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Help to grow

The announcement in July 2022 that the Government was expanding its help to grow initiative has been welcomed by business leaders. The scheme previously enabled businesses with between 5 and 249 employees to access discounts worth up to £5000 on approved Customer Relationship Management and Digital Accounting software.

The latest announcement has added eCommerce to the mix, as well as cutting the employee threshold down from five to one. This, the Government anticipates, will make the scheme available to an additional 760,000 businesses.

To qualify, businesses must have been actively trading for over twelve months, be registered with Companies House, have at least one employee who is not an owner, and be purchasing the approved software for the first time. Applicants are restricted in their choice of software; having to choose from a pre-approved list of software providers and systems. It is anticipated that further providers will be added to the approved list in due course. A digital advice service is also planned for later in 2022.

Responding to the announcement, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Martin McTague said: “This is an extremely welcome move” adding: “Reducing the threshold to one employee really makes a difference in this space. Together with the addition of e-Commerce software and one-to-one advice for SMEs on technology adoption, this will enable more small businesses to fulfil their growth ambitions and in turn spur our economy.” It has to be noted that the necessity to be registered at Companies House means that unincorporated businesses such as partnerships will not be eligible for the scheme.

In announcing the widening of the scheme, the Government commented that businesses which use CRM systems see on average an 18% boost to their productivity, those that adopt digital accounting software see an average 11.8% increase in employee sales over three years, whilst eCommerce adopters see on average a 7.5% increase in employee sales over three years. It’s a good illustration of the way in which adopting the right technology can make a difference to business productivity and outcomes.

It's a lesson which we are all too well aware of when it comes to business telephone technologies. Here it is not simply a matter of choosing the right systems but ensuring that they are able to be flexibly programmed in response to changing business needs. For example, a fully integrated company switchboard solution can not only be customised to meet initial business requirements, it can also be re-programmed online as required.

For example, if an individual or an entire department is not available for a day, call pathways can quickly be changed to divert calls to other departments, answerphone, or virtual assistant service. Similarly, if a sales promotion is likely to increase call volumes, then the scalable nature of the switchboard means that these can be accommodated without the need to buy extra phone lines. Other features such as call data or call recording can also help businesses to analyse calls, in turn enabling them to reprogramme call pathways or allocate additional call handlers as required.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/help-to-grow1

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Roaming overseas

When you are travelling overseas for business what’s the best way to stay in touch? You may be attending a conference, visiting a client or supplier, or investigating a potential new marketplace. But that doesn’t mean that the day to day work stops. People are still going to want to get hold of you and you are still going to want to stay in contact with individuals and businesses.

One potential avenue, using your mobile to make and receive calls, may have just got a little bit more expensive. Now that the UK is no longer in the EU, the rules on roaming changes have changed. This has prompted Ofcom to warn that there is no longer a cap on the amount which mobile providers can charge for using phones in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

With any new charges being at the discretion of phone providers, Ofcom advises individuals to check with their provider before leaving the UK. They have also taken the opportunity to warn those with older phones that 2G and 3G networks are gradually being switched off across the world. This means that, depending on the area visited, a wi-fi connection may be required in order to make calls or access data. Data roaming fair use policies also vary from provider to provider.

Aside from standard mobile phone use, what other options are available for those who regularly travel abroad on business? Let’s start by taking a quick look at the Callagenix international call divert service. This enables regular travellers to divert calls across international boundaries to a landline or mobile. For example, when you are in the UK, calls to your office could be answered in the office or diverted to a mobile. When you travel abroad, calls could be either diverted to a mobile or to one or more overseas offices; providing flexibility of call transfer and helping to keep lines of communication open.

Of course, there will be times when you may not want to, or be able to, answer calls. Caller pre-announcement enables calls to be accepted or rejected; something which may be handy if you are waiting for one specific call and want to keep the line free. Having an answerphone or alternate phone line divert function in place also helps when you may not want to interrupt discussions or are already on a call. The call divert service is one solution for regular travellers, but it can also be used for global businesses, switching calls around the world to offices which are open no matter what the time of day.

Another option worth exploring is the use of VoIP to make calls when overseas. Using a VoIP app enables calls to be made over the internet. And with VoIP to VoIP calls generally being cheaper than landline calls, VoIP could prove to be a cost effective way of calling whilst abroad. Remember though a wireless or wi-fi connection will be required and that could impinge on data roaming limits or costs.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/roaming-overseas

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Helping to prevent fraud

In January 2022 we highlighted the “Take Five to Stop Fraud” campaign. This challenged businesses to stop and think when asked to send funds or hand over business details, to challenge change requests, and to report fraudulent attempts to Action Fraud.

However, there is also another area of fraud prevention which businesses would do well to consider; helping customers to be fraud aware. It’s an area which is rising in importance as criminals become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to defraud or scam money from individuals and from businesses.

