Using a phone answering service can enhance productivity, streamline workflow and ensure every important phone call is captured. Additional benefits of a phone answering service include:
It is virtually impossible to quantify a phone answering service’s financial benefits into an exact amount of money per month. However, a high-quality phone answering service such as Moneypenny ensures you capture all enquiries, provides an outstanding customer experience, and increases productivity. Our own research suggests that 1 in 3 business calls are missed – this can damage your company image and brand, as well as hurt your business’s revenue at the end of the financial year.
Interruptions can be a significant productivity bottleneck in the workplace. For a small business owner or a solopreneur, interruptions can be a big issue.
Research suggests that not only does it take around 25 minutes to re-focus following an interruption, but error rates increase too. In one study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, when college students were interrupted for 2.8 seconds, they made twice as many mistakes compared to those who were not interrupted at all. It gets worse. Those students who were interrupted for 4.4 seconds had error rates that were three times that of the control group. This error rate could mean a reduced quality of service or end-product that could ultimately lead to fewer clients and a tarnished reputation for small business owners.
One benefit of a phone answering service is that it allows you to focus on the work at hand. Not having to constantly listen out for your phone or keep it about your person can not only reduce the number of interruptions, but it can have a substantial psychological benefit too. With Moneypenny’s phone answering service, you can focus on the core of your work while a highly professional receptionist takes care of all your calls.
Customer service is key to business growth. It can be challenging to compete with large organisations on price, however it is often possible to set your company apart from the competition with a superior level of customer service and experience.
Providing fantastic customer service can:
Customer service is vital when it comes to retaining customers and gaining more value from them. SuperOffice recently carried out a study that found customer experience was the number one priority for the 2,000 business professionals surveyed.
They also found that a great customer experience can influence on-the-spot impulse purchases. People are willing to pay a premium for luxury products (up to 18%) as long as they receive a great customer experience. In addition, a report from Walkerinfo.com in 2020 concluded that customer experience would overtake price and even product as the key brand differentiator.
Customer service is also a crucial element of the sales process. Inbound marketing experts, Hubspot, carried out research in 2019 which found that while most businesses claim to put customers first, only 12% of consumers believe a company that makes this claim.
Happy customers will help you to acquire new ones, free of charge. Their personal testimonials, given face to face to their friends and colleagues, are far more powerful than that of any you place on your website.
Keep in mind too, that customer retention is cheaper than acquisition. Many businesses make the mistake of chasing new customers while neglecting their current customer-base. Moreover, your customer service represents your brand values and can enhance or damage your brand image.
Where does phone answering fit into this? A phone answering service can set you apart from the competition in several ways. With an out-of-hours, 24/7 service from Moneypenny, you’ll have a dedicated team of receptionists who know you and your business, available around the clock. Being available beyond regular office hours is a huge advantage to your customers. While the trend of working shifts increases, those who do work regular hours often find it more convenient to contact a business in the evenings or on weekends when they’re not working themselves. Being available 24/7 (and making people aware of this) can increase the number of sales enquiries you receive and greatly enhance your customers’ experience of your brand and company.
What’s more, with an award-winning service like Moneypenny, having a friendly and highly professional receptionist promptly answering every phone call offers a much better experience than a voicemail does, regardless of the time of the day.
Brands are everywhere on the high street, on the internet, and in your home. The practice of branding dates back to approximately 3,000 BCE, when Ancient Egyptians were documented to brand livestock to signify ownership.
Back in the modern-day era, your brand is a bit like the personality of your business. It tells potential customers who you are, what you do, and how you go about doing it. Your brand has visual elements like your logo; it includes your tone of voice and the values that you reflect in different aspects of your behaviour as you interact with customers and your target audience.
One pivotal element of your brand is your customer service and the first point of contact. If, for example, somebody tries to call your business and nobody answers, it doesn’t look good for your business and, therefore, your brand. It suggests your company doesn’t value their custom. However, if a call is answered by a highly professional and competent receptionist with years of experience and relevant industry knowledge, this says great things about your brand.
One of the benefits of a phone answering service is that it can make you stand out from your competition. Having an excellent phone manner can directly impact your brand and, therefore, the revenue the business generates. If you ever come to sell your business, the foundation of the company’s value will often be dictated by the strength of the brand.
The way we work and live has changed drastically in the last decade. Thanks to the internet and, more recently, the pandemic, the regular 9 ’til 5 working pattern is becoming less prevalent, according to some reports at least. Regardless of this, being contactable around the clock and at weekends can give your business a substantial competitive advantage. Those working regular office hours may find it much more convenient to phone a company at 9pm, for instance, after the working day is over.
If you serve an international market too, communicating with different clients in different time zones, it can be vital to provide a 24/7 point of contact. Implementing an out-of-hours phone answering service can be an excellent financial investment as new enquiries can be answered around the clock.
It can also be great for small business owners to have an out-of-hours phone answering service. While you can dedicate all of your focus to the work at hand during office hours, you can literally switch off and relax instead of listening out for your mobile constantly whenever you’re not working. Not only that, out-of-hours availability can set your aside from other companies in your industry, giving you a distinct competitive advantage.
According to Totaljobs.com, the average salary for a full-time receptionist is approximately £18,000 (at the time of writing). Phone answering services cost a fraction of this, and with Moneypenny, there are no lengthy contracts – you can even experience the benefits for yourself with a seven-day free trial first.
Moneypenny’s phone answering service provides you with a dedicated receptionist who gets to know you, your business and your clientele, just like an in-house receptionist would. Your receptionist is matched to your business based on their experience and industry knowledge. For all intents and purposes, and as far as the caller is aware, your receptionist is a full-time, in-house member of your business – all without the worry of employee benefits, employee taxes and other paperwork.
A phone answering service with a dedicated receptionist can benefit your business financially by giving you a competitive advantage, helping you focus on your work, strengthening your brand and increasing customer loyalty.
For more information and to sign up for a seven-day free trial of Moneypenny’s phone answering service, please click here.
12 Feb 2024
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