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7 reasons it’s time for a virtual phone answering assistant.

9 min read

It’s not easy knowing when you’ve crossed the line from “Want” to “Need”. Read this guide for 7 signs it’s time to hire a virtual phone answering assistant

Are you finding it increasingly challenging to juggle the demands of your business, especially when it comes to handling phone calls? As competition rises and consumer expectations soar, the pressure to sustain profitability increases. To stay ahead, you need to leverage every tool available – including a virtual phone answering assistant.

But, identifying when to transition to virtual call handling isn’t always easy. Should you do it now, while your business is in its early stages – or wait until later, when things are so busy you can barely keep up?

Below, we’ll explain what a virtual phone answering assistant is and help you decide if it fits your business strategy.

What is a virtual phone answering assistant?

A virtual phone answering assistant is a professional service that manages your incoming calls remotely. These assistants can handle various call types, such as:

Customer inquiries,
Appointment scheduling,
Basic troubleshooting, and
Call routing.

No matter your business type, a telephone virtual agent can seamlessly adapt to your operational needs. For example, they can help a lawyer with booking legal consultations, a realtor with scheduling viewing appointments, or a tradesperson with improving lead generation.

Indications you need a virtual phone answering assistant.

New and seasoned business owners can benefit immensely from hiring a virtual phone answering assistant. Here are some signs that now’s the right time to consider doing so at your business.

1. You keep missing calls.

Consistently missing calls clearly indicates that you could gain from having a virtual phone answering assistant.

Every missed call represents a lost opportunity, which impacts your profits and reputation. According to research, 80 percent of callers will hang up when they reach voicemail. And if they get through and have a bad experience, 74 percent of people will choose another business next time.

Team morale also suffers since balancing call answering with other priorities can be overwhelming. When staff can’t keep up with their workload, their motivation suffers.

Over time, missed calls can cost businesses significantly in terms of revenue and customer satisfaction. By entrusting call handling to a virtual assistant, you ensure prompt and professional responses, boosting your business’s image and bottom line.

2. You keep losing clients.

If you find it challenging to retain clients over the long term, finding out what’s driving them away is crucial. Otherwise, client retention rates will continue to suffer – and you’ll never know why.

Given the significant costs associated with acquiring new customers, maximizing the retention of current ones is crucial for sustained business growth. To help you understand if you’re missing opportunities for maximizing revenue from existing customers, you’ll want to evaluate your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

When CLV is low, you need to capitalize on the value of your customer relationships better. After all, every lost customer means missed revenue, a hit to your business’s reputation, and a potential loss of future referrals. You can significantly enhance client retention by prioritizing reliable customer support with a telephone virtual agent.

Virtual assistants help address every client promptly, schedule appointments efficiently, and ensure client satisfaction. By consistently providing high service levels, you instill confidence in your clients and foster stronger relationships built on trust.

Eventually, excellent customer service translates into longer-lasting customer engagements, increased CLV, and a more robust foundation for sustainable business growth.

3. You spend too much time on the phone.

Excessive time spent on phone calls can significantly impact your business’s productivity and overall efficiency.

But many business owners don’t realize how much time they spend on the phone. Research found that 40 percent of small business owners allocate up to three hours weekly for business-related phone conversations or up to 156 hours yearly.

This loss of productivity affects your ability to focus on core business activities, like handling day-to-day operations, payroll, and deliveries. Constantly answering the phone limits your capacity to innovate and adapt to changing market demands. It’s hard to plan for the future when you’re regularly interrupted by a ringing phone.

Entrusting call-handling duties to a virtual assistant can help you reclaim precious time. This will allow you to redirect energy toward more high-impact tasks that drive business growth, like lead generation and marketing campaigns.

4. You spend all morning checking voicemail messages.

In today’s world of instant gratification, we want answers – and we want them now. The younger the caller is, the less likely they are to leave a voicemail. For individuals aged between 20 and 29, only 16 percent will leave you a message.

But younger callers aren’t the only ones who hate voicemail – your staff likely does, too. Some employees – like Millennials – won’t even listen to them and desire a more practical way of delivering information.

Although many of your callers opt out of leaving a message, voicemails from those who do can quickly add up. Consequently, beginning your day by sifting through voicemail messages can prove time-consuming and bothersome.

When you rely on voicemail as a primary communication channel for your business, you’re often left playing catch-up. By the time you get in touch with the customer, they may no longer be interested and have gone with your competitor instead.

This perpetual cycle of checking and responding to voicemail messages can inadvertently delay critical interactions with clients and prospects. The longer you wait to respond, the likelier they will have gone elsewhere – likely to someone who offers more immediate assistance.

5. You’re unable to handle call surges and busy periods.

Fluctuations in call volume are not only typical but expected, particularly during peak seasons or promotional events.

Industries such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) experience seasonal fluctuations – like significant call surges during the summer’s heat waves. Similarly, eCommerce businesses often encounter spikes in call volume during peak shopping seasons, such as festive seasons or major sales events.

When you work with a virtual assistant, you’re setting your business up to thrive – even during your busiest times. A virtual telephone agent can provide uninterrupted customer support and maintain efficiency with appointment bookings, order processes, and customer inquiries.

6. You have high employee turnover.

When staff shoulder additional responsibilities beyond their core duties, they’ll eventually develop dissatisfaction and possibly even burnout. The American Psychological Association (APA) found that burned-out employees are:

2.6 times more likely to be actively looking for a new job,
63% more likely to call in sick, and
23% more likely to visit the emergency room.[SM3]

Employee turnover disrupts your business and creates substantial cost implications. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2021 Report, replacing an employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary.

Hiring and training new in-house employees is time-consuming and greatly impacts your business’s productivity. Sometimes, you do all the work of onboarding someone only to let them go after the busy season.

Instead of hiring another in-house team member, outsourcing call-handling duties to a virtual phone receptionist can be a great solution. Not only does it free up time for your existing team, but it can also foster a more positive work environment and reduce turnover rates.

Cost-wise, outsourcing is typically less expensive than hiring in-house. Forbes found that cost savings – up to 70 percent of long-term operational expenses – are the main reason companies outsource.

7. You keep getting negative reviews about being unreachable.

Customers who cannot reach your business may become so frustrated they leave a negative review. When a growing number of customers follow suit, it’s evident that a significant issue needs immediate attention.

Negative reviews can significantly hurt your business’s reputation, potentially deterring prospective customers. Reviewtrackers found that 94 percent of consumers have avoided a company because of a bad review. Poor reviews undermine credibility and can affect even the most well-established relationships.

A virtual phone answering assistant can help showcase your unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service. Handling each call promptly and professionally helps mitigate the risk of negative reviews and cultivates a positive business reputation.

A success story to inspire you.

To illustrate the impact of telephone virtual agents on businesses, consider the case of McGraw Realtors.

As one of the top ten fastest-growing real estate companies in the United States, McGraw Realtors needed help with call volume. The company switched to AnswerConnect after its initial partnership with another answering service fell short of expectations.

In partnership with AnswerConnect, McGraw Realtors now provides 24/7 availability to clients in twenty locations. A live virtual phone receptionist always directs each call to the appropriate person. According to Director of Operations Chris Swift, personalized scripts have greatly simplified the setup of customer service lines in new offices, making the process “a breeze.”

Chris and his team also appreciate the ability to scale their plan and monitor call quality through recordings.

Conclusion: Getting started with a virtual phone answering assistant.

Customer phone calls are time-consuming and demanding – but they’re also a massive part of business.

Fortunately, virtual phone answering assistants can help alleviate some of the challenges you face with non-stop ringing lines. AnswerConnect can help you: