As a small or medium sized business owner, you know that your receptionist is often the first point of contact that your customers or clients have with your company. However, hiring a full-time receptionist can be expensive, and many small businesses simply can’t afford it. That’s where a virtual receptionist comes in. In this article, we’ll look closer at how does a virtual receptionist work and explain how they can benefit your business.
What is a Virtual Receptionist
First, let’s define what a virtual receptionist is. A virtual receptionist is a professional who answers your business phone calls, just like a traditional receptionist would. However, instead of working from your office, a virtual receptionist works remotely and uses various internet tools to perform their job including IP based telephones. When a customer or prospective customer calls your business phone number, the call is forwarded to the virtual receptionist, who can then answer the call, take a message, or transfer the call to you or someone else on your team.
How Does a Virtual Receptionist work
Now, let’s take a closer look at how a virtual receptionist works. When you sign up for a virtual receptionist service, you’ll typically be assigned a dedicated phone number for your business. This number can either be a new number that you choose, or you can forward your existing business number to the virtual receptionist service.
Once your number is set up, the virtual receptionist service will customize a script that the telephonist will use when they are answering your incoming calls. This script will be tailored to suit your business and could include information about your services, hours of operation, and any other details that you think that your customers might need to know.
When someone calls your business number, the call is routed to the virtual receptionist. The receptionist will answer the call using the script that was created for your business. They will then take any necessary information from the caller, such as their name, phone number, and reason for calling.
What Happens To The Call
Depending on your preferences, the virtual receptionist can either transfer the call directly to you or someone else on your team, or they can take a message and forward it to you via email or text message. If the caller needs to schedule an appointment or consultation, the virtual receptionist can even access your calendar to find a time that works for both parties.
Benefits of a Virtual Receptionist
One of the main benefits of using a virtual receptionist or an 800 number answering service is that you can customize the service to meet your specific needs. For example, you can choose the hours that the virtual receptionist is available to answer your calls (which could be 24/7/365), which can be especially helpful if you have clients or customers in different time zones. You can also customize the script that the virtual receptionist uses to ensure that it reflects your brand and the way you do business.
Another benefit of using a virtual receptionist is that it really can save your business time and money. Instead of spending all that time answering the phone and taking messages, you can focus on your core business activities and growing your business. Additionally, since you only pay for the virtual receptionist service when you need it, you can save money compared to hiring yourself a full-time receptionist.
Better Customer Service
Using a virtual receptionist can also help you to provide better customer service. Since the virtual receptionist is always available to answer your calls, your customers or clients won’t need to leave an automated message and then wait for a call back. Having a live virtual receptionist answer the phone can improve the customers perception of your business and help you to build better relationships with those customers.
In conclusion, a virtual receptionist is a cost-effective and flexible solution for small and medium sized businesses that need professional phone answering services. By using a virtual receptionist, you can ensure that your calls are always answered, even if you’re unavailable. Additionally, you can customize the service to meet your specific needs and provide better customer service to your clients and customers. If you’re interested in using a virtual receptionist for your business, there are many reputable providers that offer a variety of plans and pricing options.