Ruby

AUGUST 8, 2025

Table of Contents What is a small business answering service? A small business answering service is a professional solution designed to handle customer calls on behalf of your business. A great answering service can seriously save the day. Sounds nice, right?

Small Business

Success

MAY 1, 2025

According to a recent Boston Consulting Group Center for Customer Insight Survey, over 75% of respondents have used ChatGPT or another AI service. As AI becomes more readily available and accessible to the broader public, there’s a subset of that group that cant ignore AI either: small business owners.

Small Business

Ruby

AUGUST 5, 2025

Table of Contents Factors to consider when choosing a live chat software for your website Picking the best live chat solution starts with understanding what makes your business tick. At Ruby, we know every small business is different, and so are your needs. So, keep an eye out for more to come!

Software

Ruby

AUGUST 5, 2025

In the small business world, your time is everything. Whether you’re a solo attorney juggling consultations or a roofing contractor trying to respond to leads while working at a job site with spotty reception, you can’t afford to lose customer communication. A current customer has a billing question.

Small Business

SnackNation

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

There’s a strong business case behind developing a vibrant, healthy, and productive culture, as it affects everything from the overall health and quality of life of your employees, to retention and hiring, to your company’s product, brand, and customer service – and therefore, your profits.

Communication

Success

JULY 16, 2025

Yet now more than ever, it’s important to support small businesses—and as we’ll share in the small business quotes below, it can be incredibly powerful. In the last six years, the number of small businesses in the United States has grown by 4 million, up to a total of nearly 35 million in 2025.

Small Business

Success

OCTOBER 3, 2021

One big point of difference small businesses have is that they’re much better positioned to deliver genuinely excellent customer service. You, the small biz entrepreneur, are face-to-face with your clients. Your small business is nimble, able to deliver custom solutions better than lumbering corporations.

Small Business

Ruby

APRIL 30, 2018

Start creating customers for life Whether you sell customizable sporting goods, run a dental practice, or train dogs, you’re in the customer service world. I’ve spent my career in customer service and want to share four game-changing tips that will help you master the art of client interaction. Of course you have!

Customer Service

Ruby

MARCH 28, 2024

With that in mind, let’s review some time-saving habits your small business can adopt today to kick your productivity into high gear! Via GIPHY Modern small businesses have two major advantages over companies of the past—we can outsource and automate a large portion of our tasks. Plan your day. Automate and outsource.

Small Business

Insperity

APRIL 29, 2021

And, because of their lower numbers of employees, small and medium-size businesses tend to struggle in the negotiation of competitive rates. As a result, the National Conference on State Legislatures reports that small businesses pay an average of 8% to 18% more than larger organizations for the same health-insurance policy.

Insurance

Insperity

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

For example, a hospital may decide that caring customer service is a core value. A display of good customer service for an orderly may translate into walking a patient to the location of their next procedure, versus just giving them directions. So, what does that look like for different hospital employees? Manage growth.

Customer Service

Insperity

AUGUST 27, 2019

All things being equal (tasks, salary, working conditions), companies with consistent, reliable customer service are ultimately rooted in a culture where management values servant leadership. Stephen Covey, in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” said, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”.

Leadership

Ruby

MARCH 5, 2024

Yet despite this, a contradictory phenomenon seems to be happening at the same time: many people feel that customer service is, in general, getting worse. In a world where one bad experience can cause a customer to call it quits, you’d think the opposite would be true and that customer service would be getting better.

Customer Service

Ruby

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

What makes a company’s customer service special? Maybe more importantly, what causes customer service to miss the mark? And where does your business fit into all this? That knowledge formed the basis of one of our most popular articles, Ruby’s customer service audit checklist. Take the quiz.

Customer Service

Ruby

DECEMBER 6, 2019

Why personal connections make all the difference in customer service People are tired of bots and interactive voice response systems (IVR). They want—and increasingly, they expect—to be able to call or chat with a business and speak to a live, friendly human being. This isn’t only about customer experience for big-name brands.

Customer Service

Ruby

JULY 19, 2020

But, even in this era of automation, focusing on the human element of your business can be your most valuable tool in impressing potential and current customers alike. In fact, 66% of customers think that a company’s customer service reputation is a critical factor while making a purchase decision.

Customer Service

Ruby

AUGUST 16, 2021

That three-letter word is one of the most meaningful and rewarding things you can hear from a customer or client. It reflects the amazement someone feels when your customer service exceeds their expectations—when your business truly connects with them. And those “wows” could be the key to your business’s growth.

Customer Service

Ruby

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Small businesses don’t just survive adversity, they often thrive in it. When a global health crisis caused many small businesses to close, newly formed American companies contributed to a historic peak in new job opportunities. It was a bleak time for all businesses, but small ones seemed disproportionately impacted.

Small Business

Ruby

OCTOBER 21, 2022

, you know the thrill that comes with running a small business. So do we—and so do the 32 million other entrepreneurs working tirelessly behind the scenes to help their customers and communities. It’s time for small business to steal the show. But not everyone is ready for their company close-up. Break a leg!

