Top 5 Performance Metrics for your Telephone Answering Service

Answering Your Companies Important Calls Professionally

A Telephone Answering Service is one of the best innovations that have helped companies improve their first contact systems. The first impression that any client or customer receives about a service is based upon the first phone call he or she makes to the company or the provider. The response that they receive, the ease and efficiency with which the information is communicated, all these will determine their own initial judgements about the quality of the organisation they are dealing with.

A Professional Telephone Answering Service is basically an outsourced service, where all telephone calls are routed through another agency that works with complete knowledge about the recipient company. They not only answer the initial queries, but they can also transfer the calls to the company directly if further input is required or simply take a message on their behalf. Whether it is an SME or a large conglomerate, a telephone answering solution exists that will serve their requirements. There are many benefits which accrue from the use of a Telephone Answering Service, and all of them are the reason why it makes sense to employ an outsourced solution of this nature.

1. Coverage and Value-addition

A 24/7 service is provided by most Telephone Answering Services. This makes it easier for their clients, since it frees up their valuable resources and they do not have to set up the infrastructure or provide for the increased number of employees who will work for them. The Answering Service employees are trained by the outsourced company, the infrastructure is theirs, and above all they make sure that high quality of service is maintained throughout.

2. Conversational

A recent survey has shown that over 65 % of the people do not like to leave messages with a voicemail. They prefer to deal directly with a real person and the best way to make sure that this happens is by having every call answered through a Call Centre. The person answering the phone is conversant with all the information required, is able to give clear and concise answers, and is also able to contact the right person, if further action is required.

3. Costs

A Pay As You Go Telephone Answering Service will keep costs well within the budget of the client. They are assured of the fact that each call will be responded to and that they will only pay for the costs incurred according to the number of calls received. A Cheap Telephone Answering Service will always be worth the cost since in the long run; it improves first impressions, improves efficiency and leaves a good impression on the caller.

4. Holistic

There are many companies that employ Telephone Answering Services. These range from small companies that would like to make sure that every call is attended, to larger firms that have to deal with a lot of different types of customers and clients, anytime of the day or night. Whether it is a medical facility dealing with calls 24/7 or a new small business seeking clients and hoping that each one of them gets a prompt response, all of them need a good and reliable Telephone Answering Service.

5. Professionalism

Telephone Answering Services make sure that their employees are well-trained and also know everything about the companies they are working for. They are not only trained in answering the phone calls, but they also know how to deal with fussy customers and irritated callers. They are also able to judge the unimportant or pesky callers, and make sure that they weed them out. At no point is the telephone service left unattended, since they have a commitment towards providing 24/7 service. In an office, there will always be moments when the receptionist could be away from her desk or on leave, potentially leaving important calls going unanswered. This scenario can easily be avoided by using a Telephone Answering Service.

Conclusion

There is a general misconception that Telephone Answering Services are expensive. This is not true, since the kind of service they provide, the level of work-related queries they handle and above all, the long term costs they save for their clients makes this kind of service worth the price. The pay per call telephone answering system is always beneficial for any small or medium company.

Are Answering Services the solution to that all important first impression to your customers?

How Can An Outsourced Answering Service Help My Business?

The first impression that a business makes on a potential customer is incredibly important and this includes contact by telephone. It is not always possible for any business and particularly for small businesses to deal with every telephone call themselves but the method that is chosen to cover calls needs careful consideration or it could have an adverse impact on the business. It can be very annoying for a customer with a query to be passed to voicemail and even if the telephone call is dealt with by an automated system this can seem impersonal and is not the same as dealing directly with an actual person. Using an Answering Service may be the best solution for your business.

Employing a 24 Hour Answering Service means that all telephone calls that cannot be answered directly by your business are forwarded automatically to a Call Centre where an agent will answer the call and deal with the query on your behalf. This means that all current and potential customers are assured of human contact every time they contact your business. Many Answering Services operate for 24 hours per day which essentially means that your business will appear to never be shut to your customers.

A Pay As You Go Answering Service can be used to provide varying levels of assistance as and when your business requires it with no unexpected bills at the end of the month. The most basic plan would be that it operates as a message system where the Call Centre agents will take the callers details including their query or message and then pass the matter back to the business to be dealt with accordingly. If your business needs go beyond simple message taking then it is possible to choose a bespoke solution which is specifically tailored to meet the individual requirements of your business.

