Call Answering Services for Uninterrupted Business Operations

While most entrepreneurs and businessmen would seek an in-house implementation of their business operations, outsourcing these tasks has proven to be an efficient, time saving and resourceful alternative. Understanding that budgets are tight and spending needs to be kept at a minimum during the initial phase of a business (especially as the generation of revenue isn’t much), certain tasks like call answering can be outsourced so that an organization can focus its time and efforts on core business activities. Hiring a company to provide a call answering service will be fruitful for an organization.

Many business ventures do not outsource their call answering operations because the same can be achieved with, for example, an in-house receptionist. However, there are more drawbacks than advantages here. Like the other employees of the organization, an in-house receptionist will too be entitled to a quota of sick and annual leaves. Secondly, receptionists can neither be expected to work twenty four hours a day, nor will they work during weekends, public holidays or outside office hours. Using a call answering service that provides round-the-clock advantage, an organization can benefit from a continuous flow of business activities.

When a receptionist is unavailable, the business may suffer with the customer calls that will go unanswered. A telephone answering service can eliminate the setback of not being able to provide services outside working hours.

Essentially, organizations can be assured that their customers will not have to speak to an automated answering service if and when they call outside office hours. In a 2011 study conducted by Consumer Reports, it was found that people rated their inability to reach a customer agent as 8.9 (on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being most annoyance). Most customers disconnect the call when they hear an automated answering service, which adversely affects not just customer experience but also the business.

A telephone answering service, therefore, removes the part where a customer is first greeted by an automated answering machine before being directed to the call agent. This makes the process more personal and responsive to the needs of the customer.

Call answering services have found their use in several practices that function on the reliance of an uninterrupted flow of business. In case of emergencies, doctors need to be informed irrespective of when their office hours start or end; organizations that provide technical assistance need a round-the-clock telephone answering service so that their customers can call any time of any day; contractors and field workers require a service with which they can be informed about any unexpected changes in their schedules.

When customers call during emergencies but outside working hours, they want to have a person resolve their queries instead of being greeted by an answering machine. Although automated call answering machines are effective in cases where customers are only seeking basic information, they present a setback when customers want to talk to an agent who can offer more in-depth information about a particular product.

Live call answering services handle customer calls, providing flexibility and a personal touch. One of the advantages of live call answering services over automated answering service is that the customer can directly inquire about their particular issue, and do not have to listen to the automated responses.

With a nonstop flow of business that provides services after hours, a call answering service covers inbound calls and order entries. Furthermore, by deploying state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology, and backup tools, organizations can ensure that any untoward occurrence like power outages do not hamper business conduction. Organizations also use a customised telephone answering service, wherein the type of request needed by the customer is determined and then directed to the respective agent who provides them with the required assistance.

Companies providing call answering services deploy the following process: the customer call coming in is first screened for the type of assistance required; once this is determined, the call is then routed to the particular agent who will handle the request and provide the customer with the appropriate assistance or solution.

Call answering services have evolved with time. An organization can be selective about the call answering service it requires, thereby reducing its expenditures. A telephone answering service can be used as part of its afterhours operations; while the in-house receptionist can service during working hours, the call answering service can takeover thereafter. Not only will this provide round-the-clock and consistent provision of service, but also save an organization’s money.

Another variation of the above stated arrangement is for the receptionist to handle a certain number of calls; however, when the number of calls coming in exceeds that threshold, the extra burden can be transferred to the call answering service.

Call answering services have been around for several years. While the service is still in great demand by organizations that require twenty four hour flow of business operations, the process in itself has evolved over the years. Much of this change can be credited to the advent of the latest technological inventions.

The people employed to service customers are trained adequately to handle large number of calls with ease and eloquence. The agents are well versed in the English language, they are highly skilful and well qualified, and have an expertise in providing customer support.

Customer satisfaction and experience are pivotal for an organization. While it is important for an organization to have new customers come in, it is much more empirical to not lose focus on existing customers which can compel them to look for services elsewhere. Since word of mouth is how reputations in the world of commerce are built (and, in some cases, destroyed), no organization will want to provide inadequate or ineffective services to its customers. Such practices will only come back and hurt the reputation the organization has made in the commercial world.