We know that running a small business is not an easy job. Between managing day-to-day operations, providing excellent customer service, and handling all of your incoming calls, it’s not surprising small business owners can get overwhelmed and burnt out. This is where outsourcing can help. By using an answering service or a call center, you can ease the burden on your team and ensure your customers always get the attention they deserve, and never miss a call again. But how do you choose between the two? Let’s have a look at the differences between an answering service and a call center to help you make the best decision for your business.
What’s the difference between an answering service and a call center?
Both answering services and call centers are designed to handle customer calls, but they do so in different ways. Here’s an overview at what each service offers:
What is an answering service?
An answering service offers a personalized phone answering solution, often operated by a team of virtual receptionists who manage calls for your business. The main goal of an answering service is to provide a friendly, personalized and efficient way to handle your incoming calls. While they focus on tasks like answering general inquiries, taking messages, and scheduling appointments, answering services often offer a more personal touch compared to larger-scale call centers and stop your customers from going to voicemail.
What is a call center?
A call center is typically aimed at handling a higher volume of calls and due to their size usually offers a wider range of services, including customer support, sales, and technical assistance. Call centers are ideal for businesses who have an extremely high volume of calls that need to be dealt with at a rapid pace. While they provide extensive support, they can sometimes feel less personal due to their size and business structure.
What are the pros and cons of an answering service?
Pros of using an answering service:
– Personalized service: Having a smaller and more dedicated team taking your calls, you can offer a much more personalized experience for your customers. Calls are handled by virtual receptionists who get to know you, your business and your specific needs, acting as a truly seamless extension of your team.
– Affordable: Answering services can be more budget-friendly compared to call centers, making them an ideal option for small businesses looking to cut costs and save some money.
– Flexibility: Whether you need support during business hours, after hours, on weekends or 24/7, answering services can offer flexible coverage tailored to your schedule.
– Professionalism: An answering service provides a professional front for your business, ensuring that every call is handled efficiently yet effectively, which helps build trust and credibility with your customers.
– Time-saving: Outsourcing your calls allows your team to focus on what they do best without the distraction of ringing phones. It also means your customers are saving time by not being put into queues or being sat on hold.
Cons of using an answering service:
– Limited support for complex issues: While answering services excel at taking messages and scheduling appointments, depending on the company, they may not have the capacity to provide more specialized support or handle complex inquiries.
– Less tech integration: Some answering services may not integrate seamlessly with your in-house systems, which could make it harder to track calls or customer interactions.
It’s good to point out that although these can be weaknesses of some answering services, there are still services out there that are tailored to these requests and offer integration capabilities and the ability to handle more complex issues.
What are the pros and cons of a call center?
Pros of using a call center:
– Comprehensive support: Call centers provide a wide range of services, including customer support, technical assistance, and sales support, making them ideal for businesses with multiple calls with complex needs.
– High volume capacity: Call centers are equipped to handle a large volume of calls, making them a great choice for businesses that experience high call traffic and need them answered quickly and efficiently.
– 24/7 availability: Many call centers operate around the clock, ensuring your business can offer support at any time, day or night.
Cons of using a call center:
– Higher cost: Call centers typically come with a higher price tag due a few factors including the diverse range or services and the high number of employees needed to staff the center.
– Impersonal interactions: Because call centers often serve multiple clients, the customer experience can feel less personal and potentially rushed as the agent knows they have a high volume of calls to get through. Customers may not feel the same level of connection with your business compared to a smaller, dedicated answering service.
– Longer response times: Due to their larger scale, call centers may sometimes have longer wait times or slower response rates, especially when handling high volumes of calls.
What to consider when hiring an answering service vs call center
When deciding between an answering service and a call center, you need to think about the following things:
Considerations for an answering service:
– Your business size: Answering services are a great fit for small to medium-sized businesses that need reliable call handling without the complexity or cost of a call center. Some answering services do offer tailored solutions to larger businesses, so make sure you do your research!
– Personalized customer experience: If providing a personal touch to your customers is important, an answering service’s dedicated agents can offer a more tailored experience.
– Call volume: If your business doesn’t have an overwhelming number of calls or complex service needs, an answering service can efficiently manage your call load. Have a think about whether you need the service all the time, or just as an overflow for when you’re busy, have sickness or holidays within the team, or are experiencing rare high call volumes.
– Flexibility: If you need help after hours or on weekends, answering services offer the flexibility to meet your schedule with many having a 24/7 option.
Considerations for a call center:
– Business scale: Call centers are ideal for larger businesses or those that deal with a high volume of calls and require specialized support across various departments as they have the infrastructure already in place
– Complexity of calls: If your business requires technical support or receives a high volume of orders, a call center is better equipped to provide these services.
– Budget: Be prepared for higher costs when opting for a call center, especially if your business needs around-the-clock support.
Why VoiceNation?
Both answering services and call centers offer call answering solutions, but they serve different business needs. If you’re looking for an affordable, personal solution to handle your incoming calls and ensure a great customer experience, an answering service would be a great fit for you. It allows you to maintain a professional front without the high costs or impersonal nature of a larger call center.
For businesses seeking high-volume support, a call center may be the way to go. However, for many small businesses, an answering service offers the perfect balance of personalization, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.
VoiceNation offers solutions for all businesses, tailored to their exact needs. With decades of experience taking calls for small businesses like yours, give VoiceNation a call today on 866-766-5050 to find out more about how we can support your business.