Don’t let bad weather disrupt your business, Business continuity

Summer is coming to an end already and that means Winter is approaching fast. With Winter comes unpredictable weather; causing disruption to your business.

From an FSB report* in 2015, Two-thirds of small businesses say they have been negatively affected by severe weather in the last three years. There are multiple different ways that you can prevent disruption to your business and ensure business continuity. Find out some tips down below on how to prepare your business for the months ahead.

Call Redirects

Set up your call redirects to ensure your important business calls get answered even if you can’t make it into the office. You can route your calls to multiple locations, to landlines or mobiles, and redirect to your mobile phone only when you need to by entering it as a second redirect. By doing this calls will be sent through to your normal phone number initially, should you be unable to answer the phone the call will then seamlessly be put through t your second, third and fourth redirect numbers. Staff could also take calls from home or on the move by entering their phone number as a call redirect number.

Quick Close

If you need to close your phone lines in a hurry, you can. Callers will hear an out-of-hours message, which you can record yourself to keep them informed, and they’ll also be given the option to leave a voicemail. You can collect voicemail messages in real-time via the SwitchboardFREE app.

Instantly Update Messages

If you are unable to answer the phone or need to notify your customers of any issues, you can record and instantly update your own custom messages and announcements 24/7 online or via the free app that is available for both Android and iOS.

Department selection

Make sure all of your calls get put through to the most appropriate person first time by allowing your callers to select a department, this is called “Auto Attendant” and comes included with your SwitchboardFREE number. Set up 1-9 virtual departments for your business that all allow for different redirects. This is very useful if certain people are out of the office or are travelling somewhere as the calls can be sent directly to them without bothering other people in the company.

Telephone answering services

If you cannot answer calls why not use a live call telephone answering service? Have a real professional UK office-based receptionist take your calls so you do not miss out on any valuable business. Some features include getting real-time notifications, avoiding spam calls and being able to change your features at any time. see http://www.pocketreceptionist.co.uk who offer a professional call answering service by a real and dedicated receptionist.

For more information

To find out more about our live telephone answering service go to https://www.pocketreceptionist.co.uk/ or call us on 0800 009 6555. For more information about the features of SwitchboardFREE go to https://www.switchboardfree.co.uk/ or call us on 0203 189 1213.

* The statistic for being affected by weather from http://www.fsb.org.uk July 2015