According to a consumer survey conducted by Oracle, around 78% of consumers will no longer continue in partnership with a company with a single poor customer service experience.
Although it sounds terrifying, it isn't really hard to choose the best phone answering service for your business. But if you do it alone, then that might even be terrifying!
An excellent phone answering service can help you effectively manage your telephone calls anytime, anywhere. But a poorly chosen one can cost you money and time.
So whether you're a startup business or an established one, outsourcing to a call centre services or telephone answering service would be the best choice that can help you focus on your priorities while an expert attends to your customer's calls and inquiries.
But you might say, "There are thousands of them. How can I choose the best one?" Well, here's how.
Phone answering services is an off-site telecommunications service employed by businesses when they want to:
These voice services can also be used as a cost-saving, time-saving, and potentially lifesaving outsourcing tool to free up employees for more important tasks.
What happens is that the answered voice call goes straight to voicemail with no interruption, eliminating the caller's frustrations and increasing the number of voicemails collected. This is especially true when we see answering services for small businesses and large-scale companies come about to provide the best customer care needs they demand.
Additionally, clients have access 24/7 in real-time through the phone answering system, which provides them with call arrival notifications and an automated attendant, so they don't need a live agent on hand at all times.
As a result, you can adjust staffing levels based on customer traffic hours and provide agents with focused support to increase efficiency and accuracy.
Choosing the best answering service can be difficult, with many factors to take into account. These eight tips can help you select the answering service suitable to your business needs and preferences.
The best answering service partner you could get is the one who will go out of their way to ensure that they're providing the highest level of customer satisfaction for your business.
They want to make sure that every call they answer goes off without a hitch and makes for an excellent experience from start to finish, just like how their customer relations team will be there with any questions or concerns.
Ensure that they can maintain a service quality throughout the years and even take time to familiarize themselves with what you offer, making sure they understand what is expected.
Remember, everything does not have to just be about money. A true partnership is about how one can provide value and benefit to one another, even if the contract ends or not.
A caller might have a rough day. In this case, how would the virtual receptionist converse with the caller?
A great telephone answering company that offers customer support would proficiently train their receptionists to hold back, think of what they have to say, be respectful, and show optimism even if they had to deal with rude customers.
It's easy to hang up or talk back. But a great receptionist can add value to your business when they act as if the caller is their customer and they know how to handle call objections well.
And it's not going to be the same for every industry. Some businesses need optimistic and energetic receptionists, while others, like funeral homes or even hospitals, don't.
At the end of the day, how they interact with your prospect would reflect on your company.
Let's say you're working in the e-commerce industry, and you've chosen a phone answering service company that handles the IT industry. How effective do you think they could portray their role and assist prospects in e-commerce?
In choosing the best answering services company, make sure that they have the same niche as yours so they can attend better to your prospect's needs without having to adjust one way or another.
Moreover, choose a company that provides services aligned with your goals. Do you prefer someone who focuses on phone answering services alone or someone that can handle appointment bookings, telemarketing, or even market research as well?
Learning this crucial information is vital to your company's success and your prospects' interest.
Don't be afraid to ask questions to the phone answering company. It's one of the best things you can do to check their reputation and credibility.
You can start by asking, How does this company handle the customers? Do the virtual receptionists undergo training to accommodate callers? If yes, then who trained them? What about the quality assurance in this company? Are they working only in the office or remotely?
You can even check what other people or 'customers' have to say about the company you're eyeing for. Customer feedback is the most realistic review you can read online since they first-hand experience the products or the services.
Before getting any help, set aside the budget you have for certain services. In this case, what is your estimated allowance to hire a phone answering service company?
Check their pricing models. What is the cost of their telephone answering service? Are they upfront on the expenses or their hidden fees? What about additional payments, extra fees, or holiday rates?
In terms of the process, are they charging your per-minute call or per-hour call? Are you opting to choose a fixed monthly price?
This doesn't necessarily mean you're cheap. You're just ahead of the game. Doing so can help you avoid unnecessary interactions and further complications in the future.
Plus, you can check whether your budget fits the company's criteria you're looking to hire.
Some telephone answering service companies don't offer 24/7 availability, while others do. If you're someone who prefers the latter, look for a professional service available anytime the telephone rings.
But if you're still hesitant about a 24/7 service, then it might be time to change your mind as we speak about the benefits of a 24/7 answering service.
Remember, we all have different circumstances. Would they charge you to answer phone calls after regular working hours? What about automated voice record calls? Would it be okay for you to make use of those?
Availability will vary from other companies in your industry. It's a huge thing to consider, so plan accordingly.
If you cater to the international market across and out of the United Kingdom, the telephone service company should converse well with them. They don't necessarily need to learn every single language in the world. I mean, if they could, then why not?
But that's not going to be possible. The question is, 'how can they handle international clients who're either fluent in Swedish or non-native speakers? If the receptionists are multilingual, that's a bonus!
If not, then what other ways can they communicate well without having to hang up the phone?
And besides language boundaries, receptionists should always consider the caller's traditions, culture, and beliefs. They should try their best to propose a solution without making the clients feel offended and/or irritated.
Just like any other business establishment, you might run into an unwanted situation like an emergency, for instance.
Besides the 24/7 telephone answering availability, consider other aspects of the service. Have they considered any Plan B if the original solution doesn't work? Do they need regular monitoring or coaching to attend in every situation?
What if customers lose their connectivity to your company? Is there any emergency dispatch or redundancy components that you should be aware of?
Everything can happen to everyone, anytime, which is why preparation is a must!
These are the important thing to consider when choosing the best call answering service company in your area. But we know it could take much time for you.
It's a tiring task, after all. Yet, Appointment Setting UK is happy to help! Given the hundreds of options to choose from, we know that there is one that would be the right call answering service company for your business.
We'll make sure to give you the most suitable service partner that will help you reach your business goals. Just let us know what you need and we will do all the hard work in finding the right company.
So what are you waiting for? Call 020-80599450 now to receive free quotes from our telephone answering partners.