So much so that a report released by UK Finance at the end of June 2022 revealed that more than £1.3billion was stolen by fraudsters in 2021. Admittedly action by banks prevented a further £1.4billion of attempted fraud but the figures are still large enough to warrant action.

With that in mind, what can businesses do to help their own customers to stay safe? Well, let’s start by looking at the way in which customer calls are managed. One of the strong anti-fraud messages being put out by banks and other financial institutions is that they will never ask customers for confidential information over the phone. In other words, if someone receives a call out of the blue purporting to be from a bank or other institution and asking for birth date, account details and so on then it is a strong chance that that call is fraudulent.

And yet, this writer has received calls from what have turned out to be legitimate businesses asking for private information ‘in order to check that we are speaking with the right person.’ Admittedly there will be times when you may want to ensure that you are speaking to a specific individual. Nevertheless there are ways of doing so without normalising the provision of confidential information on request over the phone.

Similarly, businesses should be open and helpful if someone they call wants to call back to confirm the legitimacy of the caller. For example, you may wish to provide a name and extension number but encourage the individual to independently check the business phone number from a website or directory.

Another message going out to consumers and businesses is to always check when being asked to make a payment; particularly if the payment details have changed. Legitimate businesses which have an eye to anti-fraud measures should be all too happy to receive calls checking payment details; provided it is the caller who is giving the details and simply asking for confirmation. But make sure that changes of bank details are known to your call handlers so that any enquiry can be dealt with swiftly.

How you manage your calls could make a difference to how your customers detect and respond to fraudulent or scam attempts. As, Katy Worobec, the Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance said: “Fraud has a devastating impact on victims and the money stolen funds serious organised crime, as well as imposing significant costs on the wider economy” adding “This is why we continue to call for other sectors to play a greater role in helping protect customers from the scourge of fraud.”

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/helping-to-prevent-fraud

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Calling for customer service

Is your telephone set-up dedicated to delivering high levels of customer service? Have you got efficient hunt groups in place which ensure that calls are answered as swiftly as possible? Do you have direct or dedicated lines for key contacts?

Hopefully the answer to the above is emphatically ‘yes.’ Sadly however, it appears that for some businesses, customer calls are still seen as a bit of an afterthought. One recent survey revealed that 67% of small business owners were struggling to deal with suppliers that still blamed poor customer service on the pandemic. As a result of that poor service, time was being wasted whilst on hold, whilst being passed between call handlers, or even in waiting for a solution which could not be resolved in a single call.

That is time which might better be spent on managing the business; particularly in these challenging times. In May 2022 the Office for National Statistics reported that whilst the Consumer Price Index stood at 9%, producer input price inflation had risen to 18.6%. This led the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair, Martin McTague, to comment that: “The gulf between the rate of input and consumer price growth underscores the efforts of businesses to absorb costs rather than pass them on. Small firms in particular find it hard to pass higher operating costs onto customers, fearing that doing so will hamper competitiveness.”

When businesses are faced with rising prices and competitive pressure it can be tempting to focus inwards in a bid to contain costs. But costs are only one side of the profitability balance with sales sitting on the other. Businesses understand this and that is why they try to keep prices low in a bid to retain customers.

However, competitive prices are not the only way to attract customers and poor customer service is one sure way of encouraging customers to look elsewhere. That’s why surveys such as the one mentioned above are so concerning. If businesses are delivering such poor levels of telephone service to fellow businesses then what sort of service are end customers receiving?

For businesses which are struggling to ‘do more with less’ in order to keep costs down, reeling in on customer call handling may seem an obvious answer. After all, when websites can be populated with FAQs and sales moved online why do you even need to speak to customers? Well, there are times when FAQs are not enough and when prospective purchasers need to have a discussion in order to decide whether to go ahead with their purchase. When calls remain unanswered or when callers are shuffled between departments with no sign of a resolution that’s a recipe for lost custom.

Switchboards can be programmed to manage calls so that callers are swiftly transferred to the right area of the company. And with a little training in call handling people can feel empowered to manage meaningful conversations and deliver acceptable resolutions. If that helps other businesses and individual customers to make effective buying decisions then that’s a win-win for turnover and customer satisfaction.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/calling-for-customer-service

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The changing face of communications

Seventy years ago when The Queen took up her vocation just 34% of men and 45% of women survived to see their seventieth birthday. Nowadays the figures have risen to 76% and 84% respectively. That’s just one of the fascinating facts put out by communications regulator Ofcom to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.

In addition to health and longevity improvements, the past seventy years has also seen a marked rise in technology; not the least in the field of communications. In 1950 a home telephone was seen as a luxury item, owned by just ten percent of households. Over the intervening period we have seen a rise to near universal home phone ownership, before the advent of mobiles started to reverse the trend.

Nowadays some 34% of households rely solely mobile phones for their voice communications, with landline use having declined to just over sixty percent. This trend is expected to continue with the ongoing switchover to internet telephony (VoIP).

