Should Your Service Business Have A Live Person Answering The Phone?
Telephone calls remain an indispensable part of most companies' communication with their customers. When people call a company to make an appointment, or to resolve a billing problem, or ask for their website, they expect the person on the other end of the line to help solve the problem. When companies hire a service provider to answer and process their calls, they make a decision that influences how customers perceive the company - whether or not they know they are talking to a service provider. Answering machines have become increasingly popular and have become an irreplaceable part of the business but do they make it easier for customers to contact your business and that can make all the difference between winning a new customer and losing it to one of your competitors.
70% of the consumers are willing to buy more from companies that they believe provide excellent customer service and care. Clutch surveyed 468 customers who asked for business questions to see what quality callers were looking for. You should be aware that callers prefer authentic, sensitive, and efficient calls.
Many business owners would prefer a live answering service because they want their customers to talk to a real person who can answer their questions more quickly. This applies in particular if the concerns of the customer calls are considered to be complex. An estimated 48% of customers would prefer that someone spoke with them on the phone for difficult questions and 75% believe that a phone call is the best way to get a faster answer.
Call centers are often confused with answering machines, which perform many of the same functions. Most call centers work with a company to handle their incoming communication and it is not uncommon for call centers to employ hundreds of employees while answering machines are less personal. Many companies opt for automated systems, but some customers prefer the above-mentioned live person.
Companies that get their phones answered by a live person perform better than companies that use automated intermediaries (press 1 if you have a new customer, press two if you are in a directory, or go to voicemail ).
This means that during your company's office hours, there is a real person on the phone ready to handle inquiries and offer other aspects of customer service when needed. This means that even if their concerns are not answered locally, they can talk to a living person who knows how to return their call as quickly as possible.
If your customers can not reach you during normal business hours because they are busy with other tasks, you stand out from the competition by being called by a live person outside of business hours. Answering services outside business hours are ideal for live customer service, because when your caller's dial, they don't have to think about the call. If you are unavailable, do you leave it to chance that the caller does not wait until your regular business hours to call your competitor?
Forget about worrying about customers or customers waiting on hold or leaving multiple messages on voicemail. You will receive high-quality service from a knowledgeable person who will answer your phone. The worst thing for your business is when the person picking up the phone can't keep up with all the incoming calls and puts people on hold.
A live receptionist or service staff will process incoming calls as soon as you receive them. Some companies use a callback system where calls are routed to a specific person during business hours.
In fact, 67% of customers hang up when they can't reach a real, living person. Without anyone answering the phone during business hours, customer calls go unanswered 16 hours a day.
Hiring a virtual receptionist costs money, but by letting a living person answer the business phone, forward calls, receive messages, and schedule appointments, you can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. As an entrepreneur, it's more affordable to focus on generating new revenue and adding value to your existing customer base when you work with top answering services. If you pay for an answering service, you can make money from it.
Here are some services that can offer you all this for less than the cost of a full-time employee in-house. Virtual reception services are a service that businesses consider crucial in the changing landscape. Here are six ways a virtual home delivery service can help you grow your business.
They work in a similar way to a conventional receptionist, taking calls and forwarding them, scheduling new appointments, receiving messages, collecting caller information, and answering basic FAQs. Unlike traditional answering machines in the form of large call centers, Ruby's virtual answering service is rooted in the experience of small businesses. Rubys receptionists are trained to appreciate small business phone calls and are dedicated to creating real, meaningful connections even when they are not on the phone.
Live answering services are available day and night, 7 days a week, so your customers can talk to a living person without disturbing your staff day and night. Voicenation is the number one live reception service in the United States and has received several awards, including Clutch's Top Call Center Service of 2019. Abby Connect is another popular live answering machine for small businesses, offering bilingual answering machines in English and Spanish, custom e-mail transmissions, finely tuned unlimited answering machines, and out-of-the-box recording.