Customer Challenge
Blue Eyed Sun and Ivy Ellen are two small but growing card and stationary businesses. Blue Eyed Sun supplies a variety of greeting cards to high-end retailers, including Harrods and House of Fraser; Ivy Ellen is focused on designing and supplying luxury wedding stationary and has won a number of awards in the wedding industry. The two small businesses are both run by the same small team based in Hove.
As orders had increased, the team needed a way to better manage incoming calls for both companies while maintaining the strong brand identity of each company at all stages of the ordering and enquiry process.
They also wanted find a way to speak to their production manager on the noisy factory floor more easily and at all times, something they were finding difficult with a single factory floor line.
Orbtalk Solution
We provided the companies with a hosted PBX system for four users, porting their existing company numbers and routing them to a single sales queue. The porting of the numbers was a key part of the process and our dedicated porting team managed this closely to minimise downtime.
We set up each number with its own automated greeting so that there is no confusion for customers calling in. The name of the company that a caller has dialled is displayed on the sales team's screens and on their cordless handsets.
On the factory floor we configured multiple cordless handsets for a single user so that the production manager always had one within reach. We also adjusted the ringer to make the phone audible even when all the printing and production machines are in full flow.
On this project, because the businesses had no in-house technical support, we installed and configured the router, switches and all the handsets ourselves on site to ensure a speedy set-up. As part of this, we configured QOS (quality of service) on the site's router to prioritise voice traffic, as the broadband line is used for both data and voice.
Results
The Orbtalk service has made it far easier for the team to manage their inbound calls. Members of the sales team can share the calls between them far more easily and customers are given a seamless customer experience. It has also given the company directors clear statistics on call volumes for each company and how the calls are being answered, making it easier to plan for growth.
Some employees are now also able to work from home on certain days of the week, taking their handsets with them.
With zero set-up costs, the switch from ISDN to VOIP required a relatively low up-front investment from the client, and the huge cost savings on calls has given the businesses funds to re-invest into improving other areas of their operations. They are also able to keep track of their live call costs, helping them with financial planning.
According to Lewis Early, Managing Director of Ivy Ellen:
'Every single call we get is critical to us as a small business. And because we deal with major retailers, we need to be 100% professional to be taken seriously. Orbtalk has helped us do this in way that is very affordable. I would've expected higher initial costs when switching systems, but with the free installation, we ended up making savings from the word go. Also, we didn't realise when we first made the switch just how easy adding extra users would be. Since switching to Orbtalk last year we've employed five new people, and setting up their lines has taken a matter of minutes.'