Whether live or automated, your phone answering service is the only representation of you that potential customers get when you’re unavailable. Consider that this experience could be a consumer’s first and last impression. While automated services may be cheaper, you may find that a live virtual receptionist is better for the progression of your small business. An automated system might be functional, but a live answering service may present optimal developmental opportunities for your organization. Most people who have dealt with customer service will testify to the frustration of reaching out to a company for support and having limited options. A good business model would include the maximum options that will help to retain or attract a consumer base.
Virtual Reception
Engaging the assistance of a virtual receptionist will help to make your small business more available and convenient by expanding consumer access to a live representative. You can choose to employ a virtual receptionist during the business day to handle administrative tasks while you work or you can use them for extended availability to customers after business hours. With this service, you may actually save money when you compare the cost to that of hiring a salaried employee as in-office staff. With virtual reception services, you can receive the same level of benefits for a competitive price without having to invest heavily in new employee training. A reputable phone answering service will hire experienced professionals who are capable of handling a high volume of telephone calls in a professional manner. Using a virtual receptionist frees you up to handle non-administrative tasks that will help to sustain and enhance your organization’s growth.
Target Marketing
Many callers hear an automated message and don’t even bother to leave a message. That translates to countless missed sales or service opportunities for any small business. With a live answering service, you can collect data on the otherwise nameless and faceless numbers that dial your business. If you have a better idea of the character of your prospects, you can use your live answering service to expand your business. Instead of it just being a way around sending consumers to voicemail, think of it as a database of consumer information. This information can be analyzed for use in new tailored marketing strategies or for tactical modifications to your current advertising campaign.
In addition to helping you classify the type of consumers that are contacting your business, a phone answering service can help an organization pinpoint time periods of highest volume. Based on this information, you may even choose to modify business hours to suit the needs of your client base and increase overall profitability.
Live Answering Service Levels
Even a basic level of live answering service is a friendlier alternative to a voicemail message. If you’re not ready to spring fully for a multi-tiered service, just having a live person available for callers to reach is a move in the right direction toward growing your small business. If you have standard dialog for your phone answering service, consider having it periodically reviewed to include modifications to any services that you might have. This is particularly important for fledgling organizations that will go through various changes as the company grows. Fully established companies may add or remove services from time to time and may also benefit from periodic revisions.
If you don’t currently have reception services, a live answering service offers you the opportunity to have trained professionals answer your phone whenever you are unavailable. This is a service that you can elect any time you are unavailable, including when you are on vacation. This will help your business continue uninterrupted even when you are taking a break. If your small business is appointment-based, you can engage your service to assist with making or modifying appointments. If this is a service that you choose to have available outside of business hours, your consumer base will appreciate the flexibility of setting or changing appointments at their convenience. Discuss the various options available with your prospective phone service provider to determine the best option at the most favorable price point.
Business Expansion Should Include a Live Answering Service
One of the keys to growing and expanding a successful small business is an awareness of details and opportunities that may lie in unexpected places. Using your phone answering service to market and advertise allows you to reach a new client base in an unobtrusive way. It allows you to collect customer data without consumers feeling exploited or harassed. Direct solicitation can feel aggressive and leave consumers feeling intimidated. You can avoid that effect on your customers by simply providing more convenient options when clients call. Small business growth can be exponentially improved by a phone answering service, and analysis of the subsequent data can help you to service your customer base more effectively and efficiently. A good business plan should maximize all resources. With a virtual receptionist at your fingertips, you can’t afford not to explore the benefits.
Feel free to browse our different plans where the pricing is simple and straightforward, as well as, view the different features our service provides.