Missing important calls from customers? Data published by the Harvard Business Review has revealed that every lost client costs a business around £1,400. If you are struggling to reach the phone, a telephone answering service might be the answer…
Call answering is a customer service tool
Providing a high level of customer service requires being professional and available. Many businesses, both big and small, often fail to meet these expectations which can lead to a breakdown in trust.
First impressions count so adopting a professional call-handling service will mean incoming calls during office hours will no longer go unanswered providing a consistent service to your clients. Responding promptly to enquiries and complaints will keep customers happy, while reducing wasted time returning missed calls.
Finding new clients is time-consuming and expensive, so it is easier and cheaper to retain clients by offering an answer service to meet their needs. Building trust and credibility will ultimately lead to higher customer loyalty.
How does a telephone answering service work?
Imagine having an extra pair of hands to deal with all your business calls. For example, Best Reception employs UK-based receptionists who are fully trained to offer a friendly, professional phone answering service.
Say goodbye to picking up voicemail messages, a virtual receptionist will answer your calls promptly. Your customer will receive a polite and professional response while you are busy getting on with your day-to-day business.
By outsourcing to an external supplier, you can choose from a range of call-handling packages, so you can find a solution to suit your needs and budget. Whether you require message taking, call transferring or appointment booking – a call-handling service can soon become an integral part of your operation.
Virtual receptionists must understand how your company works, so a step-by-step onboarding process is required to ensure no detail is missed. You can then receive a bespoke and cost-effective business answering service.
Streamline your operation with a call-answering service
Using an external call-handling team is a quick and affordable way to improve the efficiency of your current operation. Here are three key benefits to help move your business forward…
Time management
Removing telephone answering duties from your team creates more time for them to focus on core tasks and responsibilities. Fewer distractions and interruptions will save time and boost productivity as work will get finished faster.
Streamline processes
Integrating professional call handling with CRM systems can provide seamless customer management. Work can be booked quickly and simply, with key data and instructions being digitally recorded to avoid repetition and confusion.
Cost savings
Outsourcing removes the need and expense for a business to hire in-house reception staff. By tailoring a telephone answering service to demand, a business can cut overhead costs associated with physical office space while having the flexibility to handle peak periods.
How call handling can aid business growth
Here are three ways an answer service can generate growth while giving your company an advantage over the competition…
Capturing sales leads
When every incoming call is answered your business can reach every potential customer. Your next call could be from a client who could transform your business, so make sure someone is there to pick up the phone.
Nobody likes it when their call goes unanswered, but a virtual receptionist can give the impression that you value every caller’s custom. An experienced professional can be a great advert for your business, while ensuring no opportunity is missed.
A telephone answering service can also support your marketing and advertising activity by capturing all incoming enquiries.
Scaling up
Outsourcing is a technique for achieving your business growth goals without the burden of expensive infrastructure. Using a remote call-handling service can increase capacity while not requiring investment in recruitment or renting office space.
Your business will not be employing a full-time receptionist, freeing up vital cash flow to funnel into growth. Avoid having to pay an employee’s salary, pension, National Insurance and other benefits.
Using a telephone answering service also creates an impression of being a large, established business. Qualified call handlers can build rapport and provide customers with the information they need.
Competitive advantage
Research has shown that 80% of organisations expect to compete with each other based on customer experience. While your competitors struggle to respond to calls, you can make a name for yourself as a reliable and responsive business.
Great customer experience can influence purchase decisions, as many people value quality over cost. Virtual receptionists can fully understand your company and provide a personal touch to make new customers feel valued.
Even when you are enjoying a well-earned break, your call-answering service can be dealing with clients and booking appointments ready for your return.
Sectors that benefit from call-answering services
Scalable and flexible, our solutions fit a wide variety of small businesses and large enterprises alike. Here are a few of our most popular client sectors:
- Dental practices: virtual receptionists can offer support during busy periods or when staff are on holiday. Your practice can earn a reputation for its efficient appointment-booking process.
