Automated Answering Service in Brisbane

It is a dilemma most small business owners in Brisbane face. They want to answer every incoming call as quickly as they possibly can so that they don’t just lose potential sales, but also satisfy their clients with prompt communication. However, when too much time is devoted to answering calls, valuable time which could have been used on the core tasks of running and growing the business is lost. This is where automated answering service come in to help the owners free some of their time and to focus on the most important tasks of moving the business forward.

What is automated answering service?

In as much as you may wish to have live answering services every time your customers or potential clients call your business, there are certain instances when it becomes more affordable and more effective if you had an automated answering service for some of the inquiries. There are situations when you begin to receive common or similar inquiries about your products or services and it may not be a good idea to have someone attending to such calls all the time, giving same answers to different people every now and then.

If you are a service-based business, you will realize that many callers also like to resolve their issues, if only you could give them the necessary guidance. Automated answering services is the right solution for such scenarios. You don’t necessarily have to be around the phone when the calls come in, but you will be assured that all your customer needs will be attended to. If the answering service does not solve their inquiries, then you can always include instructions on how they can proceed with the call to get to your representatives.

Why Use Automated Answering for Your Small Business in Brisbane?

With an automated answering service in Brisbane, you get a virtual receptionist who will greet your callers and present them with an automated menu which will either answer their queries if they needed troubleshooting or will direct their calls to the right departments or individuals. Other than the convenience this will bring to the businesses, there are a whole lot of other benefits which make this service a must-have for every small business keen on growing and improving customer service.

Here are some of the reasons why small businesses in Brisbane should consider subscribing for an automated answering service:

It is more affordable compared to a live answering service

One of the most valuable and immediate benefits you get with an automated answering service is the cost saving, especially when compared to a live answering service. It is more affordable compared to having a receptionist who will be at your desk to receive calls always. You will not have to worry about the hustles of seeking, hiring, and training a receptionist who will not always be on the desk on a 24/7 basis, including the weekends. The big corporations may have the budgets to support such, but for small business, this is a route you don’t have to travel when you can find affordable automated answering services in Brisbane.

You will sound professional to customers and clients constantly

The number of live answering services available to small businesses is so huge, but even with that luxury, you have no control on how they answer your clients and customers on phone. Since they are human, not all times will they maintain the professionalism and act accordingly. But this is one concern you don’t have to worry about when considering automated answering services. Your customers and clients will be greeted with the same voice or voices, displaying a great deal of professionalism always. This will create a consistency that will go a long way in making your customer care stand out, thus building a very good relationship with the clients.

It will make your business sound more established

Automated answering services usually seem reserved only to the big corporations who have big budgets, but this is never the case. As we have seen, the services are relatively affordable, and in addition to this, it will create an impression that you are a big business keen to please their customers. Additionally, every time the calls come in and the callers are presented with an automated menu, the impression they will have is that you are a more established business, and this will increase their confidence in dealing with you, even if the department they were inquiring about had just one employee.

Customer Retention

It is a fact that most people will get frustrated and hang up when they call and find no answer or get some crappy answering services instead. Offending customers in this way is a sure way to send them to your competitors and even if they were repeat customers, you can rest assured that they will not be coming back to your business again. However, with a professional and well-organized automated answering service, your callers will have all their concerns attended to every time they make a call and as such, they will not have any reason to leave due to poor customer service, leading to great customer retention.

Cut through the clutter

Automated answering services are ideal when you want to cut through the clutter and attend only to the most important phone calls. As a small business, you could be getting a lot of important phone calls in a day, but also you could be receiving an equally high number of calls which are not relevant to you. The answering service will help sift through the calls, ensuring that you don’t attend to the ones you don’t want to attend to and only the most important ones will be drawn to your attention.

Spend your time on what matters

With the need to answer every incoming call is taken out of the way, you will now have time to focus on the most important things you need to be working on to take your small business to the next level. You do this with great peace of mind, knowing that all the call and the inquiries will be responded to in the most professional manner.

