Benefits of Hiring a Call Answering Service
Table of Contents:
- Signs It’s Time to Hire an Answering Service
- Benefits of Hiring an Answering Service
- Tips For Choosing a Call Answering Service
Growing a small business takes a lot of hard work. Wearing all the hats can be exhausting and often leaves little time to focus on the big picture. Not to mention that it becomes counterproductive to try to do everything yourself. A business answering service for field services or other growing businesses helps lighten the load, so you can focus on the important things.
Hiring an Answering Service: Signs You Need One
When your business is starting to get stretched thin, it may be time to consider hiring an answering service. Here are some signs that your business may need an answering service’s support.
1. You’re Missing Calls and Business Opportunities
One of the most obvious signs that you need to hire an answering service is if you’re regularly missing phone calls. Business calls are critical opportunities to connect with potential customers and clients, so you can’t afford to let them go to voicemail.
2. Your Call Volume is Increasing
If you’re getting more calls than you can handle, it’s definitely time to consider hiring a phone answering service. As your business continues to grow, so does your call volume. And while it may be manageable at first, eventually you’ll reach a point where you just can’t keep up.
3. You Need After-Hours Support
If you want to get ahead of the competition, you need to be available 24/7 to answer all your incoming calls. But if you’re a one-person operation, that can be tough to do. An after-hours answering service can take care of your calls when you can’t, so you never have to worry about missing a call – or a sale.
4. You Want to Save Money
Did you know that hiring a virtual receptionist is way more affordable than hiring a full-time in-house employee? In fact, a virtual answering service is only a fraction of the cost of a traditional in-house receptionist, making it a great solution for businesses on a budget. If you’re looking to cut costs, outsourcing your business phone answering needs is a great way to do it.
5. Your Staff is Stretched Too Thin
If your employees are already stretched thin, adding phone coverage to their list of responsibilities is only going to make things worse. Not only will they be stressed out and overworked, but they’re also likely to make mistakes when answering calls.
Benefits of Hiring an Answering Service
If your business is experiencing any or all of the signs above, it may be time to hire a call-answering service. Making that decision can be a difficult choice, but there are many benefits of hiring an answering service including:
1. Instantaneous Customer Service
In today’s world, customers expect immediate gratification. If they cannot reach a live person when they need assistance, they will likely take their business elsewhere. Business answering services ensure that your customers can always reach someone when they need to, providing them with the excellent customer service they expect and deserve.
A virtual receptionist service also gives your business a large company feel, which instills confidence in potential customers and helps you close more sales.
2. Greater Efficiency and Productivity
When you are trying to do everything yourself, it is easy to get bogged down in the details and lose sight of the big picture. When you have a team of professionals handling your calls, you can focus on other aspects of growing your business without getting pulled into the daily grind.
A business answering service can help screen and transfer calls, so you or your sales team are only interrupted for the most important ones. This can lead to a more efficient and productive workday overall.
3. Improved Customer Retention
Keeping your existing customers is just as important as attracting new ones. A professional business answering service can help you do both by providing friendly and helpful customer service.
By ensuring that all of your phone calls are answered in a courteous and timely manner, you can increase customer satisfaction, strengthen customer loyalty, and retain more of your hard-earned customers. Being there for your customers when they need you is one of the best ways of not only retaining customers but also attracting new ones.
4. A Professional Image
In today’s competitive business world, it is important to project a professional image at all times. A virtual receptionist service can help you do just that by providing a team of highly-trained professionals to answer your incoming calls.
This gives your business an air of sophistication and credibility, which can help you attract new customers and close more sales. This is particularly important for small businesses that are trying to compete with larger, more established companies. There’s no better way to answer calls like a pro than with a phone answering or call center service.
5. Cost-Efficient
In addition to streamlining your business communication, a live business answering service can also save you money. The cost of hiring and training in-house staff can be prohibitive for small businesses.
When you outsource your phone answering needs, you can save on payroll costs and avoid the hassle of having to train new employees.
This is a cost-effective solution that can help you grow your business without breaking the bank. In fact, hiring a live answering service is just a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time in-house receptionist.
6. 24/7/365 Availability
One of the biggest advantages of using a phone answering service is that you can be available for your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Nobody wants to be redirected to voice mail especially when they need urgent assistance.
This is crucial for businesses that operate outside of normal business hours or cater to international customers. When you have someone answering calls around the clock, you can capture more leads and close more sales, even while you are sleeping. There’s no need to worry about missed calls or upset customers when you have a team of professionals manning your business phone.
Tips For Choosing a Call Answering Service
When deciding on the best call answering service, you should not only look at the benefits it will give your company and customers but also at the inclusive transactions and smoothness of the business that you will be doing with them. Here are five tips to consider when choosing a call answering service to help your business, and ensure that you get the best:
1. Simple Upfront Pricing
A good indication that your chosen call answering service is good and legit is when the pricing and charges for their services are upfront and thoroughly discussed with you. There should be no hidden charges, set-up fees, contracts with cancellation fees, or anything involving fees that are more than the payment for their services only.
2. Are There Extra Fees for Holidays or 24×7 Service?
It is important that you are not charged more for after-hours and holiday services. The services should be charged with the basic fees that are presented to you upfront.
3. Privacy and Confidentiality
Privacy and confidentiality are very important, especially in a call center. In any business, the privacy and confidentiality of your customers and clients should be given top priority. This is why the answering agents taking your customer’s calls should be strictly trained to non-disclosure of confidential information.
4. How is the Call Center Staff Trained?
One important thing to look for when selecting a call answering service team is the competency of the staff that will answer the calls for you. How much do they know about your business? What is their training like? The call agents should be equipped with knowledge of your industry, and they should be fluent in speaking about the nature of your business. The call center team should have great telephone etiquette skills, be able to deal with difficult customers, have the ability to problem solve, and overall provide excellent customer service.
5. Services and Features
A great answering team for your business will help attend and respond to all your customers in a timely manner. Don’t forget about the package features that a call answering service can offer. Features such as call screenings, voicemail, web access to calls and messages, and appointment setting. It would be best if the answering service you select for your business has a call recording system in place, this will allow you to record any calls that you may use as a reference if needed.
Your Partner in Business Growth
AnswerHero is more than just an answering service. We are your partner in business growth. We understand the challenges that growing businesses face and we are dedicated to helping you overcome them. With our all-inclusive features, bilingual support, and flexible plans, we have everything you need to take your business to the next level.
