A live answering service features professional, friendly receptionists who are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They never call in sick and are highly trained to act as a seamless extension of your corporate image.
Calls are routed directly to these seasoned employees, who can handle everything an in-house receptionist would typically manage. For example, they can schedule appointments, process orders, handle customer service inquiries, and more. Plus, they deliver incredible productivity, financial, and operational benefits to businesses, including:
1. Easy scheduling. A live answering service is a must for businesses that rely on a lot of appointments, such as law and medical offices. The receptionists can book clients and input appointments directly into your calendar, making scheduling a breeze.
2. Never miss a call. No matter what’s going on in your world – a power or internet outage, a powerful storm, or an unplugged vacation – a live answering service makes sure that you never miss a call. Whenever a customer reaches out to your company, a friendly and professional receptionist is available to handle their concerns, close sales, and represent your business.
3. Increased efficiency. When customers call in, they have to move through a process. They need to state their reason for calling and get transferred to the right department, where they may need to leave a message. A live answering service increases the efficiency of this process, by handling basic requests for you. For example, they can take messages, schedule appointments, and answer questions, so you and your employees can focus on higher-level tasks.
4. Specialized customer service. The best systems don’t only handle basic inquiries – they also feature specialized services. For example, receptionists can be specially trained to speak intelligently to very specific clients, cross-sell and up-sell customers, register attendees for events and seminars, complete catalog orders, and field TV and advertising responses for specific campaigns. In other words, whatever unique needs your company has, a top-of-the-line answering service can meet them.
5. After-hours service. Today’s customers expect to be able to reach your office around the clock – and a live answering service ensures that they can. Even if your business is closed for the day, your clients can make appointments and place orders through your off-site receptionists.
6. No employee training necessary. With an on-site receptionist, you’re in charge of the hiring, training, and firing. These tasks are costly and time intensive, and they likely aren’t the best use of time. A live answering service eliminates these steps entirely by managing the off-site receptionists on your behalf, so you can focus on running your business.
As you can see, using a live answering service is a terrific way to treat your customers better, increase productivity, and save money. To learn more about our live answering service at ClarityTel, contact us today.