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My mobile phone number is listed - first - on my business card.
I believe that it is a great sales tool and that it builds trust. Customers feel that I'll be there for them anytime and that I'm reachable. Until today only a few customer have taken advantage of this without a good reason and I plan to keep it listed. |
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Hard to grow this way. What happens when tons of people only call YOU. When they need urgent help and you're a team of 3 or 4 ... or more? We print only our main business line and then answer it - every time. You will grow if you answer your phone on every ring.
On a side note, we call forward our main number to a Google Voice number - this way the calls actually end up hitting ALL of our cells. :) If you can't get an invite let me know and I'll send you one. Or, I think Vonage and other VoIP companies offer a ring group style ringing. |
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Thank you for the reply's JoshuaB and Chrisits. I've changed my cell phone number on a few occasions, but customers always seem to get it anyway. They eventually start calling me directly instead of calling the office number.
JoshuaB, I'm currently using vonage for an office line, and they have the simulring feature, which allow the calls to ring to different phone lines. My only problem with that is I cannot distinguish between a personal call and a business call when it rings my cellphone. I noticed Google voice will announce the caller before you answer, I'm assuming if they record their name. I've had that feature using ringcentral, and got plenty of hang up calls, because of people wanting to speak to a live person. Is there a way around this without me having to purchase a second cell phone to have business calls forwarded to? |
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cj08334, you can specify in Google Voice what caller-id information is passed on. If you set it to pass on actual caller-id, then you won't know if personal or business. Or, it can be set to pass on only your Google Voice number - so you know the call originated from GV. This way you know it is business only.
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Yes, and I give it out freely but that may not work for everyone's business model. I never worry about customers calling, its when they don't call that I get worried.
My voice mail message tells them that I am unavailable at the moment and gives them the main office number if they need immediate assistance so I can let it go to voice mail if I am in the middle of something else. |
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Do not put your cell on your card, ever. Offer it up as a perk only if you have to. I've learned this the hard way after 10 years of business and then trying to grow due to office space and other techs. Your techs resent everyone calls you and feel de-moralized. Get an awesome sounding lady who answers the phone and your customer service will skyrocket.
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I never ever give out my cell phone. Actually, it is the absolute worse way for a customer to get service.
Is a starup, or if you're a one man band, maybe.... I own a company, with employees and stores. If you call me, that doesnt mean i can go, or will be the one who goes. If all my customers called me, i couldn't answer all the calls, and i couldnt get any work done. id be stuck on the phone all day. I wouldnt image giving out my cell phone. I dont want the people who do have it using it! (family mostly) |
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We operate a SPOC (single point of contact) so that no support request slip through: one phone number and one email address. For example how would a customer necessarily know if someone is ill, on holiday or caught in traffic.
http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/articl...of-Contact.htm |
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I'd suggest getting a google voice number (https://www.google.com/voice) (anyone with a google account is eligible now). you can give that out and route it to your cellphone. in the future if you don't' want to receive calls on it any longer you can't just disassociate it from your cellphone. it is great b/c you can also block #s into it very easily (can't do this on AT&T for instance). i've had mine for over 2 years and use it for business related things all the time.
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