Want to improve the quality of your customer service? You might want to consider hiring a virtual receptionist.
There are many benefits to outsourcing administrative tasks to a virtual assistant. They can enhance your brand’s image by offering exceptional customer support. They can also bolster your brand’s online reputation by maintaining a professional image.
With so much to gain at a fraction of the cost of hiring an onsite employee, it makes sense why call answering services have become so popular in the business world.
Here are the top seven benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist for your business.
1. A Virtual Receptionist Saves Your Company Money
When an organization hires an in-house receptionist, it has to devote resources to salaries, training, and other employee-related expenses. Rather than hiring an employee to handle your administrative tasks, you can hire a virtual one at a lower cost.
An organization’s operating costs are not limited to employee salaries and benefits. They can extend to buying new suppliers and maintaining a workspace.
By hiring a virtual receptionist, you eliminate the need for large office space (that comes at an extra cost). Plus, since they are trained professionals, they perform their duties with great finesse.
They can do everything that an in-house receptionist can do. You’ll never have to worry about the quality of service going down.
2. Allow You to Better Manage Your Time
Answering business calls and handling customer queries are some of the critical functions of any business. If neglected, they can affect the performance of a business.
Owners of small-scale businesses often find that they spend too much time performing receptionist duties. They need to be focusing more on the company’s strategic goals.
By hiring a virtual receptionist, a business can shift those responsibilities elsewhere. This enables the owners to focus more on other important tasks while staying in touch with everything that’s happening at the office.
3. Professional Image
Having a loyal client base is vital to every business, and one way to bolster customers’ confidence is to maintain a professional image.
The quality of the customer service your business offers has a bearing on its reputation. And nothing taints a brand’s image more than negative online remarks from unsatisfied customers.
The right receptionist company offers industry trained professionals. They are masters of what they do and are able to handle calls with warm and professional etiquette.
When calls are being answered professionally, it gives your customers a positive impression. Handling customer queries on time exemplify the professionalism that your business upholds.
A virtual assistant will answer the calls in the name of the company and relay the messages to the right person.
4. They Can be Available at Any Time, 24 Hours a day
Availability is another factor that gives virtual receptionists an edge over in-house receptionists.
Onsite receptionists are only available during business hours. So calls that come in during non-business hours often go unanswered.
And most businesses are closed for more hours than they are open. Thus, it’s likely you may miss potential business opportunities through unanswered calls.
Unlike onsite receptionists, virtual ones are available at any time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When you partner with a reputable answering service, like AnswerFirst, your customers get excellent 24/7 customer support.
And what do you get in return? Professional services and many options for message delivery.
So it won’t matter whether your office is closed for renovation or inaccessible for any reason. A virtual assistant ensures that your clients get uninterrupted services.
5. Great Customer Service
Hiring out receptionist services ensures a skilled and courteous person answers your calls.
They can be trained and briefed on how you prefer all calls to be handled. This means they will learn your brand’s voice and tone, and apply the same to enhance your brand’s image.
Through proper training, they will embrace the brand as their own. This ensures your customers get a seamless experience all the time.
When your customer service is excellent, it will encourage return customers. This eventually leads to increase in sales.
6. Calls Always Answered on Time
Most businesses find it somewhat difficult for all calls to be answered between the normal working hours– 9 am to 5 pm. This is due to workers leaving their desks unmanned from time to time, like during breaks.
Also, when an in-house receptionist goes on vacation, it becomes even harder as the company may have to find a temporary replacement. At times, the new receptionist may not be familiar with the customer service docket and may need some training.
By hiring an answering service, you’ll never have to worry about calls that go unanswered when the receptionist is on break. Also, you’ll rest assured all calls are answered during the normal business hours. And you never have to worry about covering vacations.
7. Peace of Mind
Do you find yourself worrying about what would happen if you were to miss a call from a major client? Have you ever gone on vacation but can’t help but keep on thinking about what’s happening back at the office?
If that’s you, then the peace of mind that virtual assistants provide is what you need.
A virtual assistant can forward all the most important calls to you, even when you’re on vacation. They can also take messages and pass them on to you. You’ll always be updated on everything that’s happening at the office.
Wrapping Up
The benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist outweigh the costs by far.
You get improved customer services and increased productivity. All at a fraction of the cost of an in-house receptionist.
You also get an unmatched level of flexibility and professionalism for your business. Trained receptionists will not only handle your business phone calls but also act as your brand ambassadors.
Have you used the services of virtual receptionists before? Share your experiences in the comments section below.