What to Consider in a Good Answering Service for Small Businesses

There are many reasons why you may need a good business answering service. Any lead you have is a prospective customer, and each call that comes to you is important. If you are a small business and has that has recently opened doors with no dedicated staff to handle calls, you may have to dedicate time yourself to answer the calls. For example, if you are running a workshop or a real estate consulting, you cannot do everything together.

With this challenge, there is a risk of missing out on your important customers. A study has shown that small businesses tend to lose about 75 billion dollars a year with poor customer service. This is basically due to missing important customer calls and not timely responding to user needs. Even when you have many employees in a busy office, with a significant number of calls coming in during the peak business days, your phone lines may get clogged, and you have a high chance to miss calls. Considering all these scenarios, a good answering service for small businesses is the most reliable solution small business owners can adopt.

Considering a good answering service for small businesses

Getting a good answering service can bring in significant benefits and save you a lot of money. While considering a professional answering service for your small business, you need to make sure that you are getting the most appropriate features. Here are some of the top considerations to make.

24/7 live answering

If you consider an answering service for your small business, then you may not want to miss out on any call, coming in at any odd hours of the day. Businesses are now 24/7, and even in this world of instant messaging and chat, most of the critical business communication is still conducted through a telephone call. Having an anytime on-call receptionist to answer the calls round the clock has many significant benefits. While considering a professional answering service, do make sure this factor is at the first point.

Affordable rates

Being a small business or a limited capital start-up, you may not have unlimited money to spend. So, while choosing professional answering services for your small business, look for the most cost-effective offerings out there.  With a good third-party service, you do not have to employ a full-time employee to attend the calls, which can surely save you money, and if you get a service at a fraction of the cost of the same, it will be highly advantageous. As with many businesses out there, you may probably be considering the professional answering service as a profitable initiative.

Along with these, you may also consider skilled and trained staff to handle your business calls and also ensure that the calling system they use can be easily integrated with your existing CRM for seamless collaboration. Even though it includes a setup cost and a monthly fee, when compared to maintaining in-house receptionists, good answering service for small businesses can surely be a value addition with an excellent return on investment.