Providing high-quality customer service over the phone isn’t as easy as it looks. Many small business owners underestimate the impact the customer experience has on their bottom line. While the duties of the average customer service agent aren’t exactly glamorous, the work they do is vital to the survival and growth of the company. Charismatic, resourceful, and empathetic, a high-quality receptionist can work as both the voice and heart of an organization.
Unfortunately, not all businesses employ these kinds of exceptional administrative assistants. Small business owners may be shouldering incoming calls without any kind of front office staff. While your company might dream of one day employing a full, in-house administrative team, a customer service department may simply be out of the question for now.
Thankfully, small business owners no longer have to sacrifice valuable capital for stellar customer support. Answering services have changed the way American businesses handle incoming calls. For far less than the cost of a part-time employee’s salary, small businesses can harness the power of a call answering service based right here in the United States.
Affordability is just one reason why small business owners love their answering service. Here are four more:
Next Level Professionalism
Small businesses often have one thing in common: a lack of resources. Small business owners frequently make do with fewer workers, tighter budgets, and quicker turnaround times than their larger competitors. Too often, this strain is reflected on the customer-facing side of the business. Employees are forced to become generalists, answering phones while tinkering away at projects. Spread too thin, the workers may let the pressure of multitasking affect their customer service performance.
After partnering with an answering service, on the other hand, small business owners can project a professional image. Virtual receptionists follow customized call scripts that bring consistency and branding to each conversation. Callers receive the full attention of the receptionist, and solutions are discovered with ease. It’s easy to see why so many small business owners love their answering service!
24/7 Availability
Many small business owners are limited by the number of hours they have in a day, especially in the earliest days of the company’s history. When you’re one of only a handful of employees, your availability is restricted by your manpower. Even the most work-obsessed among us require breaks now and then, and getting a full night of sleep just isn’t optional. This is why so many small business owners opt to partner with an answering service.
24/7 availability opens up new markets that might otherwise go untapped. Midnight phone calls are answered with the same energy and enthusiasm as during traditional business hours. Leads are nurtured with patience, and returning customers are treated to a friendly virtual receptionist who can help take care of them. Meanwhile, small business owners and their hard-working teams are resting up and recharging for another productive day. What more could you ask?
Increased Productivity
Spinning plates and wearing multiple hats come second nature to some small business owners. Most people, however, require focused specialization to perform at their highest level. While you might physically be able to cover the front desk phone while itemizing your client’s tax deductions or categorizing new products on your website, your performance will inevitably suffer. Multitasking is one of the leading productivity killers, which is why so many small business owners hire remote receptionists to cover their phones.
If you’re tired of phone calls interrupting your workflow, it’s time to invest in an answering service for small businesses. Given how long it takes the average person to get back into the right headspace following an interruption, you owe it to yourself and your team to rethink the way you handle incoming calls. Consider all you might accomplish if you weren’t pulled away by the ringing of the telephone every few minutes. Productivity will no doubt skyrocket once you’ve got a virtual receptionist covering your phone lines.
Meaningful Connections
We’ve all been on the receiving end of an awkward or frustrating phone call. Whether influenced by long hold times, rude employees, or technical glitches, bad phone calls have a way of sticking with customers for a long time. On the other hand, a meaningful conversation can forge connections and foster a sense of loyalty that lasts a lifetime.
Answering service representatives can eliminate many of the most common phone call frustrations. Efficient, professional, and empathetic, they can turn any challenge into an opportunity for connection. By prioritizing the customer experience, these administrative professionals can transform even the most perfunctory of calls. Small business owners hoping to earn the respect and repeat business of their callers know the value of an answering service.
See the MAP Difference for Yourself
MAP Communications isn’t like many other answering services. For more than three decades, we’ve been based right here in the United States while providing fully customized call handling solutions for small businesses. No matter your industry, MAP employees bring a sense of authority, professionalism, and resourcefulness to each call. See what MAP can do for you during a free week trial. Click here to get started.
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