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Reliable call coverage for the smallest of businesses

If you own or manage a small or midsize business, you probably don’t have the customer support resources available to large enterprises, including telephone support. With CMS call center solutions for small businesses, you can be sure you’re not missing important communication from clients, vendors, and other vital partners.

We provide reliable call center services normally associated with bigger companies, which helps you level the playing field. You can focus on running your business and stay as lean as you need to on staff with CMS here to offer:

  • 24/7 and after-hours call center support
  • Customer service outsourcing
  • Virtual receptionist services
  • Call dispatching and emergency coverage
  • IVR and automated call handling
  • Custom call center solutions

Choose as much or as little help as you need. When you’re ready to scale your business, CMS will tailor service to let you grow and profit in new ways.

Picture of a woman using her phone to leave a positive review
Picture of CMS customer service agent wearing a headset and taking calls in our call center

Lack of phone support is more than just a nuisance — it costs you money!

If you’ve ever tried and failed to reach a business over an important concern, you already know the pain of customers who might not be able to reach your company or reach the right department. Lack of call coverage can result in:

  • Lost sales and income
  • Missed business opportunities
  • Escalating frustration
  • Poor customer reviews
  • Staffing distractions

The good news is that 94 percent of customers1 will recommend a company they believe offers very good customer service.

Where does “very good” customer service start? For most consumers, it’s with a phone call, particularly for more serious concerns. With CMS making sure you don’t miss a single call and that all your calls are handled to your standards, you won’t have to worry about negative customer service complaints again.

CMS Call Center Features

Call Center Solutions Tailored to Your Needs

If it involves your phone calls, we can help! CMS provides small business call center services tailored to your needs, from customer service outsourcing to fully customized call center implementations. So whether you have a simple script to gather information from each caller or a comprehensive help desk requirements, we can deliver a professional, accurate, and efficient solution that helps you get more done for a fraction of the cost.

Small Business Call Answering & 24/7 Virtual Receptionists

Without incurring the expenditures of hiring in-house staff, CMS virtual receptionists give your office the professional, authoritative voice it needs.

At CMS, you only pay for our virtual receptionist services for those times when our virtual assistants work while representing your company.

Our live call center representatives take incoming calls and respond to inquiries as if they were present in your office, acting as an extension of your business. With several virtual receptionists available, you’ll always have someone attending to calls for your business. This frees up your office employees to work on critical tasks crucial to the success of your company and its bottom line.

Virtual receptionist on the phone
Agents in a call center with icons that represent 24 hour service, afterhours service, and weekend availability

Overflow and After Hours Call Center Support

Regardless of what kind of business you have or what industry you’re in, being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year gives you an edge when wooing new clients, cementing your customer service reputation, and maximizing profits.

With overflow call handling and after-hours call center services from CMS, you get all these benefits at a nominal cost, without the hassle and expense of hiring and training full-time staff. We make our 24-hour call handling budget-friendly for businesses of all sizes; you only pay for calls taken on your account, making this one of our most economical options.

We can handle customer service issues, sales inquiries, and other client needs, so your business benefits from our attentiveness and responsiveness. For small healthcare practices, such as therapy offices and medical aesthetics spas, this service can be invaluable to ensure patients can always reach a professional in an emergency.

Call Dispatching and Emergency Relay

Many businesses, particularly those in IT, construction, the trades, and transportation, operate routinely outside normal business hours. If this sounds like your business, how much revenue might you miss out on by not being accessible 24/7? If you’ve avoided in-house dispatchers because of the expense, CMS has a cost-effective solution for you.

We provide 24/7/365 dispatching services, whether you need a regular response every night or intermittent coverage so you don’t miss a customer. You’ll never lose business opportunities to a competitor again, knowing your phone is always answered by professional, reliable CMS staff and information is relayed promptly to your technicians or contractors. Emergencies rarely happen during convenient hours, but your customers won’t suffer with a midnight burst pipe or downed server as long as you have CMS by your side.

