Month: October 2020

What will it cost you to provide cutting edge customer support via phone? It is bigger than you can imagine. A cheerful voice in addition to a warm greeting is almost not enough. 

Customer care reps have to be ready to provide answers to all kinds of queries about their company and the services they offer. Of course, they have to be appealing, but it will be necessary for them to be able to efficiently provide the information that customers or prospects need.

However, not every business can hire someone who can manage this role efficiently. So what can you do if your growing business does not have a budget that can cater for a customer care rep?

Well, what your business needs is an answering service.

This kind of service yields good results most times. It also helps you to reduce the amount of money you would have spent if you had to hire a customer care rep. Your customers are more likely to enjoy this service compared to if your business had a customer care rep.

Now, let us look at why your business needs to adopt an answering service.

1. Make More Money While Saving Money 

Your business will keep growing and the same can be said about your budget. But hiring a set of staff just to take business calls is expensive. Apart from paying the salary of staff, you need to add up cost of acquiring phones, computer, desk, and other things you need to set up the office. You also need to offer health insurance to your employees.

Furthermore, there are businesses that engage the entire team in answering phone calls from customers. But pulling your staff to undertake such task can be distracting and decreases productivity. 

However, an answering service will avail you the advantages of having a professional customer care rep and at a lesser cost. You will get excellent service as well as a well-informed person who will be answering the phones.

2. You Will Retain Your Valuable Customers 

Customers expect that your business should be open 24/7. So, they call in when ever it is suitable for them. Answering phones during work hours alone (which is usually 8 hours), means that during the remaining 16 hours, your customers’ calls will go unanswered. Most callers will not leave you any message or try calling again. In fact, some people hang up as soon as they discover that are not being answered by a real person.

Despite the fact that your business needs to focus on making more sales, building your current list of clientele is also of utmost importance. You can achieve this by partnering with an answering service. So when your customers call in after work hours, they will receive maximum attention. prospective customers also will not be unintentionally neglected. 

Furthermore, if your customer service is poor, you will lose customers. And you know how people are quick to give negative reviews when they do not get the value they desire. One bad review can make a customer choose your competitor over you. And it will take a lot of effort to amend that one negative experience.  

Watch this video to learn how to give great customer service.

3. Project Your Business as a More Professional Entity

Whether it is an intern or the business owner, whoever picks up the phone, becomes the business’ voice. And if the caller is a new customer or prospect, the experience they will have will form their first and probably, only impression about your business; depending on the kind of service they receive. 

However, if your business is affiliated to an answering service, you will have access to dedicated, well-trained receptionists who will make sure that your customers get a good first impression. Also, the calls will be answered on time, in a polite manner, and within a serene environment to eliminate poor network, dropped calls, or any kind of bad experience.

Additionally, customers can’t tell if an answering service rep is actually at your place of work when they call. They cannot also tell if it is a 2-man business or a 1000-employee kind of business. The kind of treatment they get when they call will either project your business as a more professional entity or not. 

4. Your Priorities Will Be Rightly Placed

The volume of calls a business receives every day, especially if it is a small business, might be difficult to handle. Imagine trying to have a phone conversation with one customer, while that is on-going, two or three more callers are calling but you can’t respond. One of the callers leaves a voice message and while you are trying to call back, another call comes in. You can now see that you will still lose customers when you try to do this on your own. 

You will be unable to handle other business activities in addition to all that stress. But if you use an answering service, you can focus more on your work while the customer care rep focuses on caring for your customers. That way, your priorities will be rightly placed, and you will be more productive.

Now that you know how your business can benefit from an answering service, take a step in the right direction. Click on this link: https://www.mltcom.com/answering-services/247-answering-service/ to get affiliated with a professional answering service.

Conclusion

Your business needs to grow and that can be achieved when you focus on making it grow. It will be quite tasking trying to attend to enquiries from prospective customers, generating sales, reaching out to returning customers to maintain the relationship, among other things you need to do as a business owner. 

The business world is quite competitive and if you need your business to thrive, you need to focus on what you are best at. So you and your business need an answering service that will be available on a 24-hour basis while you are busy meeting the needs of your customers. 

When it comes to controlling and managing our money today, we have many things to consider. For one, we have to think about kind of bank account we intend to be using for our personal (or professional) goals. For example, you might be considering, as a resident in Europe, opening a bank account. But is this going to be possible? Are you legally obligated to be allowed to open a European bank account?

