callers, in a timely fashion and as efficiently as possible.  This post is one of a few blog posts that are about the responsibilities of each of these four main departments and how they interact with each other to make AnswerFirst successful.  Introducing the AnswerFirst Marketing Department...

The goal of the Marketing Department is to develop new and innovative ways to connect with existing and potential AnswerFirst customers.  Marketing is responsible for how potential clients perceive AnswerFirst before they speak to an AnswerFirst Sales Representative and, therefore, is focused on distributing professional, informative, appealing and engaging content across all media including social, web and print.  This department is responsible for teaching potential clients how we are different from our competitors while teaching existing clients about old and new services that we offer.  We are an industry leader in social media with our active Twittter, Facebook and YouTube accounts; we encourage our clients to interact with us via any or all of our social channels.  We believe that interaction with our clients helps to solidify our relationships and leads to superior customer service experiences.  The Marketing Department also develops and implements Internet marketing strategies, working closely with the Sales Department for the purpose of bringing new clients to AnswerFirst and also teaching sales team members how to effectively use social media in their sales efforts. Marketing relies on the IT Department for implementing technology solutions that result in improved marketing agendas and more efficient social and Internet marketing strategies.  The Marketing Department acts as eyes and ears of AnswerFirst; without the Marketing Department we can’t attract new clients or differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

For more information about AnswerFirst's answering services and call center solutions, please visit our wesbite http://www.answerfirst.com or call us at 1-800-645-2616

Inside AnswerFirst: The IT Department

At AnswerFirst our management staff is split into four departments: Operations, Sales, Marketing and IT.  Each department is responsible for specific duties that are crucial to the success of the other departments and AnswerFirst, as a whole.  Through collaboration and focus these four departments are consistently successful at achieving our mission to provide the best customer service to our clients and our clients’ callers, in a timely fashion and as efficiently as possible.  This post is one of a few blog posts that are about the responsibilities of each of these four main departments and how they interact with each other to make AnswerFirst successful.  Introducing the AnswerFirst IT Department...

The goal of the IT Department is to ensure that all AnswerFirst staff and clients have access to the IT infrastructure, services and support that they require to accomplish their work efficiently and effectively.  The IT Department is responsible for maintaining the necessary IT infrastructure for all other departments, as well as supporting all business, e-business, decisions and project planning tools used at AnswerFirst.  AnswerFirst’s business model requires a reliable infrastructure; our call center is open 24/7/365 and downtime is unacceptable to us and our clients.  Therefore, the IT Department plays a crucial role in supporting our clients and our Operations Department via the implementation of a fully redundant infrastructure that is not only reliable but secure. Implementing back-up systems for back-up systems is common practice and testing fail over procedures is a major department focus.  Also, the IT Department must work closely with all departments for the purpose of refining all business processes through the use of technology; IT is constantly looking for ways to decrease costs by increasing efficiency and ROI, and boosting productivity of all departments within the corporation.  The IT Department is the backbone of AnswerFirst, providing reliable structure and solid support; without this department AnswerFirst can’t sustain or grow.

For more information about AnswerFirst's answering services and call center solutions, please visit our wesbite http://www.answerfirst.com or call us at 1-800-645-2616

Happy Thanksgiving from AnswerFirst!

AnswerFirst provides answering services and call center solutions to more than 1400 companies around the globe but what sets AnswerFirst apart from other services? Our call center is staffed with U.S. agents 24/7/365 and a manager onsite at all times so that our clients receive the same level of service that we provide their callers. We hope you enjoy this AnswerFirst Minute (by Vivienne Brown http://www.VivienneBrown.com) and ... 

Happy Thanksgiving from AnswerFirst!http://www.answerfirst.com 1-800-645-2616

Tips For Improving Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service should be a major priority for any business owner because happy customers are repeat customers. Here are a few basic tips that will help improve your customers' experiences with your business.

• Listen to your customers. This may seem like an obvious suggestion but so many business owners and managers get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of business management that they forget to pay attention to what their clients are saying.  In most instances, an unhappy customer will let you know that he or she is unhappy and a client that wants a product or service that you don't offer will say just that. Take these suggestions to heart.  Can you implement changes that meet your clients' needs?
• Do what you say you are going to do and do it on-time.  This is another obvious point.  Set your customers' expectations correctly and then deliver.  It doesn't matter if you sell widgets or repair cars, there is no easier way to upset clients then to not meet your commitments in a timely manner.  If you disappoint your clients, the only way they'll continue to use your services or products is if there are no alternative sources and, that's pretty unlikely in this day and age.  Honor your commitments on-time.
• Empower your employees.  Whether your employees have contact with your customers via phone or in-person, attitude makes a huge difference.  Disgruntled employees can make any customer service experience a complete disaster.  Make sure your employees are happy and give them the authority to make decisions on the fly. Set-up customer service guidelines and praise your employees when they make the right choices within the guidelines.  Happy employees will make sure that your customers are happy, too.
• Surprise your customers! Free gifts like a roll of Lifesaver candies in a shipment, "Thank You" cards, loyalty coupons or Holiday Cards help strengthen your relationships with your clients.  Invest some time and effort into making your clients feel appreciated.
• Get an answering service. Okay, you knew we had to lead into a shameless self-promotion at some point.  Seriously, though... an answering service can provide your clients excellent customer service when you or your employees aren't available to answer your phones.  You pay only when we answer your calls and know that when your phones are forwarded to us, your clients are getting the best customer service available.

Interested in more information about our affordable answering services??  Fill out our pricing packet request form and we'll send you information about our services asap.  Or, call us at 1-800-645-2616.