7 Reasons You Should Choose a Remote Receptionist Service
A remote receptionist or virtual receptionist provides phone answering services for a company, all from an off-site location. A virtual receptionist service can handle a company’s customer service and administrative duties, such as:
- Providing basic information about the company (products, services, location, contact details)
- Transferring calls and taking messages
- Collecting caller information
- Scheduling appointments
- After-hours live answering
A remote receptionist service is also referred to as a virtual reception service or live virtual receptionist service.
Virtual Receptionist vs. In-House Receptionist – Which is Better?
How does a virtual receptionist differ from an in-house receptionist? Both aim to provide outstanding customer service but the difference is how and where phone calls get answered.
With a remote receptionist service, when a customer calls your company’s phone number, the call gets forwarded to a third-party, off-site phone line. The virtual receptionist takes the call, greets the caller, and answers any customer service questions. A remote receptionist can also take messages, forward phone calls to a different number or location, and schedule appointments on your behalf.
On the other hand, an in-house receptionist needs a physical office space, typically located within the company’s headquarters. They also answer company phone calls and greet customers, but they do a lot more, such as handling business expenses and ordering supplies. However, hiring in-house receptionists is often cost-prohibitive, especially for small businesses. It entails on-the-job training, benefits, sick leave, and paid time off. Not to mention the need to buy and maintain costly phone answering equipment.
Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Use a Virtual Receptionist Service
If you are a small business owner who wants to focus on business growth instead of handling customer service and administrative work, you may want to consider hiring a virtual receptionist. Having a live, off-site receptionist can give you the freedom you need without breaking the bank or adding unnecessary work hours to your daily routine.
Here are the top 7 reasons why you should choose a virtual receptionist service.
1. Improved Customer Service Experience
When a customer calls your business, they usually want to speak to a live person and not an automated system. A virtual receptionist service can provide the “human touch” that your company needs to stand out from your competitors. Virtual receptionists know how to answer incoming calls properly, represent your business and brand professionally, and give potential customers a great first impression.
2. Lower Operating Costs
Remote receptionist services can help you make better use of your company’s limited financial resources. For a fraction of the wages of an in-house employee, you can have an entire remote receptionist team working for you. Not only does this save you money in your customer service budget, but it also avails you of an entire team working together to support your customers rather than a single employee.
3. Increased Customer Loyalty
Great customer support can help your company develop lasting relationships with customers. Live virtual receptionists are trained to answer every incoming call professionally and take detailed message notes about each caller. This minimizes the risk of irate phone calls, which in turn increases customer satisfaction rates. Happy customers are more likely to become loyal customers, which can help you increase sales and grow your customer base.
4. Optimize Human Resources
A Remote receptionist service can give you the freedom to focus on growing your business instead of spending time on administrative duties. Unlike handling calls in-house, virtual receptionists do not require training or hiring costs because they are experienced professionals with years of customer service experience.
Instead of your in-house employees having to interrupt their workflow to answer calls, you have a team of call center professionals answering every call, freeing up your valued workers to focus their energies on tasks that require their full attention and unique expertise.
5. Answer Phone Calls 24/7
One of the best things about hiring a virtual receptionist service is that it allows you to operate non-stop, 24/7/365. While you can train your employees to answer phone calls during business hours, you can’t expect or force them to respond to calls after 6 PM, on weekends, and on holidays.
Remote receptionist services can also provide consistency of availability that in-house receptionists can’t provide with the same certainty. An in-house employee can call in sick, come in late, get distracted, or quit, which can lead to your customers not getting their calls answered as expected. Virtual receptionist services can help you avoid these issues, ensuring your customers get the kind of quality customer service they expect from your company.
6. Streamline Simple Tasks
Daily routine tasks can eat up valuable time that you can use to better focus on your business. Virtual receptionists are experienced professionals who know how to answer incoming calls quickly and efficiently, freeing your employees to handle other issues at hand. Virtual receptionist services also provide detailed reporting of each call taken which you can use to optimize the way you communicate with customers.
They can also help you take messages, update calendars, make appointments, and handle other simple tasks. This can significantly reduce the number of phone calls your employees have to make every day, freeing up their time for more important business development or administrative tasks.
7. Bilingual Answering Service
According to Psychology Today, one-quarter of all Americans are bilingual, speaking another language than English either natively or fluently and, in many cases, primarily. If you cater to Spanish-speaking clients regularly, you need a Spanish answering service that can effectively communicate with them in their native language.
Bilingual telephone answering services are particularly helpful for businesses that service the Hispanic community. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 62 million Hispanics are living in the United States, making them the largest ethnic minority group in America.
Discover AnswerHero’s Top-Rated Bilingual Answering Services
Do you want to increase your company’s customer satisfaction levels and client retention rates while economizing and optimizing your business’s precious resources? Learn more about how our bilingual virtual receptionist service can take your business to the next level. Contact us at AnswerHero today.