Small Business

Ruby

OCTOBER 5, 2023

If you’re planning to launch a small business or scale an existing one, either way, you need cash. Here’s a rundown of the top lending avenues to check out: Bank Loans/Lines of Credit – Bank loans and lines of credit are a tried-and-true method of getting money for your business. Why do you have to spend money to make it?

Small Business

Insperity

OCTOBER 21, 2014

For example, in a customer service environment, a manager might listen in on a customer call for quality assurance. Click here to learn how our HR outsourcing services assist small businesses like yours retain top talent. Need some support retaining top talent? Insperity can help.

Sales

Ruby

OCTOBER 10, 2017

This article was originally published on July 14, 2017 on Manta – Small business marketing solutions helping millions of businesses get found by more customers. Approach every communication with your customers as an opportunity to spark a connection, gain their trust and earn their loyalty. Original article.

Customer Service

Ruby

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

For small business owners, choosing the right customer engagement solution has never been more important. And with so many new technologies and customer trends to keep track of as a business owner, it can be difficult to know which of your business investments is going to end up paying off in the long run.

Small Business

Ruby

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Customer service skills—every business needs them, but not every customer service professional has them. That’s a shame, because in this day and age, customer service skills are more important than ever. Customer service is the key differentiator for any business , regardless of size or industry.

Customer Service

Ruby

NOVEMBER 9, 2023

It happens during the third of five stages of small business development—the success stage! Growth is the goal for most small businesses. All too often, businesses hire the best people they can afford for some roles, then try to save on areas they deem less important. They hate seeing a business that’s in disarray.

Small Business

Ruby

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Once you’ve been doing something long enough, letting go of certain parts of your small business can feel like letting a small piece of yourself go. Customer communication can be one of the toughest to hand off. After all, it’s a big part of what makes your business, well, your business.

Customer Service

Insperity

AUGUST 1, 2024

These might include: Developing leaders and managers Improving onboarding and acclimation of new hires Transferring institutional knowledge to reduce the impact of attrition/turnover of staff Boosting retention Enhancing customer service With clear insights into the need behind the mentoring effort, you’ll be better able to gauge success.

Mentoring

Ruby

JULY 14, 2023

Somewhere, there’s a giant box stuffed with crusty old business ideas that don’t work anymore. As 21st-century business owners, you’re supposed to “think outside” that box because not every small business fits neatly into a traditional mold. For businesses, it can pay huge dividends, too! Woody and Buzz.

Small Business

Ruby

JULY 19, 2023

For small businesses, these rapid advancements can come at a cost: You may know AI could potentially provide a competitive edge, but how can you apply it—ideally without compromising the customer experience? Empathy-based social skills Great customer service is usually high on empathy.

Small Business

Launch Work Places

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Running a business can feel like trying to juggle a million things at once, which is why leaders and managers need to find the right strategies and support to meet their goals. An essential piece is finding online tools for small business owners that help optimize efficiency , productivity, and communication.

Small Business

Insperity

MAY 13, 2014

Enhancing customer service. Small businesses can benefit greatly from mentoring because it’s relatively cheap compared to formal training and development programs. More effective onboarding/acclimation of new hires. Knowledge transfer when employees retire. Boosting retention. Getting more bang for your buck.

Mentoring

Ruby

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

One of the most important aspects of any small business is receiving incoming calls. But not every business has the luxury of a dedicated team member monitoring the phones during the workday—not to mention all the calls that come in after-hours. Luckily, there’s no shortage of call answering services out there to assist.

Small Business

Ruby

JULY 14, 2022

We’re feeling fortunate to have been in the game for nearly two decades—a milestone few businesses achieve. This isn’t just about how far Ruby has made it; it’s about the thousands of small businesses we’ve supported along the way. After all, our customers’ success is our success , and it’s something we celebrate every day.

Small Business

Insperity

JANUARY 18, 2018

Because the burden of proof for FLSA compliance lies with the employer, not the employee, it’s vital for businesses to maintain accurate records related to hours worked and wages paid. It’s not uncommon for small businesses to have informal work arrangements, incomplete or non-existent job descriptions, or no employee handbook at all.

Legal

Insperity

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

As a small business, you probably won’t need to offer such a large scale plan. A provider that caters to large businesses may only offer big business retirement plans. How is the retirement plan provider’s customer service? You could end up paying for features you don’t need. What’s it going to cost?

Planning

Tanveer Naseer

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

I’m pleased to announce that I have joined in partnership with Sprint to highlight and share some of the valuable content being provided on their new small business information and community site, Business on Main, which can be found on the MSN Network.

Small Business

Ask a Manager

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Our customer service policy is posted on our website, but does not explicitly mention that we do not accept cancellations or offer refunds. Our internal policy is that when a cancellation is requested we tell the customer their order has already shipped and therefore cannot be cancelled.

Customer Service