Whether your business is small and you can’t spare the time to answer calls on top of your existing workload, or you have a large team and you simply can’t take on all the enquiries coming in, a call answering service will help you to keep your customers happy. These services are typically more affordable than hiring full-time staff to handle the phone and live chat enquiries.
There are a number of providers and packages available to suit your specific business needs. Generally speaking, the entry-level service called a virtual receptionist is cheaper than more advanced options that offer specialised features like e-commerce integrations and appointment scheduling. Pricing is usually based on a “communication unit”, which includes the cost of each call that’s handled or message sent. It’s important to know what these costs are so you can budget accordingly.
A good call answering service can take and send your business messages via email, SMS or app notifications so you’re always kept in the loop with customer enquiries. Some of these services will also record a voicemail transcript for you to review, cutting down on long and tedious voicemails and helping you to pick up your messages quickly throughout the day.
Some answering services can even take incoming orders and dispatch them for you, increasing the productivity of your team and saving you valuable time. You can also have your call answering service set up to follow a timed script when your line is switched over to them, ensuring consistency of greetings and other details like how you’d like your business to be represented. call answering service