It’s a conundrum of every small business owner: do I hire more help or shoulder the long hours myself?
While it’s normal to put in extra time in the early stages of your company’s life, growth demands additional help. Whether you’re just starting out, hoping to expand, or are looking for ways to become a little more organized and efficient, a virtual receptionist can be a game changer. Of course, knowing you need extra support is only the first step. Keep reading to understand exactly how a remote receptionist can change your business for the better.
Save Time
How much of your day is spent dashing to the constantly ringing phone? Perhaps you’re a team of one, interrupted regularly by these calls, or maybe you and your larger team take turns on phone duty. Either way, customers have a knack for calling at the precisely worst moments. Imagine how a virtual receptionist can change your team chemistry. Rather than shifting administrative burdens from person to person, rely on a professional to convey the precise kind of customer service messaging you’d hope would be standard across the board (but probably isn’t).
Save Money
Let’s face it: in-house employees can cost a lot. A full-time receptionist needs paid time off for sick leave and vacation days, not to mention health care benefits. Even a part-time administrative assistant can be costly; the sheer amount of supplies, desk space, and technology needed for the position adds up fast. With an online receptionist, you only pay for the time they spend actively talking to callers. There’s no need to pay an employee to sit around and wait for the phone to ring. Plus, you can have a whole team of virtual secretaries tending to your callers for a very small fraction of the cost compared to paying the salary of one in-house receptionist
Increase Productivity
Not only will you save time and money forwarding calls to a virtual receptionist, but you’ll also see an increase in your staff’s productivity. Without calls to attend to, your employees can focus on the tasks that are the most worthwhile and interesting for their roles. By partnering with a virtual receptionist, you bring on a professional who prides themselves on their eagerness to solve problems. Let Bob from IT get back to upgrading software and allow Sally from accounting the peace and quiet required to balance the books. With a remote receptionist on the job, your employees’ output will sure multiply.
Grow Your Business
Consider the new markets that will open up when you partner with a virtual receptionist who is available around the clock. In an increasingly global world, people are becoming accustomed to 24 hours a day customer service options. If your business has typically been unavailable after regular business hours, don’t be surprised when your virtual receptionist helps increase your number of customers.
If you choose a bilingual virtual receptionist service, they can also help you grow in markets that might once have been out of reach. As America grows more and more diverse, having staff on hand to field calls from Spanish-speaking clients is no longer optional. Fail to have a Spanish speaker ready to answer the phone and you could miss out on converting a number of callers into customers.
Reduce Burnout
Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, it’s easy to feel burned out after a while. Even with a helpful staff behind you, it can be difficult to cross every item off of your to-do list every day. Busy afternoons in the office bleed into late nights and before you know it, you’ve become a true workaholic.
Life is too short to spend every waking hour at the office. Allow a virtual receptionist to seamlessly run the front end of your business. Whether you want a live receptionist to professionally brand your phones, want someone to schedule appointments for callers, or transfer people to the right department, virtual receptionists provide the experience and proficiency necessary for you to shift back to big-picture tasks. There’s nothing more reassuring than leaving the office each night knowing that your remote receptionist has your back.
Your team will benefit from this added support, too. You’ll no longer need to ask employees to stay late or come in early to help cover the phones. Because you can delegate repetitive tasks to virtual secretaries, your best and brightest minds will feel more passionate and excited about their progress.
Put MAP Virtual Receptionist Services to Work For You
Whether you’re hoping to gain more free time, grow your business or simply save a few extra dollars, MAP Communications is the answer to your phone answering challenges. Affordable, easy to use and endlessly customizable, MAP is the solution you’ve been searching for. We’re eager to show you our stuff, which is why we’re offering a free week-long trial of our virtual receptionist services. Get started today by filling out this form or giving us a call. You’ll be glad you did!
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
Answering Service Vs. Virtual Receptionist: What’s the Difference?