Then there is the humble telephone box. Once seen as a lifeline, in recent years our use of phone boxes has declined as mobile technology has taken over. Nevertheless, in some areas of the country phone boxes are still very much seen as communication necessities.

Now those phone boxes which are situated in areas of poor mobile signals, near accident sites, or which have been used to make regular calls to helplines such as Childline or the Samaritans have been made the subject of strong protection orders. With effect from 8th June, those boxes which are still in use and have been identified as essential to the local community will not only be protected but will also be upgraded to ensure that, once the switch to IP communications has taken place, they will still work in the event of a power cut.

What stories such as these show is that no matter how technology changes people still recognise the importance of phones as a means of communication. It’s a lesson which businesses and other organisations would do well to remember. Admittedly, going online, setting out FAQs and other information on a website may be relatively inexpensive. Nevertheless, cutting off people’s ability to pick up the phone and simply talk to someone may not always be in the long term interests of the organisation or its users.

There will be times when FAQs simply don’t provide the answer. There may even be times when a long drawn out e-mail exchange only serves to exacerbate a sense of frustration or complaint. That is when phones come into their own, enabling people to have a meaningful conversation which leads to a mutual resolution.  

And when people do pick up the phone, it helps the relationship if businesses have taken time to consider the communication pathway. Setting up strong hunt groups, arranging seamless caller transfers or straightforward push button options can not only help the caller to feel valued but also helps to quickly resolve queries, orders, or complaints. The mechanisms which we use to communicate may have changed over the past seventy years but our need to talk is as strong as ever. 

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/the-changing-face-of-communications

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Questioning assumptions

The news that the UK’s digital watchdog, Ofcom, is to take a closer look at how digital algorithms affect our daily lives is hardly surprising. After all, algorithms increasingly influence much of our social and financial interactions; being key to everything from calculating credit scores to social media suggestions and advertising. So much so that one report in 2020 commented that:

“By some estimates, 80 percent of Netflix viewing hours and 33 percent of Amazon purchases are prompted by automated recommendations based on the consumer’s viewing or buying history.”

In part that is good news. After all, used properly algorithms should be able to screen out areas which an individual is not interested in, preventing individuals from being bombarded with suggestions and information that is totally irrelevant to them. However, as Ofcom comments:

“there’s also a problematic side to algorithms. They can be manipulated to cause harm or misused because firms plugging them into websites and apps simply don’t understand them well enough.”

And we should never forget that algorithms are programmed in the first place by individuals who may inadvertently introduce their own unconscious bias or assumptions into the program. Left unchecked, Ofcom says that this can “lead to discriminatory decisions or unfair outcomes that reinforce inequalities;” adding that algorithms “can be used to mislead consumers and distort competition.” There’s nothing new about the phrase ‘computer says no’ but increasingly it is the computer, or rather the algorithms programmed into the computer, which may hold sway over our lives.

With that in mind Ofcom, together with the ICO, the FCA, and the Competition and Markets Authority are inviting views and comments on what work should be carried out to review and monitor algorithms in an effective and proportionate way.

But it is not just algorithms that can carry unconscious bias or be affected by assumptions. Other areas of business can be affected in the same way. Take telephone switchboards for example. When was the last time you really looked at your hunt groups and phone answering pathways?  Is your phone system set up to meet the needs of the business or of its customers? Is it designed to enhance customer satisfaction and interaction or did these considerations not come into it when the phone system was programmed?

The fact is that businesses change and grow. The responsibilities and knowledge which once sat in one department may now be spread across a number of teams. Unless that change has been actively programmed into your phone system algorithms, what once may have served you well as a business may now be an active source of annoyance for your customers.

Moreover, the pathways which now exist may unconsciously discriminate against certain customer groups. For example, might those who are less confident on the phone or less knowledgeable about your products or services simply give up in the face of endless call transfers? Could those who need real assistance finish up paying for a premium rate call, whereas those who are more aware are able to obtain the same help for free? Or might some callers simply be directed to an endlessly ringing extension?

Well thought out algorithms have the power to enhance the business outcome and customer experience.  And any process, any procedure could make a difference. Are your phone systems delivering for you? It might be time to take a quick look.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/questioning-assumptions

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Time for hybrid working

After a (mostly) sunny Easter Bank Holiday weekend, the question of whether to return to the office or not has been looming large in many people’s minds. Whilst some have no option other than to visit the workplace, others have over the past few years experienced a working from home regime that they may not previously have thought possible.

Undoubtedly, whether it is more productive to work from home or business premises will depend on the nature and set-up of the organisation. Put bluntly, there are some roles which simply cannot be carried out away from the normal place of work. Those aside, it appears that the idea of hybrid working may be gaining more traction than was the case pre-pandemic.

One study reported in Business Leader in February 2022 revealed that 57% of office workers would prefer a hybrid working pattern. Of the rest, just 5% wanted to work exclusively from home with 38% looking to work solely in the office. That picture varied across businesses, with those working for smaller companies more likely to look towards office-based working than those working for larger organisations.

