The old school trading hours of 9 – 5, Monday – Friday are a relic of the past. With globalisation, the growing integration of technology and social media presence, businesses are now more than ever needing to establish 24 x 7 presence and be readily accessible to existing clients, prospective clients and new opportunities. With the right outsourced business support partner, any business can be present 24 hours, 7 days per week. Here we unpack how a 24-hour call answering service works and the core reasons as to why your business could benefit from a virtual receptionist.
How does 24 Hour Call Answering work?
24 Hour Call Answering is when real human answers your missed call, rather than it diverting to an automated voicemail. The service operates 24/7, meaning that your clients always have a point of contact to your business. Quite simply put, it means that you will never miss a call or potential business lead again.
The agents can handle your calls during overflow periods (when all lines are busy), after-hours (when the office is closed for the day), or all your phone calls. Whether it’s seasonal, or an unexpected call load increase, 24 Hour Call Answering is customised to your needs. This means that your customer support process can extend far beyond the traditional 9-5pm business trading hours. With the right workflow and triage rules applied, this is a powerful addition to any customer service business.
Setting up a 24-hour call answering service is easy. You’re provided with a local number to divert your phones to. Depending on your provider, you can manually turn this on and off, or automate the time of day when you need divert your phones to the phone. When the agent answers your calls, a clear and actionable message is immediately relayed to your team. This solution fits organisations and businesses of all sizes – from small one-person receptionists through to large multi sight enterprise businesses.
Customise your 24-Hour Call Answering Service
A 24-Hour Call Answering service is set-up such that all calls are answered using a customised script tailored to your business. When the agent answers your calls, a clear and actionable message is sent to your team. These messages are delivered via any array of channels such as SMS, e-mail, telephone call or via your own client portal. The agents can relay basic information from the call to you, triage and escalate urgent messages or transfer the call to the appropriate person or department. Some clients may also opt to create a Help Desk and an FAQ list for simple enquires where the agent can resolve a matter and relay information to you at the time of call. Most 24-Hour Call Answering providers consult with you to develop a customised script that the operators can follow. Plus, opt for one which offers personalised greetings and sign-off messages. That way, the call-centre agents answer, greet and communicate with your clients just like you do! Best of all, with the right partner – all of this is delivered transparently via easy-to-read call log and activity reporting.
Analyse your Customers with Call Activity Reporting
Most call answering providers produce a call activity report for you. The reporting allows you to monitor who’s been in touch and when. In addition, the Client Portal provides you with access to your call history and Business Intelligence (BI) reports to analyse the types, origin and time of your calls. Upon request, 24-hour call answering providers can record the calls and make them available to you for your own quality and assurance needs.
Focus on Cost Control with Scalability
Cost control with scalability is a driving force that has grown the demand for 24-hour call answering services. An outsource reception service decreases the inherent costs associated with infrastructure, maintenance, hiring and training. Cutting and controlling these costs allows allocation of funds to other areas of the organisation essential to success.
Instead of employing a full-time receptionist that might not be always used, it is cheaper to utilise a 24-hour call answering service. By removing departments from your business and capitalising on usage-based pricing system, your fixed costs are converted into variable costs. With this in mind, businesses no longer need to hire, train or pay for a full-time receptionist. Instead, 24-hour call answering can handle these administrative tasks for a fraction of the price. Businesses can leverage these cost savings and invest in other areas to facilitate business expansion.
Boost Company Focus
It has been proven that workers are more productive when they are not consumed by day-to-day processing and administration tasks. Upskill your internal team to deliver high value other contributions to the business. A 24-hour call answering provider alleviates these administrative burdens. The agents can take a message and relay these to your staff, allowing businesses to focus on their core objectives and tasks at hand.
Gain Access to Quality Resources
Gain access to quality resources that are not available internally via a 24-hour phone answering service. Our experience has shown that many businesses often turn to outsourcing as a value-add solution which allows them to ‘act big’, contain costs, scale as needed, and compete with competitors. A 24-hour call answering provider can find staff for you and train them according to your specifications.
Provide Prompt Attention to Customers
Unanswered calls can affect how your clients perceive your business. Message banks can increase workloads as your team deciphers voicemails and plays phone tag with call backs. Resourcing a team to deal with these extra calls can be cost prohibitive for many organisations, especially when call patterns are unpredictable. Partnering with a 24-hour phone answering service can enhance customer satisfaction and improve your overall customer service reputation. A reception service guarantees that your clients always have a point of contact to your business. This can be a strong asset to any organisation.
Get In Touch
When it comes to finding a service provider who matches this criterion, look no further than TMC’s 24-Hour Answering Service. With over 45 years’ experience in the industry, we know the ins and outs of providing a professional service on behalf of our clients. Call us at 1300 728 268 or contact us for more information.
