You’d want to outsource your receptionist function for various reasons. One of them is to ensure you maintain your employees’ productivity. The hired receptionist service provider will address all the customers’ concerns to allow your staff members to concentrate on other internal tasks. And because professional receptionists are trained in customer management, working with them helps improve your customer service.
But with so many virtual receptionist services, deciding which is right for you can be challenging. But there are many considerations you can consider to ensure you make the right choice. Here are important things to look for in a reliable virtual receptionist service.
1. Availability
Ensure that the virtual receptionist hired is available according to your time schedules. In some businesses, virtual receptionists answer calls 24/7 for 365 days. While other companies offer answering calls for business hours only, inclusive or exclusive of weekends and holidays.
The best virtual receptionist service will be able to plan their staff to have all the calls answered. Failure to do this will make the callers turn back to your competitors. Your virtual receptionist should ensure calls are answered immediately and directed to the right person. If you need a virtual receptionist for your business, you can find one on companies like Oracle Customer Management Solutions or any other similar provider.
2. Transparent Pricing
Before hiring a virtual receptionist, ensure that you get some questions answered. Questions such as:
- How much do they charge per call?
- Do they have extra charges when transferring the call?
- Can you roll over any wasted minutes?
Discuss with them whether there are any extra charges with call forwarding. Also, your virtual receptionist should inform you about charging methods, whether they charge per call, per hour, or monthly. Pricing is very crucial when looking for a virtual receptionist. You can also enquire after which period the virtual receptionist changes the pricing terms.
3. Customer Service
Customer service is the interactions customers have with your business. Looking for a virtual receptionist is the solution for any business willing to improve its customer communication. However, they must have good customer service.
One of the best ways to know whether the selected virtual receptionist will offer better customer service is to consider how long they take to respond to your messages. A provider who takes ages to respond to your inquiries might not be the best for you. They should respond to customers in real time or without delays.
4. Flexibility
The best virtual receptionist will fulfil all your business needs. They should make fewer errors and move according to your business terms and conditions. This way, you’re assured that they can cater to your business and customers’ need even when you’re not around. So, ensure you get a virtual receptionist service that’s flexible and always available for your business.
5. Call Assistance
If needed, a virtual receptionist is supposed to make calls on behalf of a business. Calling customers happens when a customer needs an answer about the business, and the business owner is unavailable. Examples of calls the virtual receptionist can make are meeting confirmation and getting customer details. A virtual receptionist can do more other than answer calls. They can help in email management and management of projects too.
6. Knowledge Of Your Business
Apart from handling calls, the best virtual receptionist should represent your business and serve as part of your business. They should know your business and what it entails.
It’s better to work with someone who has experience in your industry. A virtual receptionist should understand how to deal with customers from different industries, such as answering real estate and medical calls.
7. Professional Training And Experience
Training is required for a virtual receptionist to answer the phone and emails. Your virtual receptionist should have the right qualifications for the job. They should also have years of experience in the market.
Experience helps them evaluate each customer and their needs and respond best. A virtual receptionist should have a personality and sound professional when answering the customer’s calls and also can write better grammar with correct spelling.
Takeaway
A receptionist plays a critical role in the growth of every business. They respond to all customer issues, including complaints. However, assigning this task to internal employees can hurt your company’s productivity and revenues. This explains why you should look for a virtual receptionist. Look for someone with the best personality to protect the good image of your business. You can achieve that by considering all the elements explained in this article.
