For many small businesses, answering the phone is a significant challenge. A virtual receptionist is a remote customer service rep who can answer calls and resolve customers’ queries, without having to interrupt in-house staff working on more specialized tasks. This helps businesses handle high call volumes during peak business hours and reduces the time needed to resolve enquiries, saving companies money in the long run.
Many virtual receptionist services offer features beyond just answering the phone, such as message taking, patching and call transfer, appointment scheduling, and lead qualification (weeding out unqualified leads). By handling these additional responsibilities, you can allow your team to focus on more valuable work that will drive business growth and sales.
When a client calls your business after-hours or on weekends, they expect to be able to speak to a live person. This is especially important for companies that need to be available outside of office hours, such as law firms, marketing agencies or accountancy firms. Virtual receptionist services can ensure that clients are not left in the lurch and help to improve overall customer satisfaction.
A good virtual receptionist will not only be prompt in answering calls, but will also “get” the nature of your company. These professionals can be trained to provide the right type of support to each caller and help you build brand loyalty. In addition, many BPO providers employ polylingual agents and can handle calls in the language of each caller, improving customer service and eliminating barriers to communication. virtual receptionist