- Law firms: a call-handling service can act as a front office transferring calls to the right people, even when lawyers are working remotely. This removes the burden from admin and support staff.
- Healthcare: therapists and other health professionals can use an answering service to deal with enquiries and book appointments while they are treating clients.
- Property managers: letting and estate agents can a business answering service to manage new enquiries, appointments and issues raised by landlords, tenants and vendors.
- Tradespeople: outsource call answering and appointment booking to a professional team of receptionists, so you can concentrate on earning money and serving customers.
How to choose a telephone answering service
Before you start your search for a provider, you first need to identify what services your organisation requires. Once you have a detailed specification, you can then look for a supplier who can deliver the brief.
For example, you might require UK-based receptionists, call handlers with experience in your sector, multilingual support, expertise in CRM systems, flexible pricing plans and a range of service packages.
Benefits of using Best Reception’s telephone answering service
Best Reception has been providing call handling services for 15 years. At Best Reception, we can help you ensure your calls are answered. Throughout the years, we have found our clients have seen an improvement in their customer service, client retention, and are able to focus on the every day running of their business.
Receptionists Who Know You and Your Business
We understand how important your company’s reputation is. That’s why when you join us, we ask for a bit more information about your company, what you do and what you want us to do. Once we know a bit about you, our trainers individually show each of the receptionists who will be handling your client the ins and outs of your company. If you have any questions down the line, or if you have anything to add, give us a call and we’ll update our information.
Tailored to you
Of course, you can decide which information we obtain, but every call is logged and a message sent to you to say what happened. We can put the caller through to you, handle it ourselves using information you provide, or we can take a message and say you’ll call back – you decide! Our current clients use our services to cover lunch breaks, comfort breaks, unplanned sick leave, holidays and days off. We’re even used to make sure a call isn’t missed when their in house receptionist is with a patient, or when two calls come through at the same time.
Sales screening
We know that there are some callers you’re not interested in speaking with, whether sales callers or cold calls, we can include sales screening in your plan, meaning we don’t send you a message and can tell cold callers that you’re not interested. If you’d rather make up your own mind, we can send you a message instead, and obtain details as normal.
Out of hours
We’re here Monday to Friday, from 8am to 7pm, and 8:30am – 5:30pm on Saturdays, but we appreciate every company has different opening hours. We can ensure your callers speak to someone whenever you’re closed, on annual leave, or have a staff training day – whatever the situation, your reception will be manned. Outside of our opening hours, we can offer you an out of hours service or set you up a voicemail which we can monitor.
Diary Management
We are known for our diary management services, and work with a wide range of industries and sectors. Whatever business you’re in, if you have a diary, we can help. We can book, reschedule, cancel and take payment. We understand how important every booking is to our clients, so we do all we can to get every prospective client booked in. We use a wide range of diary software, including but not limited to: Cliniko, Jane App, Practicepal, PPS, Practice Hub, Pearl and Nookal.
Taking Payment
It’s not just message taking and diary handling we can do. If you need a payment taken, we are happy to handle your payments, directly into your companies’ payment portal and log these on your diary if needed. Whatever you prefer, we will make sure you don’t miss out.
A Price Plan That Works for You
We are proud to offer a free trial allowing you to try us first. We always recommend using our free trial to check us out. This also helps us both understand how many calls you receive and are potentially missing. When we know how many calls you are likely to receive, we can make a recommendation on a call plan and tailor this so that it works for you. Some of our clients only need one booking to cover our fee, so why not enquire about our free trial today.
Unlock the benefits of a telephone answering service
Here at Best Reception, we have been handling incoming calls for customers since 2006. Our friendly team save our clients time and create more business opportunities by providing a professional and cost-effective phone answering service.
You can trust our qualified, UK-based call handlers to provide a high level of customer service, greeting every caller in a friendly, professional manner. From call transfers and message taking to diary management and appointment booking, we are the number one choice for our valued customers.
If you need the support of a telephone answering service, please contact us for a FREE TRIAL.
