What Does Your Website Do for You?
Make the Most of Your Online Presence to Better Serve Customers and Grow Your Business
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Does your telephone answering service have a website? I hope so. What does your website do for your business? Over the years, I’ve seen a wide range of TAS websites, from severely lacking to impressively professional.
They fall into some common categories. Consider which category yours fits into. Then determine if it’s the right one.
A Placeholder: Some websites are nothing more than a placeholder. It may say “coming soon” or have generic text that gives no specific information. I suspect this is from companies that registered the domain name to use for email purposes. Or maybe it’s businesses that registered the name but never got around to setting up the site.
Either way, be aware that prospects and others looking to learn about your business will stumble upon it. The message a placeholder website sends is not a good one. You’d be better off if it didn’t exist.
An Online Brochure: Moving beyond a do-nothing placeholder website is turning it into an online brochure. Effectively this means taking what once would have been in printed marketing materials and putting them online.
Typically this begins as a one-page website. There’s nothing wrong with this. At a basic level, an online brochure provides visitors with some information about your operation. It’s a great start.
An Information Center: Building upon a website as an online brochure, add other content that prospects will find helpful. This means adding more pages. In addition to your marketing information, you’ll want a homepage, an about us page, and a contact page.
You may also want a blog to post news and content marketing pieces, but don’t jump into starting a blog without first thinking it through and making sure you or someone on your team has the commitment to produce content on a regular basis.
A Marketing Tool: You can expand your website beyond an information center and turn it into a marketing tool. You can add pages that cover services offered, specialties or industries served, testimonials or reviews, pricing, and a sign-up form. Which ones you include will vary with your marketing strategy, so don’t think you need to pursue every suggestion. Just add what makes sense for your situation.
A Client Support Resource: Until now we covered website options from the perspective of a prospect. It should also have a section for clients. Provide client-specific information to help them get the most out of their experience with your answering service.
You can also include a client portal to allow them to access messages, submit a customer service request, and make on-call or employee directory changes. You can also allow them to pay their bill online.
Most or all these options should require a customer login, thereby blocking prospects from accessing this information or trolls intent on causing mischief.
Your Online Hub for All Interaction: The best websites are both a marketing tool and a customer support resource. It becomes your online hub for communication with both prospects and clients.
If your website is currently at this level, well done! But that doesn’t mean you’re finished. Look for ways to make it simpler to navigate and more user-friendly.
A website is never done and requires ongoing tweaking. The goal is that each change makes it better and more effective.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader. Check out his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.
Classified Ads:
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Selling Your Business? If you are considering selling your business, you owe it to yourself and your employees to consider selling to MAP Communications’ Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Dozens of past sellers to MAP include Stericycle Communications Solutions, Answer Center VA Beach, and A-Courteous Communications in Orlando. Call Grant Sibley 800-955-9888 or email gsibley@mapcommunications.com for a confidential conversation.
Seeking Acquisitions: Nexa Receptionists is seeking acquisitions. Past deals include Answer 1, Keener Communications, Alert Communications, and MainLine Telecommunications. We have the capital to get deals done and are committed to fairness and transparency throughout the process. We pay great prices for great companies and treat sellers/owners well. Contact: Ryan.Keener@Nexa.com or 804-527-2687.
Call Center Manager Wanted: Erlanger Health System, a nationally-acclaimed, multi-hospital health system, based in beautiful Chattanooga, TN, is looking for a Call Center Manager for the Medical Call Center. The Call Center Manager will provide leadership and oversight for the Medical Call Center. Please view job description at http://www.erlangercareers.org (Job ID33102) to submit application.
System for Sale: Complete Amtelco Infinity 1st link special edition rackmount system, 4 years old with new spares. Great as a super assortment of spare components, main system, or redundant fail-safe system with $12k in new spare components included. Plus, all cables and odds & ends from original install. Let’s talk: 330-307-4721 or jjsh211@aol.com.
Professional Liability Insurance: The member-exclusive, ATSI-endorsed professional liability insurance program protects you against claims-related errors and omissions arising from your professional services. This comprehensive solution commonly known as errors and omissions liability insurance (E&O) covers defense costs and settlements and provides a valuable layer of additional coverage. Contact: ATSI-questions@alliant.com or 855-393–ATSI.
Seeking Acquisitions: Reputable TAS, in business since 1967 and still owned by the founding family, seeks a small TAS acquisition in the USA. Ideally, you’re billing under $50k per month. Smaller is better. We’ll treat you right, and your employees and customers. Let’s talk. Contact Doug at 888-693-7935 or douganswerphone@gmail.com.
Industry News
Tom Curtin Receives 2022 ATSI Hall of Fame Award: Tom Curtin, Amtelco CEO, received the 2022 Association of Teleservices International (ATSI) Hall of Fame award, given to individuals in appreciation and recognition for their contributions to the industry.
Tom Curtin has worked in the industry since the early 1980s. He has held positions in sales and operations. Under Tom’s stewardship, Amtelco has remained a leader in the development of leading-edge products, set the standard for customer service, opened new markets in healthcare, and always put their customers first. His calm demeanor and quiet personality are much appreciated. Amtelco has consistently been named a top place to work in Madison, Wisconsin.
Moneypenny Acquires Alphapage: Moneypenny, a provider of answering services, outsourced switchboards, live chat, and outbound calls for small and large businesses, has extended its services in the US with the acquisition of Alphapage.
Alphapage is an award-winning communications company that provides bilingual (English and Spanish) call management solutions. The company was founded by Joe Bean in 1989 and is based in Denver, Colorado.
Following the acquisition of VoiceNation in 2020, Moneypenny is a market leader in its sector, with over 1,200 staff in the US and UK. Moneypenny handles 20 million calls and chats annually for more than 21,000 clients.
Joanna Swash, group CEO of Moneypenny said, “We are delighted to welcome Alphapage into the Moneypenny family. Our aim is to be the number one provider in the US for outsourced communications, supporting businesses of all sizes.”
Graeme Bean, CEO of Alphapage adds, ‘We are excited about the opportunities this next phase presents for our business and more importantly, for our team and customers.”
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Quotes for the Month
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?” -George Eliot
“A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.” -Walter Winchell
“In a democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes.” –unknown