Call center dispatcher looking at a map
Image of a male customer service representative smiling while taking a support call

Small Business Customer Service Outsourcing

By now you know that we hang our hat on providing exceptional customer service for your business because your revenue and reputation depend on it. We’ve done this for thousands of businesses since opening our doors in 1967.

It’s common knowledge today that it costs many times more to find new customers than to retain existing ones. We help keep customers loyal to your brand in a fiercely competitive market, which boosts your bottom line at the end of the day.

With our small business call center outsourcing for customer service, you’ll know every call is answered promptly and professionally. Our CMS agents can provide product support, answer questions regarding your services, and handle billing inquiries, to name just a few of our most common requests. You’ll never have to deal with the headache of an irate customer again, as we can handle delicate customer situations and ensure after-hours and high call volume periods are always covered.

IVR and Automated Call Handling

A phone system that answers and directs calls is known as an auto attendant. On the other hand, an interactive voice response (IVR) enables callers to communicate with an automated phone system through speech or by utilizing a touch-tone keypad.

What are the benefits of an auto attendant? No live operator is needed, saving you money on personnel, but your calls are still answered and transferred to the appropriate extension or phone number. One of the best uses for an auto attendant is for calls inquiring about general information, like your location or business hours.

An automated phone system enables callers to find their desired service, team, or location using a menu system, also known as a phone tree. This prevents dropped calls, which can frustrate customers. No one is kept waiting, unlike with a traditional receptionist, and every incoming call is answered.

A more sophisticated form of automation, a computerized IVR system for a small business can connect with databases, record information, intelligently route calls, automate procedures, and supplement the use of human call center agents. They are a good alternative for small businesses when cost reduction is a major factor, especially when scaling up or implementing efficiency improvements. We often use IVR with auto attendant and live call center agents for a unique approach tailored to your business. You get the benefits of efficiency and superior customer service while controlling costs. 

Image of a finger pressing the number 0 on a dial pad surrounded by icons that represent a phone tree and touchpad options
Image of a person on their smartphone surrounded by icons for calendar, phone calls, and booking revenue

Appointment Scheduling

No matter what kind of business you run, an organized schedule is a key to smooth sailing internally and a professional outer appearance. However, maintaining a scheduling system can tie up your time or your staff’s time when you could better focus your energy elsewhere.

At CMS, we guarantee your appointment-related phone calls are always handled properly, giving you the sleek operation you desire and the freedom to spend time managing and growing your business. It’s been our experience that this helps virtually every type of business build devoted clientele with confidence in your caring.

Our call center representatives can set appointments for you round the clock, and your callers will reach live CMS scheduling agents at any time, day or night. Whether a patient has a concern after office hours or a client is trying to reach you from another continent in a different time zone, they’ll reach a live person who can set them at ease.

Help Desk and Technical Support

Providing help desk and technical support, especially in the IT industry, is crucial to giving your company an authoritative, consumer-friendly face. Our virtual support staff for small business help desk services lets you cover this need without incurring the expenditure of hiring an in-house team.

Even better, you only pay for CMS support services when our staff work representing your company. This lets you handle routine calls and high-demand periods, such as back to school and over the holidays, with ease and flexibility.

Built to the needs of your end-users and existing company workflow, our tier 1 help desk service can be utilized to walk callers through initial troubleshooting, create work tickets, receive and process system notifications, and, when necessary, coordinate with the appropriate personnel within your organization.

Image of a technical support staff huddled around a computer troubleshooting a problem
Smiling male call center agents with icons that represent a sales funnel, revenue, and CRM.

Lead Intake and Qualification

Not every lead is created equal, but you don’t want to miss those that could be a boon to your business. At CMS, we provide lead intake and qualification services so you don’t miss new accounts and can help your business place potential customers in the right place within your sales funnel.