How much does automated answering service cost?

There is no one-size-fits-all price when it comes to the cost of having an automated answering service for your business. This is because businesses are dynamic and their needs for an automated answering services also vary. Consequently, there are certain factors worth considering when determining how much you should pay for such a service.

Besides, the fact that you need the service and that it will be of immense use to your business is not reason enough for you to spend so much on it that you have a strain on your business expenses. Here are some of the factors that determine who much you should pay for an answering service and it is important to look at them closely when you think about going for the services:

The volume of calls

The amount of money you will spend on automated answering services will largely depend on the volume of calls your business will be getting. It implies that if you anticipate having a lot of calls, then you are likely to pay more for the services. When you are starting out, you may not have the exact volume of calls to expect, and it may take a month or two before you can have a good number to work with. But the good thing is that if you are receiving too many calls, you will be glad that you have the answering services to help you out with most of the calls and it will also mean more business.

The type of answering service

There are different types of answering services and you should only choose the ones you need, or which are the most relevant to your business. For example, you may need a service that will present the callers with a preset menu which they can follow to find more information about what they need, or you may have one that will redirect calls to relevant staff extensions when the callers can’t have their issues resolved with the automatic answering.

All these will determine the overall cost of the answering service. It is common to find some providers offering comprehensive packages at a discount. Don’t just fall for them. Go through each and only choose the packages that are most relevant to you.

Things to watch out for when making your choice

To get the most out of your automated answering services in Brisbane, watch out for the following:

• Hidden extras

Always ensure to go through the package item by item and inquire about all the costs so that you don’t fall for hidden charges which may end up making the service more expensive.

• Rollover policies

Check the rollover policy and ask if it is possible to rollover any unused calls or minutes from one month to another. Business may vary from month to month and the volume of calls you receive may also vary. If possible, the ideal service should allow you carry forward unused calls or minutes to the next month.

• Reputation of the company

You want to subscribe to a service with confidence that will help you grow and run your business and for this to happen, it must be from a reputable company that will not let you down. Take some time and research all the companies, going through the reviews submitted by past users so that you can ascertain that they are the right fit for your automated answering service needs in Brisbane.

Automated Answering Services for Professionals

There are some small businesses that need automated answering services more than others. This is not to underscore the importance of these services to all types of small business, but the variations of service needs and the nature of the industries make it more appealing to certain professionals than others.

Here is a brief look at some of the professionals who should never run their small businesses without a reputable automated answering service, unless they are not interested in growing their businesses:

Attorneys

Attorneys top the list of the professionals who need automated answering services. The nature of their services is so vital that clients need to be in constant touch with their lawyers, and the last thing you would wish is to be completely unavailable when your clients need you the most. For attorneys, automated menus are ideal to answering most of the common questions clients may have in your industry and once they are done with the menu, they can then decide if they need to see you or hold further consultations.

Doctors

The next category of professionals who need automated answering services is doctors and this is for obvious reasons. Medical emergencies can happen at any time and it could be so sad if a doctor can’t be reached in any way when their services are needed the most. Automated menus would also work in this case and they can be used for providing information on what to do during certain emergency situations.

HVACs and Electricians

HVAC technicians and electricians are another group of people who would please their customers more when they have automated answering services. The diversity of the industry implies that the application of answering services is huge and there is just a lot these professionals can do with automated answering services. The first and perhaps the most important application would be to help clients in troubleshooting before the go ahead and make a service call.

Some of the problems people face with HVAC systems can always be resolved by simple troubleshooting instructions, and instead of having your client call in the dead of the night for a failing heater, through the answering service, it is possible to give them instructions on what to look for and what to do to make the heater work again. Only if that fails should they call for inspection.

Conclusion

Are you considering the idea of improving efficiency in your small business? You might want to consider the idea of setting up an automated answering service for your business in Brisbane to help achieve your goals.