It is possible to have a Call Answering Service provide a manned helpline for your business. This would involve the caller being asked a series of questions and then forwarded to a named individual depending on their responses. A Live Answering Service can be the perfect choice for a business which has a mobile workforce as it can be used to co-ordinate call out arrangements. This could include dealing with emergency situations and running a diary to book in less urgent appointments. This type of service can even be used to deal with requests from customers for brochures or other literature.

Additional services that a Professional Answering Service could provide if required are the provision of full statistics of all calls that the service has dealt with and immediate updates following each call that the service could enter directly onto the business’s own computer system. An Answering Service may also offer email or SMS confirmation to each customer following their call and will even take payment details if required which would then be safely forwarded to the business via an encrypted file that could only be opened by a secure key. For a truly personalised call the Answer Service can take a list of the company’s existing customers or clients and if they then contact the service it will be possible for all their personal details to be found by the Call Centre staff and enable the call to be dealt with quickly but in a personal manner.

The use of an Answering Service has many benefits for any business. It can ensure that the customer can reach the business 24 hours a day if required and offers a personal service to customers. An Answering Service can be a cost effective option for a business as it will streamline services and may reduce the need for a large number of reception staff to be employed.

Making a Positive Business Evaluation of Staff, Cost and Service Trade-offs

Could A Virtual PA Help Your Business?

A business’s relationship between its staffing budget and customer service levels is a fine balancing act that needs careful consideration.

More and more as the recession bites, middle management are being requested to tighten their belts and being handed reduced budgets to work towards, with the instruction not only to prevent standards from slipping, but where possible to improve upon them.

As important as a brand new prospect is to a business, companies are recognising that the importance of treating existing clients like gold dust to ensure customer loyalty and repeat business is paramount.

So how do you increase business efficiency and reduce costs whilst continuing to ensure you’re providing an excellent first impression and increasing your customer care levels?

Outsourcing an element of your call handling requirements to a Virtual Assistant Business may well be the answer and here’s why:

So how could a Virtual Assistant help your business?

Firstly, by using a Virtual Assistant you will free up your existing staff from being tied to the phones. You will not be using a multi skilled employee, trained to serve your business to their full potential if 50% of their day is spent fielding calls that could be directed elsewhere with the same results. This will allow your team to focus on their core roles which will increase productivity immeasurably.

Always available to take your calls!

Your Virtual Receptionist will be able to answer all calls all of the time. Unlike your own staff or phone lines, there is no limit to the volume of calls a Virtual PA Service can take on your behalf at any one time, and because your Virtual PA will be backed up by a team of call handlers, your caller will never be unable to get through or be kept waiting for a specific person.

Will your calls be answered professionally?

Answering calls professionally is what a Virtual Assistant does. This is all a Virtual Assistant does and because this is their only role they are experts in their field, making the most of every conversation on your behalf. You can have your PAs trained to do as much or as little on your call as your business requires.

What are the levels of service available and what options do you have?

Do you need your Virtual PA to check your diary and book or amend appointments? Do you need them to co-ordinate your engineers based on their location? Do you need them to run through a list of FAQs with your caller to log the severity of the job before it gets sent across to your technical department to deal with? Well, all of the above and countless other scenarios is no problem to a Virtual Assistant!

Maybe you simply need you PA to just take a basic message, and send the details across to you immediately by email or SMS for you to co ordinate the follow up at your end. Whatever your requirement there will be a Virtual PA Service to suit your needs.

When it comes to customer care, the ability to use a Virtual Assistant to offer call handling outside of standard office hours is of huge benefit to many businesses. When you consider the cost implications of paying staff to be on call outside of standard office hours, many businesses struggle to bring in contracts with 24 hour SLAs on budget. However with an outsourced Virtual Assistant these costs are slashed, as you simply pay for the calls you receive, which means that you can open up your services to an extended market.

Outsourcing to Virtual Assistants has really taken off in the last 10 years and with an increasingly  ‘do more pay less’ mentality it is not hard to see why it is becoming the smart option for the savvy, cost conscious business owner who puts customers first.