What To Look For In A Telephone Answering Service

If you’re looking for an affordable, reliable and professional way to handle all of your calls and effectively manage all communication between you and your customers and clients, you should consider using a telephone answering service. It’s one of the best decisions you can make for your business. But if you have never used one before, you may need some questions answered before you make the decision.

What is a telephone answering service?

A telephone answering service involves a number of trained people whose main job is to answer telephone calls from your clients or customers. Additionally, they are trained to take detailed messages and relay these messages directly to you, the business owner, or an employee of your choosing. They are usually very experienced when it comes to speaking with clients and customers from a wide variety of industries.

Professional telephone answering services come in all shapes and sizes and can impact your business in different ways. Depending on which one you choose, using a telephone answering service can be so much more than paying someone else to pick up the phone.

A high-quality telephone answering service has the ability to present your business in a professional and positive light to both new and existing clients or customers which can help to improve your business’ image, customer satisfaction and retention rates. The best telephone answering service providers are often able to successfully create meaningful connections with callers and always do their best to make sure that your business stands out as attentive and truly focused on the customer.

Virtual receptionists

Virtual receptionists are oftentimes the best people for the job. They are people who manage phone calls remotely (virtually) for businesses and don’t work on-site. All incoming calls get answered quickly and professionally by them and they usually deliver a greeting that has been approved by you, the business owner. Once they answer the call there are a number of options for what to do next. They can act as a gatekeeper and forward specific calls through to you or provide some basic company information. They can also take a message from the caller and then forward it through.

To a caller, virtual receptionists sound indistinguishable from an actual employee who gets paid to answer the phone. And they do the same tasks that an employee would, like answering and transferring calls, scheduling new appointments, taking messages, collecting caller information and answering basic FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).

Onboarding a virtual receptionist is a quick and easy process and once done, they become an asset and a long term investment in your business’ workflow efficiency and customer satisfaction.

What to look for in a virtual receptionist

1. Are they positive?

When your clients or customers call you, having someone who is friendly and who answers the phone with enthusiasm helps to create a positive business image in a big way. A great customer experience is invaluable and customers will appreciate it. 

In fact, 73% of consumers say friendly customer service can make them fall in love with a business, according to RightNow. In addition, 72% of customers will share a positive experience with 6 or more people according to research done by Estaban Kolsky.

When your customers get off the phone, their experience should have improved their day and not made them frustrated.

2. Are they on the ball?

Having someone who catches on quickly to the nuances of your industry and business dynamics can be highly advantageous. Experienced virtual receptionists usually know the right questions to ask and quickly grasp tasks that they are told to handle.

Drawing up an explainer document on how to address common customer questions and how you as a business owner would like them to communicate requests and suggestions also helps.

3. Are they organised?

Virtual receptionists often take on several clients at one time and are very capable, organised and meticulous enough to attend to your customers in a timely manner and handle all your tasks efficiently. This is hugely beneficial since there is no need to pay for a full-time employee.