As a small business owner, you are always looking to cut expenses while growing your business. As your business grows, you may find yourself in need of assistance due to not being able to keep up. Missing phone calls that can turn into potential clients or customer orders is a hazard to your business.
When you are in need of hiring someone to help you operate your business but don’t have the space for this employee or are not ready to add payroll expenses to your budget, hiring a virtual receptionist could be your best option.
Benefits of Having a Virtual Receptionist
Having a virtual receptionist is not like having a full-time employee who needs a phone line, desk, and a weekly paycheck. When you work with companies like Voicenation, you can have your phone calls answered by an answering service company. The operators are trained professionals and work to be there for your customers when you are not able to get to your phone. There are actually many of the same benefits an answering service can provide you and your business that an actual employee can provide.
- Answering Calls. When you are not able to get to your phone for any reason, your virtual receptionist can take your call and personally speak with your customers. You will provide a script that will enable the receptionist to answer basic questions and provide temporary assistance to your customers providing a personal connection to keep clients happy.
- Order Processing. Your virtual receptionist can assist customers who may have questions about your products or the ordering process. They can also process orders over the phone or in your system so that you never miss a sale.
- Business Growth. Being able to have someone answer your calls will provide you more time to concentrate on your business and manage your time more efficiently. When you go through your messages either by your dashboard or by your mobile app, you are able to prioritize how you answer your calls and be more effective in growing your business.
- Less Expensive. Once you begin researching answering service companies and the programs they offer, you will find that paying a monthly fee for a virtual receptionist can save you money over hiring an employee.
Benefits of a Virtual Receptionist an Employee Cannot Provide
Depending on your business industry, it may require you to be available for your clients before and after hours of a regular business day. Missing these calls can lead to stress. Having a virtual receptionist not only can assist you with this dilemma but there are other benefits of an answering service that hiring an employee cannot give you.
- 24/7 Service. Your business is always open and ready to serve. Your calls will always be answered no matter what time of day it is, even on holidays.
- Bilingual Customer Service. Many answering service companies provide bilingual operators. Finding an employee who is bilingual can be hard to find.
- Start Immediately. Once you decide on an answering service, you can start immediately. This will save you time and energy going through the hiring process and training an individual employee that may not even work out.
Live chat is also an option with many companies, and once you start comparing companies, you will be able to decide what best fits your particular needs and budget. Working with the answering service company, you will be able to run analytics and see how many minutes you used and the time length of the calls. From these reports, you can adjust your usage plan as needed. As well, you will be able to update your script as necessary for your operator. This will be more personal for you and your business and give the appearance that you do have a full-time employee.
Managing your business can be a great deal easier with a virtual receptionist by your side. Having that much-needed downtime for family and friends as well as growing your business is a win-win situation. You don’t want to miss a great new business opportunity, a sale, or a client that needs your help at an odd time of the day. Having someone to back you up will give you peace of mind.