As a business owner, you know the importance of quality customer experiences. No matter your industry, you want to leave a positive impression on customers and your community at large. Of course, offering stellar customer service is often easier said than done. This is especially true of small businesses that have limited staff to juggle a multitude of daily duties.
An answering service can prove instrumental to your customer service goals. More and more business owners are opting to use such services to supplement their existing administrative team or in place of a full-time receptionist. There are a lot of benefits that come with such an arrangement – never missing another call chief among them. On-call virtual receptionists work around the clock to deliver quality customer service no matter what.
As one of the answering service industry’s most experienced and respected providers, MAP Communications is often asked the question: what does “on-call” mean, anyway?
Defining the Term “On-Call”
On-call is the phrase used to describe services you can turn on or off at will. This is a major advantage of partnering with MAP Communications. The flexibility that on-call answering services provide can open up a whole new world of possibilities for your business. For instance, maybe you’re running a busy plumbing business and typically have a receptionist field inbound calls from prospective customers. Once they head home for the night, you can turn on coverage from MAP. Our team of talented virtual receptionists can provide a seamless transition from one shift to the next, providing the same great service as your in-house team.
On-call phone answering services can also help you stem the tide during your busy periods. If you’re running a new campaign, for example, and need some extra administrative support to handle the influx of calls, MAP professionals can rise to the occasion. When the sale is over and you need less help from our team, you can turn our services back off again.
The flexibility that on-call coverage offers is unparalleled. You can turn our services on and off at will. Maybe you’re a busy realtor looking to unplug over your lunch hour – MAP can help maintain your professional image while you’re briefly unavailable. If you head out of town on a vacation, MAP is here to hold down the fort while you relax. The possibilities are endless with an on-call telephone answering service at your disposal.
Benefits of an On-Call Answering Service for Your Business
The benefits associated with an on-call answering service are numerous. For starters, our rates are incredibly affordable. Rather than outfit a full-time employee with equipment, furniture, and office space, you can simply turn on MAP coverage and go about your day. Full-time receptionists also require a competitive salary, benefits, time off, and training. Even the most efficient worker will still need time off on nights and weekends. Working with the best answering service is far more affordable, since you only pay for the time we actively spend on the phone with your callers.
Seamless integration into your organization is another important benefit of partnering with the best virtual answering services. We work diligently to help design a customized call script that mirrors the kind of service you’re already extending to callers. While you might expect a script to make conversation feel stilted, the opposite is true. The script provides scaffolding that allows us to introduce ourselves, reassure callers that they’ve dialed the right number, and get the wheels of conversation in motion. In most cases, callers have no clue they’re speaking with a third-party service.
Other Benefits of an On-Call Answering Service
MAP Communications is available 24/7, 365 days a year. That means there’s always a friendly, resourceful voice ready and waiting to help your callers. This is one of the most important aspects of an on-call answering service. A single missed call can mean losing out on serious revenue. It’s not enough to limit your callers to traditional nine-to-five hours – especially when the competition is ready to swoop in and win over your prospective customers. The reality is that most people will hang up and dial another option in lieu of leaving a voicemail. An answering service ensures there’s always a real, live human ready to answer calls, address concerns, schedule appointments, and place orders, no matter how late.
Improved customer satisfaction is a key reason to partner with an answering service. Your in-house team juggles a lot of responsibilities. By outsourcing your calls, you’ll ensure that callers have the undivided attention of our agents. This not only improves customer satisfaction rates, it means your employees have the bandwidth to focus on other important tasks around the office. They can deliver better face-to-face customer service, too, when they’re not constantly interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.
The Impact of Improved Customer Experiences
Better customer satisfaction frequently leads to higher profits. That’s because people want to be loyal to the businesses that best meet their needs. Earning the loyalty of your community often boils down to availability and professionalism. Cross those two hurdles and the rest falls into place naturally.
Loyal customers are often eager to tell their friends and family about their experiences. They’ll write positive online reviews and encourage their loved ones to give your business a try. With so much on the line with every inbound call, it makes sense to prioritize quality customer experiences. If you’re not sure how to make every call count – and juggle all the other aspects of your business at the same time – an answering service is the solution.
Getting Started with an On-Call Answering Service
While the prospect of partnering with call answering services might sound daunting, the process couldn’t be easier. Upon signing up, you’ll be asked about your business and your administrative needs. Depending on your requirements, we can provide tier-one tech support, HIPAA compliant answering services, place orders, schedule appointments, dispatch crews, and so much more.
After a thorough discussion of how we can help you meet the needs of your callers, we’ll help craft a thoughtful call script. Ideally, this script will match the one you’re already using to take calls. By providing a seamless transition from your team to ours, callers will rarely, if ever, realize they’re speaking with an answering service. Instead, they’ll feel delighted and impressed by the quality of service they receive.
Try MAP Today for Free
If you’re curious about how an on-call answering service might fit into your organization, a free trial is a great way to preview our services. For seven days, you’ll be privy to all the perks of a partnership with a phone answering service. At the end of the trial, there is zero obligation to continue using our services. We know you’ll be impressed by our offerings.
MAP Communications has assisted companies around the world with phone calls for more than 30 years. 100 percent employee-owned, we’re based entirely in the United States. When our customers succeed, so do we. With such great opportunities to provide stellar customer service available, why not give MAP a try? Sign up today!