No matter where your leads are coming from, we can offer a live person for them to talk to, as well as answer questions and screen them for next steps. You’ll know who is interested in your company, who is ready to buy, and who needs special attention from someone on your staff.

24/7/365

Availability

100%

Customizable

3,000+

Clients

99.99%

Uptime Guarantee

Why Outsource to a Small Business Call Center?

While it’s true that people depend on digital technology a lot when it comes to communication, nothing beats live answering services by CMS if you want to keep your customers, convert leads, grow your client database, and drive business profitability. We can help you:

Save Money

CMS helps you lower your operating costs. You don’t have to buy equipment or hire staff. Only pay for the time our agents spend handling your calls.

Remain Available

Be there for your prospects, customers, and employees with around-the-clock support. Our 24/7 availability keeps your business moving and ensures you never miss an important call.

Improve Service

Improve customer satisfaction by extending your customer service capabilities and delivering friendly human support on every call.

Grow Your Business

Grow and scale your business by capturing every opportunity, reducing distractions, and expanding your capacity.

Customers Expect to Reach You By Phone — CMS Ensures You Are Always Available

Calls are preferred for quick service

There’s nothing like a quick phone call to get a customer service concern resolved or addressed right away, so we totally understand why customers want to speak to a real person.

In fact, 50% of consumers (regardless of age) contact customer service using their telephone.4 They don’t want to waste time on an endless cycle of back and forth through email or messaging.

So, when you make sure there’s somebody professional at the end of the line taking care of your customers, you’re also showing them how much you care and value their time.

Graphic with text that reads "76% of customers prefer to contact customer service agents by phone."
Graphic with text that reads "85% of callers who don't get through to you on the first attempt won't call back and will call your competitors."

Don’t help your competition

Did you know that 61% of customers who are in the middle of the buying cycle call the business they’re interested in?5 Can you afford to lose out on valuable leads or prospective customers if you do? And can you bear the thought of them going to your competition?

At CMS, we know the rewards of consistently answering calls, as well as the consequences of ignoring or not being able to attend to other calls. One phone call can make a world of difference to your business, so we won’t be taking any chances. Neither should you.

Protect your reputation

Ever get that awful feeling when no one seems to be available to answer your calls, especially when there’s no other way to resolve your concern?

When people are made to feel ignored, you lose their loyalty. They start to question the credibility and reputation of your brand, so it’s no big mystery why 68% of customers leave a company because they think it doesn’t care.6

With CMS, you can build up your reputation and keep your customers loyal to your brand no matter what.

Graphic with text that reads "67% of people end a call in frustration when they are unable to reach customer support staff."
Graphic with text that reads "80% of callers transferred to voicemail don't leave messages."

Say goodbye to voicemail

Answering machines may have been a novelty the first time they were introduced. Today, however, voicemails are not only considered productivity killers but are also untrustworthy — that is, people assume nobody ever listens to them and that they’ll never get their problem resolved.

Besides, other than baby boomers and Gen Xers, millennials and members of Generation Z probably make up a portion of your market, so it’s useful to know these younger generations can be averse to voicemails.7

So, better not leave phone calls to chance.

Partner up with CMS and see your loyal customer base grow like never before!

Call Center Solutions for Every Industry

In the five decades during which CMS has been a virtual call center for small businesses, we’ve worked with just about every niche on the market. Our experience will give your business a leg up on the competition and let us better customize services for your specific needs. Browse all of our industry solutions here.

Doctor sitting at his computer and interacting with his smartphone

Call Center Services for Healtchare

Are you a doctor or medical practice office manager tired of call answering services that can’t seem to handle the bare minimum?

At CMS, we manage calls the way you want them to be handled every single time by scripting your account and executing your specific instructions.

Every choice our team will make will be based on your service requirements, not on guesswork or assumptions. That means there won’t be any more missed messages, data entry mistakes, or being awakened in the middle of the night for a call you don’t handle after hours.

We take calls after hours and relay urgent calls to on-call providers while also respecting healthcare provider privacy and attending to the needs of your patients.

