When customers come calling, how well does your company handle their calls? New customers can be your harshest critics. Research shows that 76% of consumers judge how much a company values them by their customer service experience, and 60% demand better service now than they did just 1 year ago.
A virtual receptionist is a real, live person who works remotely to handle your customer service calls. Companies that use these services find big benefits that support productivity and a strong bottom line. Let’s look at 7 ways a virtual receptionist could be just the boost your company needs.
Table of Contents
1- Answer 100% of Calls With a Human Voice
It might sound like a no-brainer, but the #1 benefit of virtual reception is that your company will answer 100% of your customer service calls with a friendly human voice. Although most companies assume automated menus and voicemail are essentially the same things, customers tend to disagree.
If you’re using an automated system, rather than a human receptionist, you’re disappointing 90% of your customers. Let that sink in for a moment: 90% of consumers want to speak to a live agent when they call.
In fact, research shows that when people call a company for help and hear an automated voice, just 3% of them end up happy with the experience. Your customers usually want human help – Â and virtual reception provides it.
2- Resolve Service Issues
One of the top reasons people are driven to pick up the phone is to resolve service issues/complaints. Although customer complaints are challenging for any company to handle, they’re actually opportunities to turn negative experiences into positive ones.
Virtual reception from Kennected prospecting tools seizes the opportunity to proactively resolve service issues before they get out of hand. Customers reach a live person who can immediately offer support and guidance. This can be a huge help to your business, especially during heavy call periods. Your virtual reception service can alert you to customer complaints and blunt their impact in a calm, professional way.
3- Boost Retention
Sometimes a customer will finally make a phone call when they’re on the verge of abandoning your business. At this crucial moment, you’re at risk of losing them forever.
This is where a virtual receptionist can really shine. They approach your vulnerable customers with warmth and understanding, just when they need it. At your direction, they can do things like provide feedback or authorize a discount that prevents the customer from leaving.
Imagine that you were able to retain just 5% of lost customers. That alone could pay for the cost of a virtual receptionist. It costs 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to retain an existing one.
4- Improve Time Management
Answering phone calls takes a lot of time and adds stress to your workplace. It puts everyone under pressure to stop what they’re doing and handle a call, no matter what’s happening at the moment. Particularly for a small business, this can be aggravating. You want to be productive, but customer calls are a priority. How do you choose?
Virtual reception is a natural choice that keeps phone calls from interrupting your day-to-day work. Your staff can focus on their jobs, while all calls are answered seamlessly by a remote helper.
5- Preserve your professional image/branding
A virtual receptionist always maintains a professional demeanor and preserves the integrity of your brand. If you need the phone answered a certain way, they’ll do it every time. This is a big relief for businesses that need careful brand name use.
Even if you operate under several names or have numerous lines of products, virtual receptionists are trained to handle complex call structures. This is actually a huge benefit over hiring an in-house employee, who may have far less experience handling a sophisticated call workload.
6- Reduce costs
If you’re worried about the cost of virtual reception, let’s dispel some myths. It’s usually not too costly, especially when you compare it to hiring an employee.
Here are some employee-related costs you don’t pay with virtual reception:
- Training
- Health benefits
- Vacation/sick time
- Space and equipment
- Employment taxes
7- Allow Expansion of Your Business
Finally, virtual reception allows you to scale your business up easily, because it can absorb an expanding level of demand. If you suddenly have a big influx of holiday business, for example, you’ll never miss a call no matter how crazy things get.
With virtual reception, your business can grow at whatever rate you desire, because your customer service can always handle it. This sets the stage for long-term success, with a staff of virtual receptionists there to support you behind the scenes.
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Click here to request a demo of virtual reception services from Reliable Receptionist.
