It’s becoming increasingly common for businesses today to transition from having staff members answer all incoming calls to hiring an answering service to do so. Before outsourcing calls, business owners often wonder if this transition will cost more in the long term, or if their customer service will suffer. But ultimately, if they choose a high quality live answering service, they find that outsourcing their calls to the right answering service is an investment in the growth of their business.

By entrusting an answering service to manage the business’s call volume, business owners are enabling their teams to focus on the quality of work and productivity. Here are the 4 top reasons outsourcing your calls will grow your business:

Personal Touch

Customers are often frustrated when they call a business and are put on hold or receive voicemail. They are calling for a reason—they need an answer to their question or a resolution to their problem, preferably now rather than later. In fact, a study showed that  67% of customers switched to a different business more than once as a result of poor customer service, including not being able to speak to a person on the phone and waiting on hold too long.

Answering services are adequately staffed so that all of your calls are promptly answered by a professional, friendly receptionist who greets your callers with the name of your business. They act as an extension of your business, making your customers feel heard and valued.

Productivity

Phone calls are one of the biggest time-consuming tasks that workers face. It’s not just the actual time it takes to answer the call that’s the problem, it’s the distraction factor. Getting back into concentrating on a project takes effort, and the distractions add up over time and drain your team’s productivity.

With an answering service handling all your calls, you and your team can stay focused on the work at hand The answering service will notify you of high priority calls that you’ve specified you want to be alerted to, and will send you a log of all calls within a specified time-frame. Any calls that still require action can be returned in a timely manner at your convenience.

Growing Customer Base

Providing your customers with excellent customer support translates to loyalty on their part. Loyal customers are more likely to refer your business to their friends and family, as well as to leave positive reviews online that inspire others to view your business as one to be trusted.

In today’s economy, that’s like gold since 88% of consumers report that they are influenced by online reviews when making decisions about choosing a product, service, or business to work with. That’s why it’s more important than ever to deliver excellent customer service at every interaction a customer has with your business, including each and every phone call.

As word spreads about your great customer service and your business grows, your answering service is fully equipped to keep pace with your increasing call volume, as well as to schedule appointments and help with other tasks. Your team remains free to focus on taking care of new customers, as well as those longtime, loyal customers.

24/7 Coverage

An answering service can field your calls 24-hours a day, every day. This means that when your customers call after hours, they still are greeted by a live person, not voicemail. Good answering services will tailor their services to suit your needs and will take the time to understand your business and your priorities.

By knowing which calls you consider urgent, the receptionists will make sure the caller is connected to the appropriate staff member as quickly as possible while handling more routine inquiries without interrupting you.

Over time, all of this dedicated customer service, staff productivity, and growth of your customer base will most likely increase revenue, which makes outsourcing your calls one very smart move.

Voice Link of Columbus, Inc. provides live answering services that exceed your expectations, with customized communication solutions, appointment scheduling, and secure messaging to save you time and money while increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Our flat-rate plans have no hidden fees and are offered on month-to-month service agreements. Request information online or call us at (800) 262-2799.