A telephone answering service is an excellent way of managing telephone correspondence for small, medium and even large businesses. By offering the assistance of live operators that are familiar with the companies practices, products and important clients, call answering services (sometimes referred to as "virtual offices") can offer great advances in customer satisfaction. In today's highly competitive business world companies need to take advantage of every source of business that comes along, however many may be missing opportunities or potential sales without even knowing it. It is thought that around 80% of people hang up when they hear a voicemail or otherwise recorded message. In other words, if a business is unable to answer their calls and leaves it to the mercy of an answering machine, out of every 10 possible clients, 8 could well be sourcing their business elsewhere with a competitor.
By utilizing a good telephone answering service, businesses can stay that one step ahead of their competitors. Customers want to be heard there and then, not at a time convenient to the business when they run through their voicemail messages. Good virtual receptionists (as many operators refer to themselves) are able to give the impression to callers that they are part of the company and in many cases can do much of what a normal receptionist does be it booking appointments, giving directions, placing orders or simply transferring the call to the relevant department or person. The key is that the caller feels they are able to speak to the business whenever they call, most of the time they don't even realize they've been speaking to an outsourced receptionist.
A good call answering service should not be seen as a glorified answering machine and should certainly not be compared for cost. Answering machines only give the option for callers to leave a message, there is no human interaction and the vast majority will go elsewhere. If a business is happy to spend a minimal amount on an answering machine then they should expect a minimal amount of business from it.
Whilst many people may associate the use of a call answering service with hours when a business or organization is closed, the truth is that many companies use such a service specifically during hours when they are open. This can be especially helpful for organizations and businesses that experience a high degree of call volume.
Small Businesses that are deciding whether an answering machine is all they need to capture callers details need to be asking themselves this question - If you were looking quickly for a service and had your called picked up by voicemail, would you leave a message or would you call the next entry in the phone book?
Disclaimer
NB: This web log is in the public domain and is presented here for public benefit, not for the purposes of business generation.