Why Every Small Business Needs A Virtual Receptionist

If you run a small business, then you know that managing customer support can be a bit of a headache – to say the least. With larger companies having dozens of staff solely dedicated to answering customer queries all day long, it can be hard for small businesses like yours to offer the same level of customer service with less time, manpower and resources.

Luckily though, there is a solution: your small business just needs a virtual receptionist.

What is a Virtual Receptionist?

A Virtual Receptionist (or Auto-Attendant Service) is an automated system for answering and processing all your calls  (not to be confused with a LIVE virtual receptionists, which is a real person). It uses phone menus (eg. “Press 1 for sales, Press 2 for admin’’ etc.), time of day routing and call distribution techniques to route your calls correctly.

Here are a few reasons why every small business needs one.

No Hardware, Special Phones or Extra Staff Required

The first great thing about a Virtual Receptionist is just that – it’s virtual. That means no physical parts (or people) required. All you need is a couple of minutes to set up your Virtual Receptionist online, and you are good to go. When it comes to making changes over time (maybe your hours are changing for the holidays or your business is growing and offering more services), that’s simple too. All you need to do is login online and make your changes, you don’t need to buy any additional hardware or special phone equipment to update it.

You Will Never Miss A Call

Ever had to appease a frustrated customer after missing three phone calls in one day? It’s not fun. With a Virtual Receptionist, you can avoid this situation by making sure that all your calls are always answered either virtually or by a real person. This can be through an automated “This Line is Busy’’ message when you are on another call, an interactive phone menu that helps direct the customer to the information they are looking for throughout the day, or just a simple voicemail when your office is closed. It’s all about making sure your customers stay informed and reassured.

It Saves Everybody Time

In almost every small business, each employee is likely to take on multiple roles throughout the day. That means that customer support may be just one of your many daily responsibilities, and managing your time efficiently can be really tough.

With a Virtual Receptionist, you don’t have to waste time re-iterating information that could be found on your business’ website, asking customers about the purpose of their call or transferring them to the right colleague. Your Virtual Receptionist can filter your calls, direct customers to pre-recorded information or funnel them to the correct support agent automatically.

Finally, It Keeps Things Professional

For a customer, there’s nothing worse than calling up a business with a query and hearing the phone ring out. It’s frustrating, it’s unhelpful and it’s just down right unprofessional. A Virtual Receptionist will help take your customer service experience to the next level, making sure that no matter what time of day they call, your customers will feel looked after.

Interested in getting a Virtual Receptionist? Try ours for free!