Discover the HIPAA-compliant 24/7 medical call center provider that top healthcare companies rely on here at CMS.

Call Center Services for Property Management

Like many field service trades, property managers often deal with broken pipes and other repairs at the worst possible times. With help from CMS, you can be certain not to miss calls from tenants, property owners, or service people when you’re off work or busy with another issue.

Property management call center services from CMS give property managers the technology and staffing they need to reduce daily distractions and efficiently handle their calls, improving the resident experience without increasing costs.

Regardless of size, being inundated with phone calls can be a major distraction. From maintenance requests to new tenant inquiries, there are always callers requesting your attention. Our call center solutions for property managers are designed to relieve you of this constant burden without impacting your customer service, delivering personalized call center experiences that keep residents smiling. By only paying for the time spent handling your calls, our services are a cost-effective way to take phone calls for your communities.

Male and female network engineers talking in front of a server rack

Call Center Solutions for IT

When technology misbehaves it’s bad for business. From minor issues to all-out IT disasters, the most common complaint is frustration. Who to call and how hard it is to reach a live person. As users, most of us admit to having a love-hate relationship with technology. We view our technology dependency as both a blessing and a curse. Even when business is booming for manufacturers, developers and IT consultants, the innovation and invention driving success is often at odds with customer service that keeps customers happy and loyal.

CMS handles calls like your third-party IT department. We enable you to keep working and creating while we care for your customers. Everything from Tier 1 troubleshooting to on-call support; creating work tickets, manning your 24-Hour Help Desk, and more.

CMS ensures that superior customer service is delivered in less time and at a lower cost, without hiring additional staff.

Commercial HVAC technician examining equipment on the roof of a building

Call Center Solutions for Home & Field Service Companies

Miss a call – lose a customer. No one understands the importance of calls being answered live than businesses that provide specialized field services. Providers that travel to a customer’s location can’t take calls on the job. But when a consumer needs a locksmith, carpet cleaner, pest control, or tree service specialist, if they don’t reach a friendly and knowledgeable voice, they cross your company off the list.

Large franchise operators or single owner-operators count on CMS to professionally take the calls, book the appointments, and even reach them in the field. Saving time, saving money, and preventing lost business while building customer relationships. CMS offers your business a level of customer service that builds loyalty and strengthens your brand.

Businesses that provide field services can benefit from a CMS field service call center support infrastructure. Customers get the help they need whenever they call and whatever the circumstances. Initial inquiries to setting their appointment; scheduling to dispatch; or even reaching you when it’s urgent. You’ll never miss a call and save money as you deliver customer service that wins and retains customers.

We empower you to keep your promises when advertising 24-hour or emergency service. We’ve got your back with live answering services staffed with professionally trained, courteous, and capable operators. CMS helps you inspire real customer confidence and satisfaction. There is no better way to grow your business and sustain your success.

Integrate Your Existing Systems

We can integrate our answering service with the tools you use daily, making your life easier by streamlining workflows and keeping data synced across applications.

Image of some of the top software applications that CMS integrates with, including Slack, Paycor, ADP, Salesforce, Zendesk, Autotask, Halo PSA, Kronos, Zoho, and Workday
Image of some of the top software applications that CMS integrates with, including Slack, Paycor, ADP, Salesforce, Zendesk, Autotask, Halo PSA, Kronos, Zoho, and Workday

Run Your Business, Not a Call Center

Answering every call is important, but small business owners seldom have the time. Hiring staff to answer the phone is an option, but it’s expensive. Add the time it takes to train and manage new employees, and hiring becomes unrealistic.

With our call center services for small businesses, you can avoid these headaches without sacrificing customer service quality. Instead of attempting to handle all your calls alone, our trained representatives take them for you, answering in the name of your business and assisting callers per your instructions.

Big Business Quality, Small Business Price

If you call a company at 2 a.m. and reach a live person ready to assist you, are you speaking with a big organization or small business? Most would answer a big organization because they have the money to run a 24-7 operation.

