The job description of a typical answering service says it handles calls for you. That’s an UNDERSTATEMENT. And if you’ve been ignoring the need for one because you think it’s too trivial, here are a few reasons you might wanna reconsider and make the smart choice for your business.
More Calls, More Customers
Your business is important to you. So are your clients. Any entrepreneur would feel thrilled watching their business grow beyond its limits. But if you don’t have the resources to handle the surge, that sudden growth could turn into a disaster. If your marketing team is doing a great job, and your customer base is growing at an accelerated rate, it won’t be long until that number becomes unmanageable. Lost prospects, growth, money; name it any way you want, all your marketing efforts will be wasted. You could blame a lack of funds, but more often than not, it’s a simple problem of available resources (call reps) that fits your pocket. A simple fact, answering service pricing is considerably lower than any in-house staff. Your budget stays in control, and you earn extra customers. Grow a little bigger.
Scalable Expenditure
Let’s talk financial advantages. According to Payscale, you’d need to spend more than $2000 a month (plus added benefits and liabilities) on an on-site call representative, even if a sizeable part of their work hours are spent idly without handling calls. Pricing plans like AnswerConnect’s offers flexible plans to get you similar benefits and charges for the exact time spent taking calls. Not a dime more. Isn’t that a reasonable and scalable way to spend your money?
Commitment Around The Clock
24/7 is the buzzword for any business that strives for growth. Be it healthcare or legal, local or global, if your business takes inbound calls, you need someone answering them when you’re away. Doing that with in-house staff will result in either overtaxed reps or high operational costs. Since AnswerConnect has professionals across the globe, you won’t need to worry about any missed late-night booking calls. An opportunity NOT wasted.
Handling Urgency With Special Care
Big companies have the ability to treat customer satisfaction with utmost importance and handle urgency with special care. You’d love to give your customers the same star treatment but have fewer resources to handle them. Not all calls are of equal importance. While most can be handled with a basic script, some need special attention, and this is where an automated voice falls short. Only real people understand real people. You can get dedicated care for high-priority calls or have them rerouted to specialized callers. Answering services will do that for you at regular rates. Specialized care doesn’t have to mean specialized pricing.
Comforting Voice All Along
Imagine having an overworked receptionist. Chances are some calls are going to reach voicemail or, worse, a stressed-out rep who’s not as reassuring and comforting as they could be. Either situation would result in a frustrated customer, something a growing business can’t afford to have. It will be harder to complete the sale—if there’s a sale at all—and in the long run it will hurt your brand’s word-of-mouth marketing. None of it is desired, and all of it can be avoided. Thanks to answering services and the customer care specialists they employ, you always get an accommodating and empathetic voice for your callers every time. Needless to say, you stay one step ahead of getting a happy customer.
Fewer Liabilities, Extra Resources
Businesses are responsible for their employees. Big businesses have enough resources to address the overhead of multiple employees, but a growing business is on a tighter budget. Answering services frees them from the hassles of employee management, infrastructure cost, etc. Switching to one like AnswerConnect, you can save some extra resources and devote them towards aspects directly contributing to your business.
Being Local Globally
Studies suggest a person is more comfortable speaking with someone who shares the same sociocultural interests than to someone with lingual dexterity. Every business that caters globally faces the risk of not being adequately local. Big businesses have enough staff across the world to address this issue, but something similar is a luxury for a startup or even mid-sized business. An answering service like ours helps your business get the right voice for your brand. Whether you’re a local store or a global enterprise, an it has a lot to offer to every business. Are you game?
Food for thought: Customer Satisfaction Outranks Customer Delight
[Image Credits: firstindy]
