Undoubtedly, missed and unanswered phone calls cost many businesses and companies potential income and diminish their overall customer satisfaction. However, many business owners don't know that they can prevent this by working with an answering service.
An answering service will be there for you when you are out of your office or after work hours to ensure your prospective customers on various communication platforms have someone to talk to without delay.
At Best Call Center, we understand the importance of being available for your customers whenever they need your services. Our answering service agents can help you boost your business reputation and profitability by being there for your current and prospective customers when you could otherwise be unavailable.
This article will answer any questions you might have about an answering service and how it can help your unique business stay one step ahead of your competitors.
An Answering Service at a Glance
In businesses of any size, it is crucial to give your prospective customers a great first impression whenever they call your office or business line. When someone calls your office line, it means they need your services, or perhaps they need clarification on the type of services you offer.
Regardless of their reason for making the call, responding to their queries and concerns is critical in your business growth. Instead of setting up automated messages or robots to respond to their queries, many businesses nowadays work with an answering service to give their clients a personal touch once they call their business line.
Typically, an answering service is a company with trained answering agents who can handle your business communications when you could otherwise be unavailable. Apart from handling your inbound and outbound calls, most answering services nowadays will also help you manage your social media accounts and email to ensure prompt replies to your customers' needs.
How an Answering Service Works to Improve Your Business Customer Service
Every business owner wants to be available for their customers anytime they call their phone. However, that is challenging or impossible, especially during peak hours or during the weekend when you have to close your business. Working with an answering service will ensure that your customers have someone to talk to anytime they call your office line, regardless of the time.
When you partner with an answering service, your prospective client calls will redirect to their answering service agents, who will receive the call on your behalf. Then, they will do either of the following, depending on the nature of the client's query:
- Respond to their query or concern
- Transfer the call to your office staff
- Take their message
Typically, how your answering service will respond to your client's needs will depend on your unique needs and type of business. During the onboarding process, you should take ample time to discuss your expectations and objectives with your partner to give them a better understanding of your practice.
The answering service will customize a call answering plan that will help them create your ideal customer experience to make your business outstanding.
Five Benefits of Having an Answering Service in Your Business
Undoubtedly, you reap several benefits when you choose to take your business a notch higher by partnering with an answering service in your business/company. Below are five top benefits of having an answering service in your business:
It Captures Every Opportunity
With an answering service, you will never have to worry about disappointing your clients when you and your office receptionist aren't available to pick their calls or reply to their messages. One call can seal a life-changing deal that can make your most loyal customer in this business world.
For that reason, you need to be there for your clients whenever they call your business line. An answering service will ensure that is possible by answering all your clients' calls and messages on various communication platforms when you could otherwise be away or unavailable.
It Increases Your Company Productivity
Each call or message from your potential client is an opportunity to boost your company’s reputation and revenue. However, answering these calls can be a hell of a hassle, especially if you are in a meeting or field fixing a client's project.
To avoid these kinds of interruptions and give your office staff adequate time to focus on other critical parts of your service, you should consider partnering with an answering service. Since an answering service will reduce the workload which your employees could spend significant time on, you should expect your business efficiency and productivity to improve.
It Will Save You Money
Generally, having an answering service in your firm or business will save you a significant amount of money in the long run, especially if your business or company is small. If you don't have the financial resources to employ an in-house receptionist(s), an answering service could solve your problem and boost your profits.
Further, having in-house receptionists will require you to secure a spacious room and buy phone systems, which means more cost to your business. An answering service can make your business more profitable and reputable, where you could otherwise shrink your potential profits to manage these overheads.
It Helps You Give Your Clients the Right Impression
The services of an answering service will come in handy, especially if you are a start-up business, to help you maintain a professional image and reinforce your clients' relationship. Your first relationship or interaction with your prospective clients can make all the difference in your business reputation and growth.
Since answering agents have the necessary training on how to deal or relate with customers, your prospective and existing clients will be speaking to courteous and eloquent agents, which gives a great impression about your business.
It Offers You 24/7 Service
As a businessman, you cannot expect clients' calls or messages during regular working hours alone. Instead of allowing potential business opportunities to go to voicemail, you could benefit from the services of an answering service.
Even if you have to close your physical office or business in the evening, it will not prevent a customer with an urgent need from calling your office line to seek your services. When a prospective client calls your office line at midnight, it means they need urgent and prompt assistance from you.
