What Are The Advantages & Benefits Of Using An Answering Service?
Running a business is a challenge. Between focusing on your marketing campaigns and establishing the right team, the last thing you want is to lose customers in the process. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you’re busy building your business and stepping away from your company’s phone.
What Is an Answering Service?
Research shows that 80% of callers who reach a voicemail will not leave a message. Missing calls aggravate customers who need assistance and sends the message that your company is unreliable.
To ensure you’re not playing it loose with your customers’ loyalty, rely on an answering service instead. Consumers appreciate a real person answering their calls, listening to their concerns, and providing them with solutions.
5 Benefits of Using an Answering Service
An answering service comes with a multitude of benefits, including:
- Turning new customers into loyal returning customers
- Never missing a call
- Not being sidetracked from more important things
- Diminishing the need for an in-house team
- Enhancing your company image
- Ensure positive customer service
24/7 Phone Support
No one likes speaking to an automated message. Rather than spending the time clicking buttons on the dial pad choosing language choices and irrelevant service options, customers want to connect to a real person instantly.
An answering service guarantees a receptionist who’s knowledgeable about your business will be available 24/7, never missing a call. They’ll direct customers to the correct department and answer questions the customers may have about the company and its services.
More importantly, answering service receptionists are available after hours and during weekends and holidays. Your customers will feel appreciated and will not move on to another company that will take their calls. Those customers are also more likely to rely on your company again, increasing loyalty.
Never Miss a Call
Every customer is vital to your company’s growth. Missing calls can be the difference between a happy customer and a lost opportunity. When potential customers want to make a purchase or partner with you to work on a large project, they overwhelmingly want to speak to a real person. A missed call shows them you aren’t reliably reachable and directs them to your competitors.
Answering services ensure that your company does not lose revenue or garner negative reviews that can deter others from wanting to work with your company.
An answering service will assist you, from making a positive first impression to clinching a deal that has been hanging in the air for some time. You’ll never miss another message or lose a unique customer again.
Get Back to More Important Things
Every call is important. Still, the last thing you need is to walk out of a crucial meeting to take a customer’s call, especially if someone is just calling for your office hours. In other words, you don’t want to have to choose between your meeting and your ringing phone.
With an answering service, a professionally trained virtual receptionist will grab the call, giving your customer the information they need, allowing you to finish up with more important matters. They’ll also record the message and relay important ones to you as soon as possible.
With more hands-on-deck at your office, your company can multitask without splitting your attention.
No Need for an In-House Team
Even if you recognize the need for real people to answer your phones 24/7, your company may not have the funds or the space for an in-house answering service team. An in-house team demands hiring an adequate number of receptionists and a pricey phone system.
If you hire a phone service, not only can you sidestep HR responsibilities, but you don’t need to create an additional department to answer the phones.
Instead, hiring an answering service allows you to choose the service that’s right for you. You can choose the types of services you deem fit. It can include returning calls, emails, and SMS messages, and only during the hours you require assistance.
Enhance Your Image
Being known as a company that is never available is hardly a good image. It makes your services seem untrustworthy, unprofessional, and unsympathetic to your customers’ needs. Instead, each customer wants to feel valued and looked after.
The only way to accomplish this is by providing undivided attention to each customer who makes an effort to contact your company. For instance, picking up on the first ring lets your customers know their business is welcome at your office, which creates a quality first impression.
An answering service creates lasting relationships and builds the image of a private or a small company.
Put Customer Service First with AnswerFirst
At AnswerFirst, we believe in connecting people with answers. That’s why our answering service professionals are strong advocates for quality customer communication. We believe in never missing a call or a good opportunity for your business while keeping your overhead and business responsibilities low.
Whether you own a large industry or a small start-up company, AnswerFirst makes sure that you never miss a business call. We offer:
- Calling
- SMS messaging
- Emailing
- Social media
- Web chatting.
You can use our answering services incessantly 24/7/365 and never miss a message, or you can scale it back so that you only use it during hectic times at your office.
Our inbound call center has helped many well-known companies for over 20 years, including Royal Caribbean International, Delta, Century 21, and PBS. During that time, we’ve handled over 55 million calls and have come across thousands of appreciative and ecstatic clients.
Our clients value our pricing plan where you only pay for what you use. We don’t round your minutes up or charge you when our services are not in use.
Between top-notch customer care, guaranteed lowest prices, and quality technology, you can have the answering service that fits your needs.
Join the hundreds of other companies that trust AnswerFirst with their customers.
Call us at (800) 645-2616 for more information on our services.