If your small business is getting ever busier, it’s important you don’t lose opportunities that can be caused by missing calls. So, what’s the best route? Many will opt for an outsourced call answering service. We explain the ins and outs in this dedicated article.
Missing calls? Hopefully a good sign – your business is starting to become busier than you can cope with. Overall, though, unanswered calls aren’t a great experience for existing customers, and in an increasingly impatient world, potential new customers aren’t going to wait for a call back; they want an instant response.
It’s also inefficient for a business owner to be the one to filter out calls that are a complete waste of time and can be passed onto someone else within the business.
The answer is to either use a call answering service or look at hiring a receptionist to take on that role for you. So, let’s explore and answer people’s common questions when researching a call-handling solution.
Would it be cheaper just to hire someone?
This very much depends on where you are as a business. Having a full-time receptionist answering calls generally solves the problem, but will they have enough work to do when the phone’s not ringing?
In addition to a salary, there is PAYE and taxes to consider. Full-time staff also means holiday and sick leave, whereas a call answering service will have a bank of people ready to take multiple calls.
Of course, the advantage of a full-time receptionist is that they should know your business better and be able to answer questions more thoroughly. However, using a call answering service is significantly cheaper and ideal for bridging the gap.
How much is a call answering service?
Different companies will charge in different ways. This could be on a per-call basis, per minute, and there is probably a monthly fee. Normally, the more calls are taken, the lower the per call or per minute fee will be.
A small business should look to budget between £50 - £200 a month, depending on the volume of calls. Compare that to a receptionist which would be £1,600+ a month, using a call answering service is therefore a clearly cost-effective stepping-stone for a growing business.
What do I get for my money?
The advantage of a call answering service is those answering the calls do it for a living. They’re trained with a professional manner, which is the first step of leaving a good first impression.
The first step is to check that agents are from a UK based call centre. You then need to decide if you’re happy with a message-taking service or want something more involved.
Need a little more? Some providers like us can offer a full suite of virtual assistant services. This includes making outgoing calls on your behalf to book appointments.
CASE STUDY: How Miss MPS helped a plumber increase work by 300%.
Do I need a 24/7 call-answering provider?
There are options out there to have 24-hour coverage call answering. As good as it sounds to have this cover for your business, do you really need it?
Inevitably, having a 24/7 call answering service will likely increase what you’re paying for and just as inevitably, you will lose some continuity. This is because many call answering services offering this will switch to telephonists based in a country with a different time zone.
How should I choose?
The first thing to assess is how many calls you typically receive in a day or week as this may define what sort of supplier best fits your needs.
You may also want the service switched on all the time, as overflow, or just when you’re on holiday. Whether it’s regular or just ad-hoc, this decision will influence what sort of contract you should sign up for.
Finally, if like most you simply want messages taken and emailed or messaged to you, there’s a lot of choice. However, if you’d like – for example – new customer details logged onto a CRM, or phone agents to provide further support, you’re probably looking at a more bespoke
virtual receptionist option.
As with any decision-making of a supplier, don’t forget the usual questions: how long have they been in business? Can they supply testimonials? How fast will they pick up the phone?
The answer may be closer than you think! Miss MPS has been helping out small, growing businesses for over 10 years. We’re trusted to make a great first impression with our
call answering service, but we do so much more to help business owners focus on what they do best.