By using CMS as your small business call center, you can provide 24-7 live operator assistance at a fraction of the cost. Unlike hiring employees, you only pay our agents while actively working on your behalf. And there’s no equipment to buy or infrastructure to maintain.

We take care of all the details, and you only pay for what you need.

Call Center Services Built for Your Business

When you think of how your ideal call center would operate and how it would portray your business, you probably have some detailed thoughts in mind. When you partner with CMS as your small business call center, we aim to translate that vision and make it a reality. None of our services are one-size-fits-all, and everything we do on your behalf is 100% customizable. Everything is up to you, from how we greet your callers to the tasks we perform.

Small business call center outsourcing services from CMS include:

  • 24/7 small business customer service
  • Live operator appointment scheduling
  • Website and work ticket integration
  • Small business order taking/e-commerce support
  • Event and seminar registration
  • Virtual receptionist and call routing
  • Service dispatching and emergency relay

And the list goes on. We provide a wide variety of call center services to small businesses across the country and work closely with our clients to implement solutions that integrate with their internal operations and best serve their customers.

Make Customer Care a Priority

Small business call center solutions from CMS allow small businesses to dedicate themselves to high-quality customer service without negatively impacting their bottom line. We provide the professional staff, technology, reporting, and expertise necessary for managing a thriving call center. By working with CMS, your small business can finally make customer care a priority.

Small Business Call Center FAQ

How much do small business call center services cost?

You’ll find that all of our call center solutions for small businesses are vastly more economical than hiring and training your own employees to perform these tasks, especially if you only receive calls sporadically. You can allocate your time and money elsewhere while simplifying your operation and improving customer service. 

We have per-minute pricing plans starting as low as $50 a month. With many services, you only pay for the time we spend handling your call, not all the time we are available. We understand budget is usually a primary concern for small businesses, and we can work with you to find service plans that meet your needs within your financial constraints.

What is the difference between a small business answering service and a small business call center?

While these two terms are often used interchangeably, they’re not quite the same thing. A small business answering service provides basic call answering and message taking, like a receptionist. On the other hand, our small business call center solutions are more involved and personalized.

For example, we can follow a detailed script to guide a customer through a complex technical issue, process an order, or deal with customer service issues. Regardless of what level of call-taking service or support your business needs, CMS can assist you with a tailored plan.

How does a virtual small business call center work?

It starts by learning more about you, the customer, to design your account and define the role we are to play. We want to know about your business, the types of calls you receive, the workflows and processes you utilize, and the information we should gather on each call.  

Every little detail is personalized, including the way we greet callers, document calls, and solve problems for your customers. Our setup also includes integration with your existing systems as needed, which makes your life easier by enabling us to interact with the applications you’re already using to run your business. Once everything is ready, you simply forward your calls to CMS, and we begin answering on your behalf.

All our call center agents are based in the USA and operate out of our two physical locations in Las Vegas and Columbus or virtually from other areas.

How do I set up a call center for my small business?

While you could set up your own call center, we wouldn’t recommend it, especially as a small business. It’s much more cost-effective to partner with CMS to outsource customer service or arrange for call-taking services.

In addition to saving on staffing, you won’t have to invest in or maintain any of the software or equipment needed for a call center, as we provide that for you. We also bring more than 50 years of expertise in the business to our solutions for your company. Collaborating with CMS is just like having your own call center, with all of the benefits and none of the hassles or capital expenses.

Sources

  1. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-service-stats
  2. https://d1eipm3vz40hy0.cloudfront.net/pdf/cxtrends/cx-trends-2020-full-report.pdf
  3. https://hbr.org/2017/07/your-customers-still-want-to-talk-to-a-human-being
  4. https://ecommco.com/blog/68-percent-believe-you-dont-care.html
  5. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/fashion/millennials-shy-away-from-voice-mail.html