dir="ltr">According to Google, there are more than 30.2 million small-business owners in the United States, and many of them struggle to afford employing customer service agents for their businesses. That’s why Google’s innovation incubator has introduced CallJoy, a system designed to offer small businesses a low-cost customer service agent that helps block spam calls, provide callers with basic information about the business, and help customers with basic tasks such as appointment booking or order placing via text-backs.
CallJoy is similar to other virtual customer service systems in that it can also greet the caller and offer basic information up front, including business hours and location information as well as directions on how to contact the company via email or other Internet channels. The difference? A CallJoy agent can text callers back with important information. The agent has to ask the customer to opt in with a phrase such as “Can I send you our online ordering link?” But once the customer says “yes,” the agent can send the text immediately. Businesses can customize this feature based on the context that makes sense for them.
Plus the service is more cost-efficient than many of its competitors. “Typically, customer service phone agents are out of reach for #smallbusiness owners, but this is priced at a monthly fee of $39 to make #technology affordable,” tweeted Marsha Collier, author, radio personality, podcast host, and educator specializing in technology, Internet marketing, and e-commerce.
CallJoy also gives business owners, who typically spend too much time answering the phone, an opportunity to direct their energy elsewhere, especially when it comes to fielding spam and robo-calls that waste their time. CallJoy beta users have already seen some success with the new tool.
“Before joining CallJoy’s beta program, the restaurant staff didn’t have the bandwidth to answer incoming calls while juggling food preparation and in-restaurant diner needs,” Bob Summers, general manager of CallJoy, wrote in a blog post. “Since adding CallJoy’s textback feature, the restaurant has decreased hold times and increased productivity by automatically texting callers a URL to place their orders online.”