Phone Answering Services for Small Business
A complete guide to phone answering services for small-sized businesses.
A phone answering service will help you handle calls that come in for your business. Learn more about phone answering services and ways your company can implement an effective solution.
Your clients and customers to have the best impression of your small-scale company. One of the most effective methods to do this is to use a phone answering service.
It is possible to ask if businesses still use answering services, particularly small-sized companies. This is primarily because the business answering services provide many advantages to businesses that use traditional methods.
What is a Call Answering Service?
A phone answering service is a service that receives and answers calls for a company. They also collect calls left by customers and forward messages to the business. Based on the kind of answering service they provide, certain answering companies also provide basic information regarding the services and products of the company to customers.
What are the advantages of having a service to answer your phone?
You do not need to employ receptionists to answer the phone and take calls
Your customers will be able to contact you and leave a message, even while you are working
You would not be interrupted during the middle of important meetings.
It allows you and your employees to concentrate on the most important aspects of your job.
While they are costly, certain answering services can provide specialized services.
The details of your messages and calls will be communicated to you via text or email and are accessible on any device.
What kinds of small-scale businesses would benefit from an answering service?
They could gain from a service to answer phones for small-sized companies:
- Healthcare providers
- Services of a veterinarian
- Law offices
- Real estate agencies
- Property management companies
- Transportation services
- Accounting firms
- Interior design services
How Much Do Phone Answering Services Cost?
The cost of an answering service for small-sized businesses will be contingent on the services the company offers. The majority of companies cost around PS1 per call. Certain companies will charge a base rate in the range of PS10 and PS25 for a certain number of calls. There are additional charges for calls that exceed PS25.
Keep in mind that you could be required to pay for additional premium services such as call forwarding and diversion. There are some companies that will also charge for setup and cancellation charges.
What Happens After The Hours of Operation?
Certain business answering services might operate 24/7, while others only accept messages and calls during working hours. Some may charge extra for services offered in the off-hours
What is the response of my provider to my calls?
This is contingent on whether you select an automated or live answering service. With an automated system, the customer will be presented with an option. It could read “Press 1 to get customer support, press 2 to do accounting, etc.” The aim is to avoid the assistance of live operators.
If your company uses live operators someone will take the phone on behalf of your business. A lot of business answering services employ live operators that work remotely from their homes in order to take messages and calls.
What is the distinction between an answering service and a virtual receptionist?
A service that provides phone answering for small companies would receive messages and calls for your company and forward the messages to you. Virtual receptionists would provide all the benefits of a call answering service, and much more.
The primary distinction is that they will be more educated and typically work from an office called a call center. Additionally, they would be able to route calls to the right people at your work.
What should I consider when choosing the best phone answering service to support my company?
Answering services for businesses are perfect for small and medium-sized enterprises who have the financial resources to pay for these services. When you evaluate different answering services that are suitable for small-sized companies, it is important to take note of the cost per call.
Then, you must determine how many calls you make each month and figure out if they provide packages with the same amount of calls. It is also important to confirm whether they are available 24/7 on holidays. In addition, you need to determine if there will be any setup or cancellation charges.
Alternatives to phone answering
Though they are popular among companies that are traditionally managed There are some drawbacks for answering services for businesses. They can be costly for small and entrepreneurial businesses and could take a while to establish.
An alternative is to install a second-line phone app that will provide you with an exclusive number for work. Through such an application, you will be able to auto-reply messages to missed calls as well as set professional voicemail. Also, you will get value-added features such as review requests and routing of calls.
In short
Does your company require an answering service? Perhaps, if you have got the bandwidth and resources. However, if you are a smaller company, freelancer or sole contractor looking for high-quality features and a low-cost fee an app that is second-line for work is the better option.