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When prospects or customers call you, what does it take to provide excellent customer service? This type of work requires more than just a pleasant greeting followed by a cheerful voice. Any individual representing a company should be ready to answer many different kinds of questions over the phone, and they will need to do so as efficiently as possible. Not every person out there will have this type of person on their staff – let alone having a team of them. 

Working with an answering service and receptionist, especially with restricted budgets, is a strategy that many businesses worldwide use. Answering services and receptionists can deliver the same customer service level that a large company could without putting a damper on your bottom line. You could use an answering service to increase your customer availability, boost your revenue, and minimize the stress of running a business. 

What Does an Answering Service do?

Long story short, an answering service will be responsible for taking your customers’ and prospects’ calls on behalf of your business – they will be providing professional customer service. Legitimate answering service companies are known for employing teams of trained agents that will act as representatives for your company. They will be supporting you as a business as much as they will be helping your customers. In this way, providers can offer more support than just call answering.

An answering service may be able to assess your processes and call flows to determine what is more successful and the approach they should be taking. A valuable partner will go out of their way for your business and recommend ways to improve your customer service experience. 

How do Answering Services Work? 

When your business is having difficulties answering the phone during high times or when your business is closed, an answering service will be there to make sure those calls are answered every time. When a customer picks up the phone and dials your number:

  • The call will automatically be rerouted to the answering service provider
  • A trained receptionist will take the call
  • The receptionist will transfer the customer over to your staff, answer common questions or carry messages for you.

How the receptionist manages each type of call will depend on your unique needs and your business. You and your partner can work together to develop clear objectives and create an ideal caller experience while uncovering the information you need. A documented onboarding process should outline when a receptionist needs to receive a message, how you and your answering service will be communicating, and how they deliver messages to your team.

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Check out related articles below:

Benefits of Answering Services

Benefits of Hiring an Answering Service or Live Receptionist

Tips on Hiring Your Next Live Answering Service

The Different Types of Answering Services for Businesses