If you are unavailable, they will not hesitate to contact your competitors because it takes just a touch of a button. To avoid missing these business opportunities, you should consider working with an answering service to ensure 24/7 client service.
Other Additional Helpful Features that Comes With Hiring an Answering Service
Despite its name, an answering service does not only handle your business inbound and outbound clients calls. Depending on your type of business, an answering service will also offer you the following types of services to optimize efficiency and productivity in your business:
Appointment Scheduling Services
Various businesses and companies could benefit from the appointment scheduling services to avoid any chances of losing a potential client or business deal to a competitor. A reliable answering service will come with a mobile app that can help you view appointments, even if you are on the go.
Most importantly, your answering service can also help you send appointment reminders to avoid unnecessary inconveniences and keep your cash flowing.
Employee Absence Management
Whether planned or unplanned, employee absence issues are inevitable and are the leading cause of unproductivity in most businesses. However, if you have a communication plan to manage these absences, you can plan ahead of time to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience in your practice.
An answering service can provide you with a single phone number your employees will call to report an absence. Once they receive a report of an absence, they will make the necessary arrangements and plans for replacement on your office team to ensure optimal productivity even without their presence.
Emergency Dispatching Services
Emergency dispatch services ensure that you will not miss any important call or message when you are out of the office to finish an ongoing client's project. When a prospective client calls your business line requiring emergency services, you can redirect their call to selected on-call personnel who will offer them the necessary assistance.
Instead of interrupting your workflow for a routine call, your answering service agents can escalate this call to available members of your office team to give you ample time in the field.
Industries That Rely on the Services of an Answering Service the Most
Typically, any business or company that needs to maintain a professional image 24/7 could work with an answering service. However, some industries require the services of these experts more because of the nature of their practice or work. Below are some of the industries that rely on the services of an answering service to stay competitive:
Healthcare
Since emergency issues are unavoidable in this industry, most medical practitioners or doctors work with an answering service to stay connected to their clients 24/7. An answering service will come with HIPAA-compliant answering agents who can make your current and prospective clients feel valued and appreciated.
Veterinary
Like the healthcare industry, when pet owners call a veterinary officer, they are often worried and vulnerable because their favorite friend is unwell. Partnering with an answering service will ensure these clients have someone who can offer them the necessary help without delay.
Non-profit
In a non-profit organization, every client call is a chance to help someone. Partnering with an answering service can do away with the issue of missed calls in your organization to keep income flowing even after work hours and holidays.
Small Business
Even if you are beginning your plumbing or electricity business, you can work with an answering service to improve your customer service and general customer satisfaction. Typically, an answering service will reduce your business overheads, for example, the expenses associated with hiring receptionists and buying furniture to accommodate them.
Typically, you don't have to waste your time managing your business communication channels if an answering service can do that on your behalf and ensure the best customer experience. Whether you have a small, medium, or growing business, you cannot overlook the benefits of partnering with an answering service.
Finding a Dependable Answering Service
If you think an answering service is what you need in your unique business, you should begin your hunt for a reliable service provider as soon as possible. The process of finding a dependable answering service can seem challenging, but the following tips can help you reduce your available options:
- Consider whether or not they have bilingual or multilingual answering agents
- Consider whether or not they have accreditation(s) from other related companies or organizations
- Consider their pricing
- Consider their length of experience
- Consider their technological competence
- Consider their reputation
Since there are several answering service providers out there, making the process of picking the right one can be a daunting task. A credible and dependable answering service can revolutionalize your customer service experience to make your business reputable and competitive. The above tips can help you filter out mediocre and unreliable experts from your list of potential experts to hire.
Take Away Points
The business world is full of challenges, but that should not prevent you from pursuing your business plans and dreams. One sure way to stay one step ahead of your competitors is by making your customer service outstanding and reliable. To do that, hiring an answering service could be your only dependable solution.
An answering service will help you increase your profits and maintain a high level of professionalism to stay on top of the game.
Find an Answering Service Near Me
At Best Call Center, we have experienced answering agents who will do more than manage your business communication channels or platforms. Our multilingual answering agents will help you advertise your company or business services in various languages to reach a wider market, which means more income.
We invite you to call us at 800-385-4656 wherever you are in San Francisco if you want to create meaningful connections with your callers, regardless of the size of your business or company.