What Is an Answering Service and Why Do Businesses Use One?
When you have a question about a retailer’s return policy, who do you call? You call the store. When the phone connects, you want to speak to in-house customer service professionals.
People like talking to other people. But if your business lacks the workforce to handle high-volume after-hours calls, what do you do? The answer is simple: You hire a professional answering service with live representatives to handle phone answering. Businesses that use these services outperform those that aren’t by wide margins.
So, what is an answering service, and how does it work? This guide will deliver the essentials, like:
What Is a Phone Answering Service
Telephone answering services replace or support traditional, in-house receptionists or call centers. Experienced service providers answer calls and handle caller inquiries during busy times or when businesses close.
A complete answering service package will offer you more than just handling inbound and outbound calls. It also includes taking messages, setting appointments, sending emails and faxes, managing sophisticated help desk issues, and much more.
How do answering services work?
An answering service handles your incoming calls when you can’t. Trained agents answer using your business name, take messages, transfer calls, schedule appointments, or help customers based on your instructions.
The Benefits of a Professional Answering Service
By leveraging call forwarding and professional virtual receptionist solutions, business owners can benefit from:
- Enhancing customer service by ensuring no call goes unanswered
- Managing high volume calls efficiently, especially during peak hours
- Handling routine tasks when overwhelmed and freeing up in-house staff
- Providing marketing and sales support, helping to convert inquiries into customers
- Cutting office expenses by choosing a cost-effective answering service instead of hiring full-time staff
A reliable answering service might be the difference between capturing a new lead and losing a potential client with every call. Whether you operate a small business or a growing enterprise, a virtual receptionist service ensures that every caller receives the attention they deserve.
Why Telephone Answering Service Companies Exist
People hate voicemail and AI chatbots. They find such solutions frustrating. Sure, businesses save money, but at what cost? As the face of your company, these tools don’t do much to promote good customer relations.
In many cases, they do the opposite. According to different surveys:
- More than 70% of customers prefer to speak with a real person rather than a chatbot
- 73% of customers skip the robocall and press “0” to get a live agent first
- Almost 60% of customers would stop doing business with the company due to a bad customer experience
Sometimes, people hang up their phones before they even make an initial selection from the voicemail prompts. That can cost companies business. A bad customer experience can make your customer abandon you for your competitor.
How much does an answering service cost per month?
The cost of an answering service typically ranges from about $50 to $500+ per month, depending on factors such as call volume, service hours, and the level of customization or features required.
Who Needs Call Center Answering Services
Businesses of all types and sizes use live answering services—from small companies with a handful of employees to Fortune 500 corporations.
These businesses fall into six categories: medical, professional organizations, service industry, property management, religious affiliations, and government agencies.
Some examples of businesses or industries that use telephone answering services include:
- General physicians, dentists, and veterinarians
- Assisted living facilities and medical equipment providers
- Attorneys, credit unions, and fitness/exercise businesses
- Retailers, product manufacturers, realtors, and event planners
- Auto repair providers, plumbers, tow companies, and carpenters
- Electricians, janitorial services, pest control, and septic service providers
- Apartment, condominium, and parking lot management services
- Churches, ministries, and other religious-based organizations
- Federal, municipal, and local government representatives
This service helps organizations meet their customers’ demands and maintain the brand’s professionalism. Plus, they enjoy all the benefits that answering services with a live representative offer.
The Different Types of Answering Services for Your Business
The key to making call answering work is finding the right level of service for your company. It’s a major decision you’ll need to make before hiring an answering service.
When reviewing companies, look for one that can provide you with a custom plan. That way, you can tailor your plan to your needs.
Some considerations when determining your service level include:
Filtering of Specific Calls
There may be times when you only want to answer specific calls from certain people. Call filtering lets you take just the calls you want to take while the call center answering service agent handles the rest.
After-Hours Phone Answering Service
Many companies process business hours calls themselves, but need support with after-hours or overnight calls. When people call these types of businesses, they generally want to speak to a person—especially if it’s an emergency.
Call Overflow Management
Sometimes, the call volume gets out of hand. It may be seasonal or the result of a hard-hitting marketing campaign. Whatever the cause, you need a receptionist to answer promptly. Otherwise, you’ll lose the business. Call overflow forwards calls your team can’t take to a call center or an answering service with a live representative in real-time.
24-Hour Answering Service Support
This live answering service is similar to after-hours services. Some businesses need help not just when the receptionist is out or the office is closed, but also for call handling on weekends and holidays. With 24-hour support from a professional call center, you ensure all your customers’ calls are covered, regardless of the day or hour.
Call Recording
A versatile business tool, this service packs a punch. Do it correctly, and you can take customer service to the next level. Call recording can help you increase productivity, efficiency, and profitability. Take advantage of it when you can.
These five services are just some of the features you’ll have to consider when developing a customized call answering plan.
Specialized Answering Service Solutions
Another consideration when hiring a call answering service is which level of service is right for you. One way to decide is to determine your expectations from the answering service, what you want them to handle, and what you want to keep in-house.
Below are common tasks that a traditional answering service can do:
- Scheduling appointments
- Set management meetings
- Manage emergency calls
- Take messages
- Support sales and marketing
- Provide excellent customer service
- Process outbound marketing campaigns
- Take orders
- Support products and services
Having these tasks handled by an answering service provider boosts employee productivity dramatically. What’s more, it frees employees to focus on more critical tasks, like helping customers or clients with issues or questions.
Is an answering service worth it?
Yes, especially if you receive calls after hours or can’t always answer the phone. An answering service helps you capture more leads, provide better customer service, and make sure you never miss an important call.
How Much Does an Answering Service Cost?
Every company that offers this service has different pricing models. Prices may vary due to different factors. It not only depends on the type of service you require but also on how you want to pay. In our blog post on answering service pricing, we go into more detail on this subject.
Be careful with pricing. Some companies opt for the cheapest service possible. Others overpay. Both approaches hurt the company.
Take the time to understand what you’re paying for and what you’re not getting in your plan. Review it periodically to make sure it still works for you.
Choose the Best Outsourced Phone Answering Service. Get in Touch!
A critical step in working with an answering service is integrating your company with the call center. This step is often a challenge. Make sure you review answering service companies carefully before deciding on a candidate.
At Unicom, we focus on thoroughly understanding your processes first. Then we take the time to integrate our call center seamlessly with your business. Unicom provides you with 24-hour live agents trained to manage more than just your outbound and inbound calls.
Would you like to find out more? Contact us now to have your questions answered.
