New Ways Answering Services Can Help Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you’ll be familiar with keeping lots of plates spinning. Even with an excellent team, making sure your business is on track can be a real challenge when there’s so much going on. When things get busy, important tasks can slip through the cracks, affecting your customer service and, ultimately, your bottom line.

One of the biggest struggles for small businesses is staying on top of inbound phone calls. This gets particularly difficult at business times of the year, like the holidays. Thankfully there are solutions available, including professional answering services. Here’s what they are, why they work, and why they might be the perfect match for your business.

Why small businesses face challenges in handling calls

Small businesses can find answering phone calls tough for a few reasons. Do any of the following sound familiar?

• You only have a few staff members to take calls, who are already busy with other tasks. So, when calls come in, especially lots at once, they can’t manage them all.
• You don’t have the budget for advanced call handling systems or extra staff for the phones to cover absences.
• You struggle to keep up with calls that come in after hours
• Your business has grown quickly and you can’t handle the increased number of calls

If they do, answering services could be the solution for your business.

How do answering services work?

When a customer calls, they’re greeted by a professional operator trained in customized call scripts that reflect your business. They can handle customer queries, schedule appointments, or take messages.

Answering services use sophisticated technology to handle calls efficiently and professionally. They can prioritize and filter calls, forward important ones directly to you, and take messages for less urgent matters. However, you want it to work is how it works. A professional receptionist service behaves exactly like your business – so quality never slips.

What are the benefits of an answering service for small businesses?

There are a host of benefits associated with bringing in a professional answering service, here are just a few of the key ones:

Keep Customers Happy

A great answering service can keep your customers happy, even when you’re swamped with calls. Your business can always be reached, day or night, even during the holidays. This means you’re always ready to impress, no matter when calls flood in. Plus, when new people call, they’ll hear a friendly, professional voice, even if you can’t pick up yourself.

Save Money

Hiring and training staff to take calls can cost a lot – particularly out of hours. You also need the latest tech to keep track of your calls, record them, and make sure they sound good. An overflow call service is a more affordable way to make sure there’s always a professional ready to answer your calls.

24/7 Availability

An answering service can operate 24/7, which means your business won’t miss calls after hours or during holidays. Customers from different time zones can also be catered to here, meaning you can support a wider customer base.

Disaster Recovery

In the event of a disaster, like a hurricane, power outages are common and can cause serious disruption for businesses. Restoration answering service means you won’t miss any customer calls, because your remote professional receptionists aren’t going to be affected. Because of this, your customers can still get support while you get back online.

Boost Your Team’s Performance

Letting a service take care of extra calls means your team can focus on their main tasks. This can help them work better and feel happier in their jobs. And that can keep both your customers and your staff happy, leading to improved retention for both.

Juggling all the day-to-day tasks in a small business can be tough, and handling tons of phone calls only adds to the challenge. By using a professional answering service you can ease the load. Not only can an answering service keep your customers happy by always being available, but it can also save time, money, and stress for your whole business.