Interestingly an Office for National Statistics (ONS) report based on the period from 16th to 27th March 2022 showed that in the period in question 57% of working adults worked exclusively from their business premises. In the same period 12% worked only from home, with the rest experiencing a hybrid working pattern.

Whether that working from home pattern changes in response to increased fuel prices remains to be seen. Certainly, anecdotally people are looking to home working as a way of saving commuting costs. However, that saving has to be offset by a potential increase in home fuel bills.

For businesses which are happy to enable hybrid working, the challenge has to be to do so in a cost effective way. There is little point in enabling people to work from home if this results in a cost increase for the business which then has a negative impact on sales. As FSB Bational Chair, Martin McTague, commented recently: “the cost of living crisis starts with a cost of doing business crisis.”

Luckily there are cost saving options available for businesses. For example, businesses may well find that holding a conference call can be more time-effective than face to face meetings. With a conference call able to accommodate any number of participants, it can be far easier to invite participants who can actively contribute to any discussion. Add in the cumulative time saving from not having to travel to the meeting, even if that time of travel is just across the office, and conference calls can prove their worth.

Then there is the question of call costs. Calls across a single VoIP system can be free. Setting up not only the business but also home workers on the same system can therefore encourage open dialogue whilst keeping costs down. And for those who are worried that customer care might suffer if some individuals work from home, the option of a robust company switchboard enables calls to be routed across teams or divisions no matter where an individual is situated.

Whether hybrid working is here to stay remains to be seen. But if the current indications are anything to go by, this is one working practice which may be changing the face of work as we previously knew it.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/time-for-hybrid-working

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Calling time on copper phone lines

In the late 1980s the village where this writer lives was experiencing major problems with phone calls either being cut off or dialling tones simply not being there. Eventually it was acknowledged that the phone line to the village simply was too old to cope with demand and needed replacing. In the interim a number of ‘temporary’ measures were put in place.

Over time, pressure on the phone lines was eased as more people switched to mobile; but to date the phone lines have still to be replaced. It’s looking likely that they never will be, as the drive to switch off the old copper lines and replace them with fibre to the premises continues apace.

According to Ofcom, the aim is to have upgraded all landlines to digital by the end of 2025. Whether this is feasible remains to be seen. Certainly at the end of March 2022 BT announced that it was temporarily pausing its digital voice rollout until solutions can be found for potential service disruptions caused by storms or power cuts. That need for ‘always on’ connectivity has been brought into sharp focus by the storms earlier in the year. These highlighted the potential dangers faced by customers, particularly the elderly and those in remote areas without a good mobile signal, not being able to call for help if the phone lines are out.

That being said, there are many advantages to be found from internet calling (VoIP). Certainly for businesses the cost savings which can be found from channelling calls over VoIP have helped to reduce telephony costs whilst encouraging more open communications. For example, those signed up to Callagenix IP can call other Callagenix IP telephone numbers without incurring call charges. As a result, businesses with multiple offices or home workers all of which are signed up to the Callagenix IP system can encourage their people to call each other without worrying about incurring exorbitant call charges.

Outbound call changes too can often be far more cost effective when they originate from a VoIP system. Here again this can help to encourage calling to customers or suppliers without having to factor a costly phone bill into the equation. Know your customer is paramount to good business relationships and the more you can chat, the better you are able to build up an understanding of your customers and their requirements.

One of the downsides of a reliable VoIP system used to be the need to have a fast and reliable broadband connection, something which in the past was not always available. Thanks to the rollout of fibre, more and more businesses are able to make use of VoIP systems to make high quality calls. On a note of warning, it does pay to choose your chosen VoIP system carefully. Some systems are designed to compress calls down to as low as 15Kb/s whereas business grade systems tend to look for an upload and download bandwidth of 100Kb/s; thereby helping to ensure that calls are crystal clear and stable.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/calling-time-on-copper-phone-lines

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Don’t pick up the phone

Few would deny that the rise in smartphones has opened up a world of connectivity. However, some might also say that that ability to connect freely has come at a price; an assumption that in a 24/7 always on world we should always be available.

That can pose a problem for individuals who because of the nature or size of their business may simply not be available at the end of a line at all times. Whether travelling or in meetings, or simply having some down time, calls may go unanswered. And that can negatively impact the business.

Luckily there are a range of solutions available. On the simplest level, answerphone messages which invite callers to leave details and receive a call-back might be sufficient. Leaving an answerphone message can be quick and convenient. Unfortunately, if the individual leaving the message is also time pressured the message might just lead to an extended bout of telephone tennis when messages are left in response to messages and so on.

One way around this might be to switch unanswered calls to a virtual assistant service. From taking messages, to arranging appointments and providing answers to frequently asked questions, virtual assistants can help to take the strain. Moreover, by being aware of an individual’s diary, virtual assistants can also manage expectations, arranging call-backs at a time which suits both parties.

