Five ways call answering can benefit your business
If you’re running a busy office, there’s no limit to how many times a day the telephone might ring. This is especially true for peak periods when it may feel like it’s buzzing non-stop. But how many of these calls are answered? And what percentage are properly dealt with, in a professional and timely manner? Missing just two calls a week can lead to 104 missed opportunities every year. Can your business afford to miss out on them?
Missing calls not only signifies a slip in your customer service offering, which can risk damaging your company’s hard-earned reputation. It also means potentially losing out on lucrative leads or deals that could be worth hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. One way in which you can be sure that each call is answered every single time, in the best way, is to use a telephone answering service such as Verbatim Call Answering based in Newbury.
The benefits of phone answering
When you sign up to a call-answering service, you’ll usually be advised on a plan that is personalised to your business and answering needs. This could be providing cover for a few telephone calls a day, through to manning the phones 24/7 should you wish. Every business is different, but system set-up is usually quick and easy, to ensure a seamless integration with your current working pattern. Once it’s set up, there are a whole host of benefits:
Streamline costs
Hiring a receptionist can be expensive, especially when factoring in the benefits, bonuses, sick pay and holiday that hiring and training a member of staff necessitates. Outsourcing your call answering comes at a fraction of the cost of a full-time member of staff. It also offers a great amount of flexibility. You can adapt the amount of time you need from the service as often as you like, even rolling it over from month-to-month. This is particularly useful if you have peak periods when you need extra support, but don’t necessarily require someone in the office on a full-time basis.
Save valuable time
If you have a business to run or a team to manage, you really don’t want to have your day constantly interrupted by phone calls. It takes the human brain over 20 minutes to recover from a distraction – so if you want to be as productive as possible, it’s a good idea to screen out any unnecessary disturbances. By using a telephone answering service, you can make sure that when someone calls, the phone rings in a different office to yours. This means that your calls are getting answered and dealt with – but saves you from being interrupted so that you can deal with more pressing matters things.
Create the best impression
As the popular saying goes ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’. This is certainly true when it comes to speaking to a potential customer or client for the first time. That’s why you need to make the most of every single call that comes into your business. You need a friendly and professional voice at the end of the telephone at all times – even if you’re busy or having a bad day. A professional call-answering service will help you to create the best first impression every time.
Improve customer service
It can be a leap of faith to entrust someone else with your telephone line, especially if customer service is a key element of your business. Many small businesses in particular worry that if they use a call-answering service, they might lose the personal touch that they have with their clients or customers. But most call-answering companies will treat every interaction with the respect and care it deserves, giving you a professional image and a consistent service, which makes it easier for customers to trust you.
Benefit from the best solutions
From creating the best first impression, to taking more calls, or just giving you and your team some breathing space to get the job done, a call-answering service can offer more than just telephone answering. Many virtual receptionist services provide a whole range of helpful office solutions. This could include taking payments, managing diaries, making bookings and sending documents. If you have a busy schedule and are keen to get back some more time, outsourcing your handling could be just the job.
There are a whole host of ways in which a telephone-answering company can benefit your business. When implemented properly, it can give you a complete range of resources to provide you and your team with exactly the right amount of the support you need. It can also provide flexibility so you can adapt to change and move with trends, turning the service off or on as you need to, or even scaling it up should you see new opportunities, without putting any extra strain on your business. This ensures that you get the best of both worlds – boosting your business performance at the same times as keep your customers happy.
