Telephone answering services are used by many businesses but what does this kind of service offer clients and why is it important?
What Does a Telephone Answering Service Do?
A telephone answering service or telecommunications service provider is a service businesses avail of to handle their incoming phone calls. The service provider answers the phone call and then relays the message or transfers the call directly to the business personnel, according to prior arrangements. The service provider can answer calls using their business name. Virtual receptionists are those who answer phone calls. They can be given a script, ensuring that your brand voice and personality are adhered to.
Phone answering services are often used by businesses when their reception isn’t manned, thus reducing the number of missed calls received. It is also used by companies when their full-time receptionist is on lunch break, holidays or sick leave. Calls can also be transferred to various employee extensions if working with a large business, thereby offering the same service as an on-site receptionist. Calls are processed by real human beings and not an automated answering machine.
The three main functions of a telephone answering service include:
- Pass on urgent calls to personnel
- Screen out non-urgent or expendable calls
- Cut costs by replacing expensive on-site employees
There are various different types of industries that avail of phone answering services. Sales reps use the service when they don’t want to miss sales leads if they are in a client meeting and doctors use it when they need to take emergency calls. Solo entrepreneurs, contractors, service organisations, etc all use phone answering services.
Why Use a Telephone Answering Service?
Here at Kendlebell Kimmage, we have been providing a telephone answering service for our clients since 2007. Back then the idea of a company outsourcing its telephone answering to another company was still new. Nowadays there are a huge number of companies outsourcing their telephone calls, however, we still get asked the question “why do companies use a telephone answering service?”
In a survey recently carried out by Kendlebell, the following benefits of using a telephone answering service were noted:
- Creates the Illusion of Size — many of our clients have said that their business appears to be larger than what it actually is when they use a phone answering service.
- Efficiency — this includes both cost and productivity. The hiring of a receptionist can be costly, especially for a small business with few resources. Additionally, employing an in-house receptionist for a small business can’t be justified if you don’t have a huge number of incoming phone calls. In terms of productivity, getting employees to answer calls draws them away from their own tasks and breaks the workflow. It is often not the time taken to answer calls that are the burden but the time it takes to get back into the zone.
- No Lost Business — there is always someone there to answer the phone, reducing the number of missed calls.
- Freedom — there are no worries of missed calls when you are out of the office. This is particularly important for those who fret when their receptionist goes on holiday leave or rings in sick.
- Professionalism — the provision of a professional interface, and not an answering machine, make your company appear to be more professional and proficient.
If you want to know more, give us a call on 1800 848 666 or visit our contact page.