Of course, larger organisations may not need to resort to a virtual assistant service. A company switchboard which directs calls around a team or department means that callers may not be able to reach one individual but they should still receive a reasonable response.

Another solution might be to transfer calls away from the office to another landline number or mobile. However, that might not be the solution if driving. Current regulations forbid the taking or making of phone calls when driving unless a hands free kit is used. Those rules have now been strengthened so that the definition of ‘using a phone’ now includes:

illuminating the screen

checking the time

checking notifications

unlocking the device

making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call

sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content

sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video

utilising camera, video, or sound recording

drafting any text

accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages

accessing an app

accessing the internet

The new law comes into effect on 25 March 2022 with breaches carrying a minimum penalty of a £300 fine and six penalty points. The only exemptions are when the phone is being used in an emergency and it is not safe to stop driving in order to do so and when making a contactless payment at a terminal and the vehicle is stationary.

  Commenting on the new law AA president Edmund King, said: “The AA has long campaigned to toughen up these rules, and we welcome this announcement. This is a much needed upgrade of the law to help make our roads safer. Mobile phones offer many distractions and this sends a clear message that picking them up to use them will not be tolerated.”

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/dont-pick-up-the-phone

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Recreating your customer strategy

Brexit, the pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine: Over the space of a few short years the world and our perception of it has been challenged to a great extent. Working from home has entered the mainstream and, as if that wasn’t enough, a new generation of workers and consumers, Generation Z, have started to come to the fore.

What does all of this mean not only for businesses but also for charities? Over the last few years businesses and charities have had to learn to adapt their business models; delivering flexible solutions which meet changing circumstances. But there is one area which may benefit from a new focus; how we view our customers.

It would be hardly surprising if the aim in recent times has been to deliver business as usual. However, that aim may well have been based on the assumption that the customer mix and customer needs were unchanged. But as charity publication Civil Society Media commented recently “The world is a very different place post-pandemic; people are no longer operating in silos and entire organisations have had to adapt their purpose and focus.”

Those remarks came as a prelude to their Fundraising Live 2022 event and to a thought provoking session in which charities were challenged to look again at their offering and not to think of digital media as simply an add-on. One comment particularly struck home in reminding charities that “it was important to take one step back and think about your audience.”  And when we really think about our audience, whether they be charity donors or consumers, it might be the prelude to recreating the customer strategy.

Let’s look at a few examples. In the past we may have assumed that primary contact comes from customer footfall. Nowadays, the internet or the phone may actually be the preferred contact medium. With that in mind it might be time to revisit telephony strategies, making it easier for donors or customers to contact the organisation. For charities an 0300 charity number might help, but so too will an attention to call handling and transfer. Whether an individual is a prospective donor or perhaps needs the services of a charity; the quicker they can speak to someone the better. And the same is true for other businesses, ensuring that customers and suppliers can be connected as swiftly as possible.

Taking another example, over the course of the pandemic we saw a growth in acceptance of conference calling as a means of communication. The return to work should not necessarily be a signal for conference calls to be replaced by face to face meetings. Why spend the time and cost of travel to attend a meeting if it can just as easily be held virtually? Whether it is meeting with suppliers, staff and volunteer meetings or providing group support; the conference call may just be one answer.

These are just a couple of examples of the way in which identifying changing customer behaviours could help to deliver new solutions or a new focus on existing solutions. Charities, businesses, individuals; we’ve all had to adapt in recent times. Understanding the effect of those adaptions and building them into new consumer strategies could be a springboard for the future.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/recreating-your-customer-strategy

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Breaking the cost/price spiral

Inflation: It’s not a word that UK businesses have had to contend with in recent times. Apart from a brief hiccup at the end of 2017, the annual UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) has not risen above 3% in the last ten years. That has helped UK businesses to match steady growth with steady price rises, helping to balance the cost /price equation.

Now, however, with January 2022’s CPI rate coming in at 5.5% it is a different story. Facing, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a rate of annual CPI which has not been seen in the UK since March 1992 when it stood at 7.1%, businesses are looking to raise prices. So much so that a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce has revealed that 73% of businesses are looking to increase the amount which they charge their customers.

Key price drivers according to the survey include wages (63%), utilities (62%), raw materials (52%), and domestic taxes (34%). When it comes to manufacturers some of those figures are even higher with 87% citing the cost of materials as a key pressure point.

Price increases are not the only way to manage the spiral. Fifty percent of businesses overall are also looking to cut costs whilst eighteen percent are considering scaling down investment. It has to be said that the cost cutting measures available will vary according to the type of business. For example if energy prices or the cost of raw materials are pinch points then a business may have to reconsider its strategy or working methodology in order to make meaningful savings.

Having said that, being forced to review the business model is no bad thing. Ongoing technological developments could mean that savings which were not previously available are now in reach. Perhaps there may now be a more efficient way of processing materials in order to reduce wastage or cut energy costs. Or maybe a new system might enable manual processes to be automated, saving time and costs.

