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.