When Covid started to shut down the country and businesses. We felt the impact of this pandemic but as we had our business continuity plans in place, we were able to protect our staff and switch to homeworking almost immediately so we could carry on answering calls for our clients.
Some clients had paused their businesses, some bobbed along, and some saw unprecedented growth despite the shutdown. Now that the country is trying to return to normal, businesses are beginning to reopen and slowly waking up. Where we manage diaries and appointments these are already following the new guidelines and diaries are filled for the next few months, so the future is looking good for them.
One client who owns a membership organisation for freelance hairdressers believed when the problems started that it would be the “nail in the coffin” for her business. But quite the opposite has happened, she has seen exponential growth due to the fact that all hairdressers were closed for business and they had time to find her because they were looking for advice and support, which is what she so expertly provides. She quickly mastered Zoom and with that has been getting industry experts on board to provide training, getting involved with Q & As, looking at PPE, pricing and how appointments will work when they return to work, anything that would help her members get through this.
The Federation has a closed Facebook group called Staff Chatroom which only members have the privilege of accessing. This has a lot of resources and advice for members and is the go-to group for the members to access advice and chat to members so they can collectively resolve some issues and help each other as well.
When you have time on your hands as a businessperson you will start to look at social media and internet to find information on how to improve your business when you reopen. If you are at home, you are going to research all those ideas you wanted to implement but never had the time. Because the Federation knew they were in for a fight to survive they started to promote the group and membership benefits. As we all know sometimes through adversity you gain strength. The membership has exploded, and they have increased their business substantially by over 25% in just three months.
So how did we fit in as a telephone answering service , we manage not just the calls but the membership, payments, membership database, and diary as well as adding the members into an accounting system for payments and renewals. We had to rapidly deal with the enormous increase in calls and membership sign ups. So, we’re much more than just another telephone answering service.
Of course, there are many businesses that have had great success through lock down including us. All this success came from the need to have business continuity and a trusted outsourced partner through these trying times. Even if your office is closed you can still have all your calls answered and directed to the right person and carry on working.
If you would like to know more or take a free trial the please contact us on rita.shah@telephone-answering.biz or call us 0800 077 6131
