Because of a recent boom in business, my company needed to update our
office phone system. We had a very nice system in place already, but
our business had tripled within a matter of months.
Since we rely on phone orders for the vast majority of our sales, we
needed to upgrade in order to handle the increase in call volume. We
were lucky to have a great relationship with our telephone equipment
provider, as within days we were able to have a new system ready to put
in place. It's not often that businesses find themselves in situations
like this, but when they do come up, it's important to know that the
companies you have chosen to do business with are capable of meeting
your needs in a timely manner.
Prior to this happening, we had a trunk study performed, after which we
were told that we were losing business as a result of not having a new
phone system in place. Anyone who has ever run a business knows that
losing money because you are ill equipped to handle your customer's
needs is the worst way to lose money. Being able to make a phone call
and knowing it would be taken care of quickly and efficiently was a
great relief to me. I knew that with every passing day, thousands of
dollars were being lost and that's something I couldn't afford to let
happen. The whole situation made me think about the importance of
knowing qualified vendors who can get you the products you need, when
you need them.
I soon began looking into other areas where we were dependent upon
other companies for goods and services to see if we were utilizing
vendors who could facilitate the changes our growing business was
experiencing. After a long, hard look, we decided to switch shipping
companies and to switch to a new overnight call center operator. It's
not that our needs weren't being met at the time, but that if things
continued to grow, we would likely outpace our current vendor's ability
to provide service. Being proactive in your business relationships is
just as important as being proactive about your business. After all,
most companies depend on other companies to make their operations run
smoothly. I encourage all business owners to seek out the service
providers and vendors that can handle your needs both now and in the
future. When your business grows, you'll be happy you did.
