A telephone answering service is where your calls and admin tasks are outsourced. A virtual reception or telephone answering service operates much like a traditional in-house receptionist, but with the freedom of being outsourced and located virtually. From a customer’s perspective, they are none the wiser and the person answering your phone will still seem to be part of your business.
But there is so much more to a telephone answering service than, well, telephone answering. If you leverage our call answering service effectively, it can help your business convert more leads to customers, improve customer service, reduce staff stress levels and so much more.
So, what are our top tips for getting the most out of a call answering service?
Keep the team doing the telephone answering updated
If there are changes in your business, make sure you keep us informed. If your telephone answering team are in the dark about important business or procedure changes, then they can’t give you or your customers the level of service you deserve.
This could include staff changes or internal structure changes that might affect how messages are passed on to the relevant department or individual. Keeping us up to date ensures we are sending the right information to the right person or place as efficiently as possible.
For some clients, changes in procedures or escalation processes will need to be updated or regularly reviewed, especially if your business deals in emergency call-outs, for example, the construction trades or medical practices.
Put our telephone answering service to the test
One of the best ways to ensure that you are getting the most out of our telephone answering service is to mystery shop our service. Call your own business to see how we handle your calls. This will give you plenty of insight into how we interact with your customers and the processes we are using to get the right information to the right place. If you try this and feel that there are processes that could be improved, let us know, and our team can work with you to design call procedures that work for you, your business, and your customers.
Work with our team
If you are new to using a telephone answering service for your business or if you have recently moved to a new telephone answering provider, it can take time to make sure everything is working just so.
Every business will have its own nuances and processes that might be overlooked when first starting to work with a telephone answering provider. But at Phoneta, we take great care to fully understand our client’s businesses so we can support them in the most effective way possible. The more we can understand how your business operates and what your customers expect, the easier it is for us to provide the highest possible level of service for you.
Don’t be afraid to make changes to your telephone answering processes
Businesses never stand still. As your business grows and changes, there will come a time when your telephone protocols need to be updated. Don’t ever be afraid to change your protocols when you feel they are no longer working as you want them to.
The telephone answering team are there to help your business, so give them a call, let them know what you are trying to achieve, and they may even have suggestions for you. Our team have a wealth of experience, and they can often provide frontline feedback on what is working and how things could be improved, so make sure you use that experience to your advantage.
Involve your internal team in decisions
Bringing in an external telephone answering service will benefit your whole team, but each department or team member may benefit in different ways. By involving your whole team in the decision-making process, especially in the creation of protocols, you can ensure that each team member is getting the maximum benefit from the service. Different individuals in your business are likely to have different needs and different ideas, so involve them in the process when planning the setup of your telephone answering protocols.
Reply to messages from the telephone answering team
Make sure you are receiving messages from the telephone answering team and that they are going to the right person/place with all the information you require. During the design and set up of protocols, steps can be overlooked, so by replying to messages confirms that information can be received. You can also use it as an opportunity to feedback on anything that was missed.
Quick responses also mean that when a crucial message needs to be acted on, you can allow the telephone answering team to handle the issue with the customer if it is appropriate to do so. This will save your team time in busy periods and ensure that the customer gets a rapid response for their issue.
Ask our telephone answering team for advice
Telephone answering services are useful for many different types of business and as such our telephone answering team has worked with countless different businesses across many sectors. So there is a good chance our team has worked with a similar business to yours before.
Businesses may have different goals for using a telephone answering service, and by talking to the team about your goals and how your business works, we can often provide insight into the types of protocols that have worked for similar businesses in the past. This can help your business to thrive and achieve its goals.
To find out more about our telephone answering service get in touch with the team.