In our field we’ve seen how businesses have been able to ‘work smarter’ in order to keep going through successive Covid lockdowns. Even something as simple as a company switchboard can enable businesses to switch calls seamlessly between phone extensions and even outside of the main company. In the process calls can be handled more efficiently whilst also helping to cement good customer relationships. And businesses which are still relying on more traditional types of phone service may wish to consider adopting internet telephony, otherwise known as VoIP. They may find that this not only reduces costs when calling customers or suppliers, calls between different offices or individuals on the same network could be free of charge. 

In response to their survey the BCC has called on the Government to consider a five point plan which includes a moratorium on policy measures which lead to increased business costs and a temporary energy price cap for smaller businesses.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/breaking-the-cost-price-spiral

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Choice and experience

Once upon a time our communicating and viewing choices were simple. We talked or wrote letters, went out to see plays or to listen to music, and shared thoughts and ideas by issuing pamphlets, in newsprint or by giving lectures.

Then came an explosion in technology. The end of the 1800s saw the invention of the telephone, radio, and cinematography. Television followed hot on their heels, with the first public television demonstration in the UK in 1926. Over the intervening years we’ve seen a multitude of developments which have led to mobile phones, the internet, streaming services and so on.

However, for much of that time broadcasting and communicating were still relatively linear. We consumed what was on offer and we had little choice about when we watched. Looking back, it’s hard to believe now that streaming and on demand services are relatively recent additions to the timeline. Nevertheless these are the areas which are likely to grow further as people start to see entertainment more and more in terms of something which they pick rather than something which is delivered to them.

That’s a message which comes strongly out of an Ofcom article which looks ahead to the ‘big tech developments to watch out for in 2022.’ According to the article, the delivery of personalised experiences and content features high on the agenda. Moreover, that content will increasingly be delivered not only when people want to view but also where they want to view, moving experiences out of the home and into the wider world.

That broadening of choice has implications for businesses far outside of the entertainment industry. When people are used to receiving content and responses whenever they like, they are not going to be content with a 9-5 service. Websites and online ordering may go some way to meet demand but telephone systems may also need to flex in order to meet this new interactive world.

Interestingly some telephony solutions are hardly new. Take something as simple as a company information line. With the option of a single message, or multiple messages activated via push button or voice prompt options; the company information line can act as a 24/7 response mechanism for simple questions. And with businesses having the ability to change messages as often as they require, company information lines can not only be used for managing day-to-day queries, they can also be used as one element in business emergency response planning.

Another solution for companies which may find themselves stretched to answer their phone calls is the use of answerphone or virtual assistant services. Whilst answerphones can be of great benefit, businesses need to ensure that messages are picked up and responded to as quickly as possible in order for callers to have confidence in the level of service offered by the business. Virtual assistant services do have the benefit that the caller immediately speaks to a person who can either answer simple queries or ensure that messages are relayed.

Whatever the solution chosen, the key to delivering good and personalised telephone responses is to avoid the endlessly ringing phone or the message which is never answered. Choice and experience are here to stay and those choices and experiences need to be positive ones.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/choice-and-experience

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Take five to stop fraud

Do you know who is on the other end of the phone? Are you sure? That caller may seem to know you, may have some relevant details to hand; but are they really who they say they are?  If they aren’t genuine, is there a danger that at best you might be tricked into giving away personal or business sensitive information, at worst handing over funds to scammers?

The same questions could be asked of e-mail or any other form of correspondence.  Know your customer is an important plank of investment advice but know your caller should equally apply to all business sectors.

It’s a message that is being highlighted by the “Take Five to Stop Fraud” campaign.  Commenting that scams are becoming ever more sophisticated, the campaign’s challenge to businesses, particularly small businesses, at the beginning of 2022 is to ‘Stop, Challenge, Protect.’ It’s a fairly simple three step process. Firstly, if a business receives a request to make an urgent payment, change supplier bank details or provide any form of financial information; take a moment to stop and think.

Then take time to challenge the request. That challenge could be something as simple as picking up the phone to a known contact and checking that the request is genuine. Remember here to separately verify the number you are phoning. Scammers can fake correspondence with their own contact details so never simply phone the number provided. And don’t rely on the fact that the caller’s number shown on your screen seems correct. Scammers also have the ability to display phone numbers other than the ones they are calling from.

Finally, if unfortunately a scammer gets through your defences, the third (protect) step calls on businesses to both contact their bank and report to Action Fraud as soon as possible. Remember, no genuine business will complain about you taking reasonable steps to verify their requests for payment or information. By taking the three steps above businesses may be able to reduce the amount of money lost to business scams and fraud which according to UK Finance amounted to more than £59 million in the first half of 2021 alone.