At the moment, it depends on where in the continent you are based. For example, anyone who is based in a country that is within the European Union (EU) is entitled to a bank account. This is a legal right that is given to you as part of the wider EU regulations. If you are legally a resident in this country, then you are entitled to open what is known as a ‘basic payment account’.

A bank is not allowed to refuse your application if you wish to set up a basic payment account. Indeed, this is information worth keeping in mind when shopping around various banks to work with.

Do I have to use an EU bank in my own country?

Interestingly, as wider EU law looks to bring nations together under more complementary joint law, bank accounts are not protected by country. For example, you are allowed to open a bank account in any EU country so long as you are proven to have EU citizenship. This means that you cannot be refused access to a basic payment account just because you don’t live in the country that bank was actually established in.

This means that you could in theory go and open up a basic banking account in any one of the 27 EU nations that are part of the program today. However, you should take note that this is only for a standard bank account. You might have to go through a more strenuous vetting process, and would be permitted to be refused access, if you wished to open up a different kind of account.

For example, you might wish to open up a bank account for a savings account. While no EU-based bank can reject you for a basic account, they could choose to say no to you if you wish to open up an EU-based savings account.

Exceptions to the rule

However, please note that there are some very limited circumstances in which an EU-based bank could reject your basic account. The primary reason for being rejected would be a failure and/or inability to comply with EU laws and regulations with regards to money laundering and terrorist financing laws. These are very specific laws, though, and are unlikely to apply in the vast majority of cases.

However, you might also be refused access to a basic account if you already have a basic account with a bank in the same country. You are permitted to have access to one account, not multiple accounts. Also please note that most banks will still want to know why you wish to open up an account with them in the first place.

They might wish to know more about your living situation, and whether (or not) you will be residing in the nation for a period of time once you have opened up your bank account. So long as you have no other accounts of a basic nature with any other bank, though, they cannot refuse you outside of if your answers do not satisfy EU money laundering laws.

What about a merchant account?

Of course, not everyone in the EU banking industry is going to have enough access with a standard account. If that is the case, you might wish to open up another kind of bank account in the near future. For example, you might wish to open what is known as a European high risk merchant account.

This has become increasingly common today, as many professionals use such accounts. merchant accounts are quite interesting as they tend to come bundled with various payment processor programs as well as giving you the tools that you need to start accepting card transactions, handling online purchases, and various other factors.

Many buyers online will not use a trader if they cannot be given a guarantee of a totally secure connection. For that reason, the vast majority of buyers will look to set up a merchant account so that your customers will be more inclined to actually use your services.

Many forms of high risk merchant account exist, so it pays to invest time and effort into understanding what this means. Then, you can make a wise choice and make an investment with a bank that can provide you with the service(s) that you need.

Choosing a European high risk merchant account

While you are by no means permitted by law to have access to such an account, those in good standing should have no problem creating such an account. This will help you to start making trading easier, giving you all the tools that you need to take payments and ensure that your business can start trading online or offline if it so chooses.

The best European high risk merchant accounts will give you a highly specific service. Many generic services exist, but looking for something that comes with particular features and add-ons would be highly recommended.

You will normally find that the investment into such an account is a wise idea as it can give you the help that you need to get selling as a professional. High risk merchant accounts are often aimed at those with minimal or poor credit history, or who are engaged in a kind of high risk business that has a high volatility.

Keep this in mind, and you should find it easier to get started in the set-up of a European bank account. Whether for you to use personally on your travels or to give you access to merchant facilities, ensure you do your due diligence on any company you consider. 

Although most bankers in North America and Europe expect a longer recovery from the coronavirus crisis, they are already forecasting a recovery in lending next year and a relatively slight increase in bad loans. The most important are the findings of a survey conducted by Deloitte among 69 risk officers and heads of banking departments for solving credit problems in 12 countries in North America and Europe. The research focused on five main areas: economic recovery, credit dynamics, bad loans, and bad credit transactions, as well as restructuring and priorities in the area of solving credit problems.

In terms of economic recovery, 39.1 percent of respondents expect a U-shaped recovery curve. A more pessimistic L-shaped recovery scenario expects 21.7 percent. The respondents’ attitude regarding the application of the moratorium was positive like it was about JerkDolls, i.e., 75% of the respondents consider it an effective measure for preserving financial stability.

In such circumstances, it is not surprising that a (non) significant decline in the disbursement of new loans is expected in 2020 compared to 2019, while expectations are more optimistic for 2021. Disbursements of new loans may increase in 2021 due to fiscal and monetary measures aimed at stimulating banks’ lending activities. Stricter credit standards are expected for loans mainly to households and non-financial corporations.

