How call forwarding can improve customer experience

Whether you are a restaurant, estate agent or part of a busy sales team, with a VoIP phone system, there are numerous call forwarding features that can benefit the businesses utilising them. Also, and very importantly, these features have many benefits for clients and customers calling these phone numbers too.

Keep in touch whatever the time of day

With smart call routing, your business calls can be forwarded to your device of choice, be it mobile, desktop computer or tablet, at whatever time you decide. This is especially useful if you have clients based around the world who need to contact you or your business after typical office hours. For the caller, maintaining a full, round-the-clock service can make them feel special or valued.

Forward calls to the right department

Conditional call forwarding and call screening make it possible to send calls to specific extensions, departments or groups. This can be based on the phone number the caller has dialled or, if combined with an IVR (touch tone menu options) on the call route, determined by the option selected. Ensuring that the caller speaks to the right person within the quickest possible timeframe will help improve customer satisfaction.

Keep on-hold times to a minimum

Keep your callers happy with shorter call wait times. No one enjoys waiting on hold, no matter the hold music, so keeping hold times to a minimum is sure to be a positive step. This goes hand-in-hand with forwarding calls to the right person.

Let customers pick their destination

We touched on the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) feature briefly. Enabling customers to pick which department their call is routed to gives them a sense of control over the situation. If they are calling with a query or issue, it is important that they do not feel like they are swimming against the tide, being passed from department to department.

Forwarding calls to voicemail

If there is an instance where you just can’t get to the phone, forwarding a call to voicemail ensures that clients can leave a message, rather than being left on dead air. Recording a personalised message that reflects your brand can further solidify your brand in the eyes of customers.

Don’t leave them hanging when your store is closed

In cases where your bricks and mortar store is closed for the day and you can’t answer the phone, but would prefer customers not leave a message, use a time diary to route the call to a bespoke out-of-hours message.  While your caller may be disappointed that your shop is closed, they will at least feel informed about when next to attempt contact.

These are just a few ways in which call forwarding, when combined with a leading business phone system can help to increase customer satisfaction. Make sure you check out more of the numerous features possible via hosted VoIP, which are sure to keep both you, and your clients, smiling.