Pursue Growth Through Acquisition
Expand Your TAS by Acquiring Accounts Instead of through Sales and Marketing
When you think of the future of your telephone answering service, what will it look like? What strategy do you need to use to get there? There is no one right answer that works for everyone, but there might be one right answer that works for you.
ATSI President, Joe Pores Discusses the Impact of Excessive HIPAA Requirements for the TeleServices Industry
Compliance with Federal laws and regulations is important in most industries throughout the United States. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is one of the laws established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the main goal of creating a set of security standards and requirements that address the confidentiality of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI).
Answering Services Reduce The Impact Of Increasing Minimum Wages On Small Businesses
Rising minimum wages throughout the United States will definitely have a tremendous impact on small business owners. With a $15 minimum wage gaining momentum, it will be necessary for owners to course correct in order to minimize the impact. The sensible solution is to leverage the support of an answering service.
In the dark silence of the night, there are a few lights forever burning – a few voices never stilled.
Those lights are your community’s Private Sector Emergency Response Centers. The voices are those of 40,000 skilled agents.
For nearly 100 years, PSERC agents have faithfully answered America’s critical calls around the clock, every day and night. Their caring voices bring a feeling of security, whatever the need or the hour.
STATISTICS
Discover why having fewer answering services is a good thing
The telephone answering service industry is consolidating, and it has been for quite some time. Though we don’t have precise numbers to support this trend, the empirical evidence is all around us. Acquiring organizations grow larger, while the number of industry players gets smaller.
Don’t Underestimate the Importance of HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA Compliance Is More Than a Best Practice, It’s the Law
6 Tips to Help TAS Associations Have Successful Events
In a prior post we discussed what you can do to support your favorite TAS industry associations. We gave four tips: become a member, attend their events, volunteer your time, and buy their products. Let’s look specifically at industry events and what you can do to make them more valuable.
4 Tips for You to Help TAS Associations Succeed and Grow
Last month we discussed the impact of industry consolidation on TAS user groups and trade associations. Though there’s reason for concern over this trend, there are also solutions. It’s important we don’t lose sight of that. There’s no room for panic. Intentional action is required, now more than ever.
TAS industry user groups and associations need you now more than ever
In the last two posts we looked at the impact of TAS industry consolidation, first on the answering services themselves and then on the vendors that serve our industry. While most people shudder at the thought of industry contraction, we noted several positive aspects of consolidation on those answering services that remain. When it comes to TAS vendors, however, there is more pressure on them, with fewer answering services left to buy their products and services. Yet, when we support our vendors, we support ourselves and prepare for the future.
By supporting our vendors, we support ourselves
Last month we looked at the impact of TAS industry consolidation on answering services. After analyzing the causes and the results produced, we discovered many positive outcomes as a result of our industry consolidation.
Most everyone talks about quality service, but too often they can’t back it up
Telephone answering services typically compete in one of two ways. One is by the quality of their service and the other is by price. Let’s set aside competing on price, because there will always be an answering service out there willing to charge less. Besides, competing on price is a race to the bottom, which no one can win for the long-term.
But Not All E&O Insurance Policies Are the Same
As individuals and businesses, we purchase insurance policies to protect us from loss. Personally, we insure our home and cars, our life and our health, along with other things. For our answering service, we insure our building and its contents, to start with. Then we add a general liability policy. But for a telephone answering service, especially in this litigious society, a general liability policy isn’t enough. We also need an errors and omissions insurance policy, E&O for short.
Attending a Conference Is Valuable but It’s What You Do When You Get Home That Counts
Hopefully you had the opportunity to attend this year’s ATSI conference.
One of the possible telephone answering service strategies we mentioned is to pursue niche markets. It is the second of four major TAS tactics to consider.
Aside from focusing on medical accounts, there once was a time when most all answering services were generalists, taking on any new account that required their services. This once was the best growth strategy, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. Pursuing a niche market—or markets—is emerging as a more tactical solution to answering service success.
Here are some of the benefits available from pursuing a niche market growth strategy for your answering service.
Focusing on one (or a few) vertical markets allows for increased focus. This lets you and your staff accumulate specific knowledge about one industry, which permits you to serve them more fully and effectively. You’ll learn their industry jargon, understand their pain points, and pick up on hot-button issues. This specialization will allow you to serve clients in that vertical market with greater ease and produce better results.
A Failure to Plan Is Planning to Fail
Last month we talked about the importance of finishing the year strong to best prepare for the new year. Hopefully you followed some of the recommended steps and did indeed finish last year strong. Now you’re prepared to make the best of this year for your telephone answering service.
With the Changing Season Comes the Opportunity to Make Meaningful Change
Spring is that time of year we usually associate with doing a thorough cleaning of our house, called spring cleaning. Whether we actually get around to doing it, of course, is another story. Let’s move the concept of spring cleaning from our home to our business. Here are some spring-cleaning projects we might want to consider for our answering service.
Don’t Coast Through December and Put Things Off Until Next Year
As the year winds down, our focus and drive often do too. There are seasonal activities and parties to distract us. And two major holidays, Christmas and New Year’s Day, interrupt our work routine. All this combines to tempt us to slow down and relax. Then we can hit next year full on and fresh.
Providing Inconsistent Service Will Frustrate Clients and Cause Them to Cancel Service
In our earlier post about evaluating your ATSI Award of Excellence results, we talked about the importance of consistency. Although the average of your total scores and the averages of each component of the calls is important, be sure to balance this with consistency.
6 Reasons Why You Should Enroll in the ATSI Award of Excellence Program this Year
Independent, Third-Party Evaluation Drives Quality and Advances Customer Service Excellence
As Summer Winds Down, Now Is the Time to Plan for What Comes Next
You and your answering service have been in summer mode for a few months now. Exactly what that means depends on your management style, operation, and geographic location. Regardless of what summer mode looks like for you, there’s a different vibe in your answering service during the summer months than the rest of the year.
