A Better Answer Blog

If your business has inbound calls from customers, the more you grow, the more you will discover the need of an answering service. You likely do not have the budget or the capacity to ensure that calls are answered at all times and that your customers are taken care of. Choosing an answering service, on the other hand, is the logical choice, but when you are trying to find the right one, should you focus only on those that are focused in your industry or those are local to you? Here are the benefits of each: 

Benefit of an Industry-Based Call Center: Understanding

The last thing a customer wants is to get on the phone with a call center representative and explain not only what they are dealing with, but also their services. When an agent has industry knowledge, a lot of this can be avoided. The customer wants to get help immediately without having to explain everything about the basics of the product or service and then getting to the issue at hand. An industry-based call center can help with this.

Benefit of a Local Call Center: Familiarity

They will be familiar with the local area in terms of geography, as well as the types of people that live in the area. It can be a lot easier to understand what people are calling about and dealing with when the call center is local. For example, if you are in the pest control business, it may be helpful to know what common pests are in a specific area. A local call center representative will already know and can better assist as a result.

Local or Industry Specific: Which should you choose?

Now that you know the benefits of each, which should you prioritize as the best fit for your business?  

 Choose a call center with knowledge in your industry if:  

• You have a very technical or complicated industry, one that requires a lot of detailed knowledge. This is especially true if this information is not necessary to use your product or service, as is often the case in the consumer technology industry. 
• You offer multiple specialized services or products. It is important for your customers to find the best product or service to fit their needs, and sometimes that requires a vast amount of background knowledge to make those determinations quickly and accurately. 
• You offer services like help desks and troubleshooting, and interact with your customers or prospects on a more in-depth level. These types of services require very specific information and training that an industry specific answering service would offer.  
• If you are screening callers for special cases or deal with delicate situations like law firms, medical offices. An industry specific call center can screen, get the right information and handle any situation with empathy and kindness. 

 Choose a local call center if:  

• Your business is locally based, or offer a product specialized for your local geography. If you offer services specifically for winter, then a call center located in an area that never sees snow probably doesn’t make sense.  
• Businesses that travel and interact face-to-face to perform their services like landscapers, plumbers and contractors greatly benefit from a call center that knows the area. They’ll be able to schedule your appointments based on location to avoid running from one side of town to the other and back again! 

Ultimately, choosing an industry-based call center or local call center is up to you. Both have their benefits. But the best option would be to find an answering service that provides understanding, familiarity and more.