Do you know that there are lots of companies that do not even answer when you call? Lots of companies where you as a customer get greeted by only a voice message, or in the worst case by nothing at all, because the employees are in a meeting, are at a customer or are simply too stressed to pick up the phone.
And what do you do as a customer? There is a good chance that you choose to turn to a competitor.
But having enough staff, to always be available, can be an unrealistic solution for many companies. Often a lot of calls comes during a fairly limited time period, and then at other times having agents who are then overstaffed or completely idle during other parts of the day is not a cost-effective solution.
However, there is help available, in the form of an answering service. An answering service company receives your calls, answers in your company’s name, according to the script you have chosen and then takes care of and distributes the calls to the right department or person.
Below we list 5 of the biggest benefits of getting an answering service.
1 Manned phones when you need them
Many companies experience the same problem, that a large number of calls come in for a limited period. It could be that many customers call during lunchtime, that you have an increase in calls after you have launched a campaign or that there is high pressure on the lines when something goes wrong. There are very few companies that have the luxury of having a steady stream of incoming calls, throughout the day.
Here, an answering service is a fantastic complement that helps you to be able to handle the peaks and in this way you can ensure that you can always receive your customers’ calls, no matter how big the pressure is.
2 Cost effective
Hiring new staff involves a large cost. If you are also unsure whether the workload is high enough to fill your employee’s day, it will be an even more uncertain investment. Answering service comes in different packages, depending on your company’s specific needs. Is it only a few calls that are expected to go to the answering service or maybe you plan to let all calls go through the service and then be distributed to the right departments and people? Is the service only needed during specific times, days or weeks of the year? Regardless of what you need, there is a packaging that will suit you, so that you get as cost-effective handling as possible.
3 Your customers always receive a professional reception
Many entrepreneurs I talk to are worried that the customer will notice that they have come to another company. But believe me, that is not the case. Those who work at the answering service are professional telephone operators and have a black belt in receiving customers in a pleasant and efficient way. In addition, they respond according to the script you have decided and they have access to all exchange information that your colleagues have. This way, the customer will not be able to notice any difference from when you answer yourself and when a telephone operator from the answering service answers.
4 Simplify for your employees
Did you know that the average employee gets interrupted 56 times a day? And that, on average, they spend, a total of two hours each day regaining focus after that interruption. That is a lot of time!
Answering the phone can be a disturbance in the working day, which can mean a lot of lost time and focus. If you then also receive calls that might actually be to another department or person, the task of answering becomes even more disturbing.
With an answering service in place, the agents ensure that the calls come to the right person. By being able to search directly in your own exchange system, the agent can find out who is responsible for certain issues and see who is available to receive calls.
5 Reduce queue times
Something, that you as an entrepreneur, absolutely do not want to show is long response times. Is there anything more annoying than sitting and listening to generic background music while waiting for help? Or when you, once every minute, get to listen to “We will receive your call shortly, thank you for waiting”. If you work with B2B, it often becomes even more important to maintain fast response times if you have signed various Service Level agreements.
With an answering service, you can easily set how long the waiting time can be before the call is transferred to the answering service agents. This way, you can promise fast response times to your customers and be sure that you keep them.
These were the biggest benefits of answering service but of course there are many more.
You are welcome to contact us at Dstny if you want to know more about what an answering service could do for your company.
Read more about response service
Here you will find more information about Dstny’s response service.