We have all ordered items for home delivery, but have you ever wondered how the ordering taking system works? It is for not only food such as pizza? Many things can be processed in this way. For example, processing mail orders, placing newspaper and television advertisements, ordering heating oil delivery, booking train or plane tickets, and ordering concert tickets can all utilize an order taking answering service. These and other functions are based on having someone who will take calls, input the buyer’s details and payment information, and provide confirmation regarding product availability, specifications, and delivery estimates.
From your caller’s point of view, the process of taking an order and supplying the goods or services may seem simple. A closer look at the overall process in detail, however, and we can see that there is a lot more involved than that. On one hand, you have a large number of people placing orders and, on the other, there are varieties of individual products that need to be inventoried, processed, and shipped. If that is not enough, consider the logistics involved. Delivering the goods to the customer might involve an extensive supply chain of suppliers, wholesalers, warehousing, and so forth. Additionally, there is the whole issue of collecting payment from the customer.
The Advantages of Order Taking Answering Service for Small to Medium Sized Businesses
Shopping Cart
A good order taking answering service can work with your existing e-commerce shopping cart.
Not all businesses do large volumes of sales, utilizing sophisticated management platforms, enormous warehouses, and large work forces. A successful business could be a small enterprise or even consist of a single person.
While these companies have no need (and lack the budget for) a large order fulfillment infrastructure, they still need something in place to serve that function. Many attempt to take, fill, and manage all orders in-house. Our Customers utilize Call24 Communications call center based order taking answering service.
Since the activities involving order taking are generic in nature, it often makes sense for businesses to centralize the process, rather than each company having an order-processing department of their own. Beyond the obvious economies of scale, this results in a number of advantages for businesses:
- There is no need to lease and maintain equipment for order processing.
- Your workforce may be better utilized in other departments.
- Payment collection may be simplified and credit card processing fees/overhead can often be reduced.
- Orders can be taken around-the-clock, with little to no added cost.
- Customer support can also be provided 24/7, saving your customer service department resources as well.
How can Order Taking Answering Services Help?
Order taking answering services usually cover the following needs:
- Filling the customer’s order accurately
- Collecting payment information from the customer securely
- Arranging for the goods to be delivered promptly
- The ability to monitor the delivery of goods up to the final destination
- Passing on customer complaints, concerns, and suggestions to the appropriate department promptly
Additionally, since the service is outsourced, it may be provided from any geographical location; communication with the business client is established via telephone and the internet. Secondly, as discussed earlier, it can cater for the requirements of several businesses at the same time, ensuring viability of its operations by maintaining an extended and varied business client base.
What to Look for from an Order Taking Answering Service
Simplicity
The customer should not find it difficult to place an order. The overall experience should be a pleasant one to ensure a repeat order; just because a customer “got through it” when placing an order once doesn’t mean they’ll have the patience to do it again. Operators should have proper telephone etiquette and be well trained in how to take a company’s orders before answering their calls.
Custom Order Scripting
Call24 Communications operators can follow the script provided by your business. This ensures that all details are taken into account before giving the customer a total and passing the order onto the fulfillment center; it becomes much harder to correct mistakes beyond this point in the process, especially if payment has already been processed. No one wants to have to call a customer to tell them that the amount they paid was incorrect, particularly when it is because their order taking answering service made a mistake. The result of order scripting and careful planning should be a low occurrence of incomplete orders.
An Extension of the Business
This support provided by the order taking answering service should function as an extension of the business they are representing. Should an occasion arise when the operator is unable to resolve an issue, they should have the ability to route the caller to someone within the company who can. The business client should have options as far as how orders and messages can be delivered; most order taking services support a variety of methods, including integration with their order processing software.
A Complete Processing Solution
While order taking answering service are primarily focused on processing orders and payment, it is often integrated that both the order taking and order fulfillment services are provided by the same company. Call24 Communications works closely with fulfillment centers to ensure a seamless transaction. Call24 Communications has these relationships in place already, so, in effect, businesses only need to work with one provider for all of their needs.
