How To Create An Effective Virtual Answering Service
When you hire a virtual answering service, you practically hire virtual receptionists. It is them that will be the very first contact point for current and potential customers. Because the receptionists do not sit in your office and do not know the company’s inner workings, you need to be sure that they properly represent your brand and its core values.
This practically means that outsourcing such a service is different than what you are usually used to. You cannot let the firm do whatever it wants. You need to get involved to some extent. The following tips will help you to create a highly effective virtual answering service.
Create A Custom Greeting
You want to create a greeting that is as efficient as possible. For instance, let’s say that the name of your business is difficult to properly pronounce. In this case, using a pre-recorded opening greeting is better than letting operators say the name. Having greeting professionally recorded is a common practice that can even be customized with a call to action or anything else you think is of high importance for the first contact with a customer.
Allow Operators To Be The Firm’s Answering Service
When someone contacts your business, they automatically think that the person answering is a part of the company. This means that the operator needs to have a specific understanding of company services, procedures, policies and products.
Because of a fear of not being properly represented, many small businesses decide to make it seem that the person answering is not associated with the brand. This is not a good idea. You want to let the operator represent you. This is done through proper initial training. Preferably, work with the virtual answering services that have dedicated operators that will study your business and policies before answering your phones.
Make FAQs Short
Using frequently answered question is great since operators can easily move a call along faster. Due to this, many think that if there are many questions that should be included in the FAQ document provided for the operator to use. The problem is that when the operator needs to go through many questions, calls last longer. This means customers become frustrated.
Always remember the following important things:
- There are things that are simply much better off when explained by you. Callers can be let known that someone will contact them to offer proper answers to the questions they have.
- FAQs have to be concise and clear. As the operator assists a caller in a confident way, call answering becomes simpler and more effective.
The Appropriate Questions
A really good call always starts with appropriate questions. You want to triage the callers so that they can be represented by someone that knows as much as possible about the topic of discussion. For instance, if you run an HVAC business and you get a call, an operator can ask the client if he is calling due to an emergency. The medical practice can start by asking if the caller wants to schedule appointments.
