As a business owner or manager, you strive to provide the best possible quality, value and service to your customers. An answering service isn’t just a cursory courtesy to make sure customer calls are answered: It’s a vital part of how well you deliver service. When examining your options for professional answering services, you need to evaluate several important factors first.
- Affordability
Your first instinct could be hiring an in-house receptionist. Yet if you manage a new startup, operate as a sole proprietorship or simply want to keep your enterprise lean and mean, this may not be feasible. A receptionist can cost about $33,000 per year, and that’s not counting benefits. A virtual receptionist typically costs a fraction of that amount while providing the same professional level of service as a live receptionist.
- Availability
Virtual receptionists can handle customer calls 24/7, so you can offer customers much more than a voice mail inbox after hours. You can add options such as call answering, call patching and simple order processing so your business is always accessible to your customers. Many providers also let you manage your services remotely and offer mobile-only office options. With their front-end answering services, you can easily work from anywhere and never need to give out your cell number.
- Productivity
How often have you tried to deal with incoming customer calls while juggling work? When you’re meeting with clients, working with employees or supervising operations, a virtual phone answering service is an incredibly valuable tool. It handles incoming calls according to your specifications, leaving you free to choose which calls you accept and when. Meanwhile, you can focus on essential business-building tasks.
- Service Quality
Today’s virtual reception services are amazingly sophisticated. Your chosen provider offers a pool of friendly, professional and highly-skilled talent available around the clock. From answering quick questions about your products and services to scheduling appointments and collecting leads, off-site receptionists provide the personal touch with each customer interaction. No automated VRUs or chatbots here: Virtual receptionists give your customers the time and attention they deserve.
Virtual reception services are a win-win for both you and your customers. Clients can reach at any time and enjoy high-quality service with a personal touch. You benefit from a custom-tailored service plan that helps improve your productivity and enhance customer relationships. With these potential advantages, it’s worth considering a live phone answering service for your small business.