This is also where your people can play an important part in cutting down on fraud. A survey by the campaign revealed that 80% of SMEs had received an unsolicited text or email request for money or information, with 64% receiving unsolicited phone calls. Training your people to be scam aware could help similar approaches to be identified and cut short. It may also help your people to understand why other businesses may request call backs or further clarifications in response to requests sent out by your organisation.

Commenting on the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: “As we start the new year, businesses should make it a priority to be wary of any unexpected contact requesting an urgent payment and to be careful with the type of information you share online about your business.”

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/take-five-to-stop-fraud

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A time for flexibility

The turn of a year is generally viewed as a sign of hope, of the potential for change and of new beginnings and fresh opportunities. That was certainly the case as the world clock ticked from 2019 into 2020. The UK’s departure from the EU was on the horizon with a formal leaving date on 31 January to be followed by an eleven month transition period.

As those faltering steps towards a new trading relationship with the rest of the globe began, few would have predicted that the world was about to be plunged into a crisis that would consume efforts and energies not just in 2020 but through 2021 and onwards into 2022. In its wake, plans once thought to be set in stone have been tumbled aside as businesses and individuals have faced up to the impact of successive waves of covid infections.

The start of 2022 has been marked by the Omicron variant. Milder in impact than previous mutations, Omicron is also more transmissible. Not only has this led to higher levels of staff absenteeism, it also has impacted customer and supplier behaviours and outcomes.

But finding solutions to challenges is part of human existence. University of Illinois psychology professor Aron Barbey commented in 2017 [1] “Although researchers have known that flexibility is an important characteristic of human brain function, only recently has the idea emerged that flexibility provides the basis for human intelligence.” And if there is one thing we have all learnt over the past two years, it is just how much we can achieve if we are prepared to be flexible.

Adopting a more flexible way of working doesn’t mean that we throw out all of the good ideas of the past, but rather that we are open to adapting in order to meet changing conditions. For example, home working may have been recommended or mandated at certain stages of the covid crisis. But rather than shutting jobs down, businesses found ways to enable those working from home to contribute fully by adopting measures such as remote computer links and conference calling. Larger organisations may have also adopted company switchboard solutions in order to seamlessly transfer calls to home workers whilst others looked towards options such as straight or group divert in order to better manage calls.

VoIP solutions also came into play. VoIP can connect multiple sites, home-workers and even mobile phones (via a free app) under one system, with free internal calls. This enables businesses to cut calling costs whilst at the same time increasing the volume of calls made across and around the business. And we shouldn’t ignore the part played by answerphone and virtual assistant services; helping to take the strain when staffing numbers are low.

Who knows what direction the pandemic will take in 2022? What we do know is that by continuing to adopt solutions which enable flexible working from home, office, or elsewhere businesses will give themselves the greatest chance to continue to provide good customer service and strong outcomes.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/a-time-for-flexibility

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Telephone strategy

As the end of 2021 fast approaches, thoughts turn to the year ahead. For many businesses that means asking some tough questions not the least of which are; how do you develop a strategy when there is the chance of further supply and transport shortages? And how do you plan at all when you don’t know whether additional lockdowns will affect your business, its people, clients, and suppliers?

  One of the advantages in being able to ask questions such as these is that over the last two years we have lived through some extraordinary times. We have already encountered lockdowns and shortages. And whilst our initial response to these may have been somewhat scrambled, over time approaches and solutions have been refined in order to deliver a close a match to ‘business as usual’ as possible.

  So perhaps the questions are not as tough as we might originally think. But they still need to be asked. And the answers still need to be incorporated into a strategy which looks towards building a strong future. Here is the next challenge. Strategies are only successful when they step outside the board room and integrate across the business. And yet, past history is littered with examples of seemingly strong strategies which have failed because the day to day business was not geared up to meet the ambition.

  Take something as simple as the telephone system for example. It’s easy to take your business phones for granted. But will your existing system be able to easily scale up if required? There is nothing more frustrating for a potential customer than to continually receive an engaged signal, or to hear the phone ringing and ringing with no answer.

  In planning a marketing drive it may therefore pay to set up additional phone answering points, to revisit telephone hunt groups, or to arrange for a virtual assistant service to take overspill calls. Oh, and make sure that all of your people are aware of the initiative. It’s surprising how often people in one department know little about what is going on elsewhere in the company.

  Or how about a strategy which plans to expand overseas? When you are looking to attract clients from other countries, they may not be too happy about having to contact a UK phone number, particularly if that call will cost them a premium amount. It might therefore be advisable to offer an international regional, local, or freephone number for overseas clients to call. Those calls can then either be switched into your main telephone network or directed towards a dedicated area, perhaps staffed by designated language speakers.

  The above examples look towards gaining new customers. But what about keeping a relationship going with existing ones? Key customer relationships might benefit from a dedicated telephone line so that they can swiftly get in touch with their nominated contact. Alternatively, your phone system could be set up to recognise certain caller numbers and direct their calls appropriately.

