4 Compelling Reasons Why Every Business Needs an Answering Service

The last few years have seen companies hiring live answering services to meet their customer service demands. An answering service is a company that answers calls on behalf of other businesses, often hiring remote customer service representatives or virtual receptionists to answer incoming calls. Businesses with high call volumes tend to outsource a portion of their work to answering services, which may hire people with either professional experience or no experience.

However, smaller companies can also benefit from hiring an answering service; when small businesses are just starting, every lead counts.

Despite your best efforts, it’s impossible to be available every day. This article will explore a few main advantages of live answering services over voicemail systems.

1. Customer Services:

For years, voicemail systems have been the default choice for many businesses due to their accessibility and low costs. If you desire to give your customers and prospects a good customer service experience, you may need to ditch this age-old form of automated answering and invest in a live answering service. A live answering service offers a better customer service experience.

Most customers prefer to speak to a natural person rather than a voicemail system. They can get answers to their general questions and seek quality assistance from an answering service operator. When you hire an answering service, the operator will answer general questions and provide basic help.

2. Efficiency:

Voicemail systems are more time-consuming than other ways of handling calls, such as email and text messages. Voicemail systems require you to dial in to access their features, go through a few prompts, write down names and phone numbers so you can return calls later, repeat a message if you want to hear it again, and spend time sorting through multiple messages to capture the information you need.

An answering service gives you back your time by transferring calls to a live operator who gathers the necessary information and forwards it via email or text. You can even deliver that information to your staff with just a button.

3. 24/7 Service:

You or your staff can’t be available around the clock. However, customers do not care if you are at the office, at lunch, or on vacation. What matters is that they can reach you whenever they need you. A live answering service makes this possible as answering services can take calls for your business 24/7, including weekends and holidays.

Live answering service can be a great way to handle many inbound calls, especially if you get many at odd hours. Is especially important for businesses where emergencies can pop up without warning. Your customers will receive the same excellent level of customer service whether they call at 3 am or 10 am, and you can even have specific emergency calls transferred to you.


4. One Of Your Business Extensions:

When you outsource your receptionist services, they become a part of your business. They can handle many of the same tasks that your in-house team performs. They hold many of the same functions your in-house team performs. They can take over many other responsibilities like appointments, placing orders, following scripted workflows, and dispatching emergency calls and messages.

An answering machine will not be able to answer inquiries from potential customers, and a live agent can turn prospects into paying customers. It can mirror your company’s operations and add more value to your business than a prerecorded message.