Benefits of an Answering Service – Phone Message Service

Many individuals hold the misconception that an answering service is simply a paid alternative to self-handling calls or using automated systems, which could be done at no cost. However, the truth is that these services offer a wealth of benefits and functionalities that often go unrecognized by many small business owners.

Modern answering services act as virtual secretaries, offering a range of services including help desk support, processing credit card transactions, responding to customer inquiries, and scheduling appointments. There are three key reasons why business managers should seriously consider investing in an outsourced telephone secretary solution. Each of these reasons justifies the relatively small expense involved. Consider the Value:

  • Preventing Customer Loss:

One of the primary reasons to use an answering service is to avoid losing potential customers. Consider this: when a new client contacts a business and encounters an automated message, there’s a 50% chance they’ll hang up without leaving a message. For example, if you have a plumbing emergency and the first plumber you call doesn’t answer, you’re likely to call the next one on the list. Similarly, someone seeking a bankruptcy attorney is more likely to call another lawyer if they encounter an answering machine. This is because people today expect and demand immediate service and are willing to make extra calls to get it.

  • Enhancing Business Image:

Hiring an answering service also significantly boosts a company’s image. Answering your own calls can give the impression of a small, resource-limited business. While hiring a full-time secretary is an option, it is considerably more expensive (up to 500% more) and does not cover 24/7 availability including nights, weekends, and holidays. In contrast, an outsourced receptionist typically costs about one dollar per call. This investment can significantly enhance your business image and potentially pay for a full year’s service with just one new client.

Finally you need to consider how important quality of life is to you and your family. Most people go into business to make more money while paying someone else to do most of the work. The bottom line is you either own a business or you own a job and if you’re choosing to answer calls at dinner time with the family, on the beach, or after normal work hours then you are missing out on the true value of being self employed and even though you can over work yourself and answer calls all the time you will still destroy your businesses image and appear as a small time one man operation. In other words you’re acting like an over paid secretary. Even if that’s who you are, why scream it out to world when you can outsource it for a few dollars that almost always pays for itself anyway.

In summation a call center services and phone message center has too many excellent benefits to ignore. Most every company offers a one week free trial to let businesses discover for themselves what it can do for their company.