However, respondents do not expect a significant deterioration in asset quality in the next 12 months. Almost half expect the rate of bad loans to households to increase by a maximum of three percentage points, while two-thirds expect the same growth rate for companies.

However, bankers are more pessimistic for the period after 2021. Almost half of them expect the growth of bad loans to households by three to five percentage points, while a third of respondents expect the same rate of decline in bad loans to companies. In any case, there is a dose of uncertainty from 2021 onwards regarding the actual capacity and readiness of debtors to service debts after the relief in the form of a moratorium ends.

The research highlights how banks have significantly improved their asset quality since the global financial crisis, established higher capital buffers, and strengthened their liquidity positions, leaving the economic downturn in better shape than in the previous financial crisis.

The moratorium on loan repayments imposed by several countries in North America and Europe may temporarily cover up the real damage that the economy may constrain. Therefore, it is not possible to draw reliable conclusions regarding the emergence of bad loans in the coming period since it is not as easy as playing teen porn games online.

Strategies for dealing with bad loans introduced before the COVID-19 virus pandemic now need to be adjusted, which could significantly affect debt service providers and the customer market. Namely, almost a third of the respondents believe that 5 to 10 percent of debtors in the household sector with liquidity difficulties will seek restructuring in the next 12 months.

It’s a question that you’ve probably asked yourself. Sadly, a considerable number of people consider life insurance more of a luxury than a necessity. And the payback for that is that if you pass away, your family plus the left-behind estates become fully liable for financing your debts, medical bills, funeral expenses, and other final expenses.

Though not a legal obligation, preparing to pass on is equally important as preparing to live. You may not feel the value for your money, at least not at the moment, but your family will direly need it when you’re gone. That is unless you want them to be homeless due to unpaid mortgages, face debt collection issues, live a sub-standard life, or give you an improper sendoff.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what happens if you pass without a life insurance cover.

Debt Responsibility

Usually, your immediate family isn’t responsible for your unpaid debts if you pass unexpectedly. But if you have an estate or unprotected assets like bank accounts without beneficiaries or investment properties, they’ll be liquidated to cater for your outstanding liabilities.

So if you have huge debts without life coverage, creditors might come knocking, forcing your family to sell your home and other assets to clear your debt. The good news is, with life insurance, your loved ones can use the policy’s proceeds to pay off any debts that you might have incurred in your living days, thus relieving them of any financial distress or the fear of being kicked out of your matrimonial home.

Funeral Expenses

How would you like it if your family takes out a loan or pleads with a funeral home for a discounted payment plan to give you a decent sendoff? That’s precisely what will happen if you leave without life insurance, and your loved ones don’t have enough cash to meet the funeral needs.

Getting your family into a double tragedy of coming to terms with losing you and lacking enough funds to cater for your burial is truly uncalled for. This is why we recommend purchasing life insurance to help meet the funeral, burial, or cremation expenses when you breathe your last.

Additional Final Expenses

Funeral and burial expenses usually are the priority when you pass away. But a few weeks or months after the sendoff, other needs start creeping in. For instance, if you were the sole breadwinner, your loved ones will find it hard to keep up with the same lifestyle or living standard as it were before. Your spouse may no longer afford the same schools for the children, pay off mortgage or rent, pay the utility bills, etc.

What’s more, if you had a strong family bond in your living days, your loved ones may struggle to come to terms with your loss, forcing them into a trauma. This raises the need for professional help, which may be too expensive without external assistance. While it’s not a guarantee that life insurance may cover counseling costs, your family may use the proceeds to pay a therapist for their services.

Medical Bills

Chronic illnesses can be devastating. Most people take their ailing loved ones to hospitals for medical care while holding the hope that they will recover. More often than not, critically ill people barely make it despite the advanced medical care, and to add insult to an injury, the hospital bills keep piling up.

If you pass away without life insurance, your family will be liable to meet all the accrued medical bills. This can be tough, especially if you’re the primary breadwinner in the family. That is why it’s overly essential to take out a life insurance policy to meet such unprecedented costs.

Good news: even if you contract chronic illnesses like cancer that may deny you the regular coverage, you can still purchase non-medically underwritten life insurance where you won’t have to undergo any physical examination tests. The same applies to those in perfect health but would like to acquire life insurance coverage in the fastest and most straightforward manner.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post helps you realize the importance of life insurance. Life’s uncertainty should be enough motivation to protect your loved ones financially should you pass away prematurely. You don’t want your family to be forced to sell your estate or take an emergency loan to cater for unpaid debts, property taxes, final expenses, and other expenses, do you?