  No matter what 2022 throws at us, one thing is certain. Integrating the strategy across the organisation just might help to turn ambition into outcome. May we therefore take this opportunity to wish you a prosperous New Year.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/telephone-strategy

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Planning to call

December: a season of good cheer and of sending goodwill to all. And this year December festivities seem to be more meaningful than before. Not only do we remember those we have lost to Covid over the last two years, we also (at the time of writing) are able to look forward to a Christmas time which is not conscribed by lockdowns.

Christmas or not, there is something about December which makes us pause and reflect. Perhaps it is the shortened days, perhaps the imminent turning of one year to the next. Whatever the reason, December seems to be the time when we reach out, sending cards or arranging get togethers with those who we may not have been in contact with for some time.

And when we are thinking about reconnecting with others, it might also be a time to bring that thought into the workplace, to reach out to customers or suppliers in order to build a connection for the year ahead. Admittedly, the extent of that reaching out will depend on your business. Those businesses with thousands of customers will naturally have to adopt a different contact model to those with a smaller client or supplier base.

Some may therefore look more towards a ‘bulk’ mailing; sending out e-mails or SMS texts to those on their contact list. And even though bulk SMS messages aren’t as personal as a phone call, the fact that you are prepared to show appreciation in any form can be welcome. But other, smaller, businesses may instead decide to pick up the phone for a chat; perhaps just to say thank you for your custom or for managing to keep supplies going under difficult circumstances. Always remembering that any contact will be subject to data protection and usage regulations.

It’s surprising what a simple ‘thank you’ can do. Not only might it help to cement an ongoing relationship, the very fact of picking up the phone could lead to a productive conversation. In the course of a general chat you might find that a supplier is bringing in a new product line; helping you to get ahead in planning for customer delivery in the year to come. Or a customer might mention casually in passing that they liked, or didn’t like, certain aspects of your offering; perhaps giving you the chance to swiftly rectify a problem or enhance an existing service.

Thank-you calls can also have an impact in the charity sector. Interestingly a 2020 study by Bloomerang revealed that a simple thank you phone call to charitable donors within ninety days of the donation increased the likelihood of a second donation from 33.01% to 41.24%. Add in a further call and that return donation rate rose again to 58.21%.

This brings us to a further important message; that thank you phone calls aren’t just for Christmas. If you want to build a lifetime relationship with a customer, supplier, or donor then it might just pay to plan to pick up the phone on a more regular basis throughout the year ahead. You never know where those calls may take you.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/planning-to-call

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A telephone lifeline

With access to mobile and internet telephony being so widespread why do we still need phone boxes on our streets? It’s a legitimate question and one which gave rise to a movement to remove thousands of red phone boxes from everyday use. In the process, whilst some boxes disappeared altogether others became adopted by their local communities; becoming libraries, homes for defibrillators, or mini food banks.

However, whilst some phone boxes were effectively dormant, others are still providing a lifeline for communities; particularly those in areas with poor mobile coverage. In the year to May 2020, Ofcom say that 150,000 phone box calls were made to the emergency services, with a further 25,000 calls to Childline and 20,000 to the Samaritans.

Calls such as these could have life changing consequences. Accordingly, Ofcom are looking to strengthen the rules which would prevent phone boxes being withdrawn from some communities. These new rules will mean that a phone box cannot be decommissioned if any one of four criteria applies. These are:

The location of the box not being covered by all four mobile networks;

The box being located at an accident or suicide hotspot;

More than 52 calls having been made from the box over the past 12 months;

Exceptional circumstances, such as poor mobile signal or calls being made to helplines from the phone, mean there is a need to retain a public telephone box.

Ofcom estimate that the new rules will apply to some 5,000 phone boxes out of the 21,000 still in use. This number may be augmented by a requirement for BT or KCOM to consult with local communities before removing boxes from service. More importantly, Ofcom will also require batteries to be installed in some key boxes so that phones can still be used during a power cut.

Commenting on the initiative, Ofcom’s Director of Connectivity, Selina Chadha, said: “Some of the call boxes we plan to protect are used to make relatively low numbers of calls. But if one of those calls is from a distressed child, an accident victim or someone contemplating suicide, that public phone line can be a lifeline at a time of great need.”

Lifelines such as these could make a measurable difference to the safety and security of communities. But the Ofcom research also points to the way in which phone boxes are still being used by those who are reaching out for help. It’s an important reminder for charities and other bodies of the benefit of making contact pathways as easy and straightforward as possible.

Even something as simple as using an 0300 charity telephone number could help to encourage people to call.  0300 numbers are reserved for charities and other non-profit organisations. They are charged at a local rate from mobiles and landlines and can be free as part of an inclusive minutes package. Add on a service such as group divert and charities can help to ensure that calls are answered as swiftly as possible, even if their people are working remotely.

In recognition of the valuable work which charities provide to those in need, Callagenix can offer a substantial discount off regular service costs alongside reduced call charge costs.

This post was first published here: http://www.callagenix.com/news/article/a-telephone-lifeline