December 1st 2024
ARE YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS CHRISTMAS READY?
The holiday season is nearly upon us! Like many businesses, you’ll be planning ways to keep operations running smoothly while many employees head off to enjoy the festivities.
Depending on your industry, you may experience high or low call volumes, so getting your telecoms in order is essential. Here are our useful tips for making your business communications work for your team and customers this Christmas.
What Should You Do Before Holiday Closures?
1 -Organise Call Forwarding for On-call Teams
As your customers start to wind down for the holidays, so will your employees, who will seek greater flexibility to enjoy the festivities. If your company plans to stay open, whether for emergency calls or as BAU, you’ll need to give your employees remote access to remain connected wherever they are.
A hosted telephone system lets your on-call team pick up calls on their mobile, laptops or tablets. These VoIP softphones are incredibly flexible and allow call-forwarding, so incoming calls are diverted to their business mobiles should you experience high call volumes. Only an internet connection is required, so if a call comes through, someone will always be on the other line.
2 -Connect Remote Teams
Ensure your systems are patched and secure ahead of the holiday rush so cyber criminals can’t infiltrate your business. Key areas include operating systems, servers, network devices, routers and connected (IoT) devices.
If you’re an online retailer, you’re a prime target for these hackers. Keep website software and security patches up-to-date and implement encryption tools like SSL and HTTPS. These safeguards will improve website security, preventing you from malicious attacks.
3 -Update Your Auto-attendant
Auto-attendant allows businesses to automate call answering, caller messaging and forwarding on their hosted phone system. Simply put, it’s your digital receptionist. Auto-attendants are popular for call centres, but even smaller businesses can benefit as they let customers keep track of your opening hours during Christmas.
If you’re closing up shop or running on shorter operating hours, update your auto-attendant with these details. You can even add a festive message and ways to contact your team for out-of-hours support. Doing this will demonstrate an excellent level of care and service your customers will come to appreciate.
4 -Manage Customer Expectations
Your service level agreements (SLAs) may change during the holiday season. For example, is there an extended wait time for new support tickets? And if certain services are limited, have you clarified what you can do to help?
Update your website and send regular emails on opening hours and SLAs weeks in advance to avoid frustrating your customers! Your operating hours will be shown elsewhere, e.g., social media channels and online directories (Google Business Profile), so amend these so your messaging aligns.
The team at Lily can assist with updating directories, so get in touch if you’d like us to change it for you.
Switch to a Ho-Ho-Hosted VoIP Phone System Today!
Although chatbots, social media, and email offer easy support options, customers still prefer to contact businesses by telephone.
A hosted telephone system allows your team to solve your customer’s queries from anywhere, even when they’re on call during the holidays. With more flexibility, your business operations will run smoothly across Christmas and New Year.
Contact Lily to make the switch to a hosted VoIP phone today.