Live receptionist services have been around for decades, however the popularity of them has increased in recent years as more companies shift towards a remote-first business model.
Basically, a live receptionist is a remote, third-party worker that carries out the same duties than an in-house receptionist would. The service is often times very cost-effective and offers several benefits to new businesses as well as established ones.
The Benefits of Live Receptionists for Remote Teams
Live receptionists can be particularly beneficial for remote teams, as they can be a point of contact between the company and its customers or clients regardless of the time zone or geographic location of a business.
Below are some top benefits of live receptionists for remote teams:
- High-quality customer service
In today’s interconnected world, most clients and consumers expect an immediate response from a company. Remote teams, particularly those dispersed across various time zones, often find it challenging to attend to all customer needs immediately.
A live receptionist service can help remote teams deliver better customer service by providing a point of contact that can be available 24/7 across different time zones, which can improve customer service and therefore, improve sales and overall business performance.
- They can place orders or schedule appointments
Just as live receptionists are able to solve customer problems and queries, they are able to place orders and schedule appointments. This means that remote teams can spend most of their time in high-value tasks that can drive business performance and improve productivity levels.
This can prove to be advantageous to new or small businesses with a limited number of full-time employees that may not have the necessary bandwidth to tackle all calls or inquiries.
- They can transfer calls and collect caller information
For remote teams, having someone that can answer all calls and forward them to the right person can be time-saving. More importantly, live receptionists are trained to screen calls and collect caller information so that team members are better equipped to deal with clients and find potential business opportunities.
Even more important is the fact that live receptionist services typically offer a local phone number so that clients can call toll-free and even if customer service representatives are located in other countries. This is not only cost-effective, but it can also help attract and retain clients.
- They aid in work-life balance
Most remote teams typically use their personal phones as business phones. Having a live receptionist service can help team members keep a fine line between work and life, particularly when it comes to communicating with clients, vendors, or business partners.
Rather than having their personal phone numbers ring during off business hours, live receptionists can take the call and take a message. This can also prevent calls from being unanswered, which could decrease business credibility and lead to lost clients.
- They provide instant brand credibility and trustworthiness
Having someone answer a phone with a simple “hello, and thank you for calling (your business name)” can go a long way in establishing brand credibility and trustworthiness.
Remote teams that do not have a local headquarters or office can greatly benefit from having a first point of contact that is professional, friendly, and responsive.
- Lead capturing
Because live receptionists will be answering calls and gathering information from callers, they can easily identify potential leads and send them to the right team members. It’s a cost-effective and fast way to capture and, more importantly, qualify leads.
It’s also worth noting that businesses that respond to a lead within less than an hour are much more likely to capture the business of the lead. Delayed response times are associated with people seeking a solution from a competitor.
- It’s cost-effective
Last but not least, there is no denying that live receptionist services are relatively low-cost, particularly for businesses looking for a 24/7 receptionist solution.
Keep in mind that live receptionists are equipped and trained to do much more than just answer calls:
- Book appointments
- Book meetings
- Customer service support
- Capture and qualify leads
- Take and process orders.
Conclusion
As you can see, live receptionists can offer a variety of benefits to remote teams and businesses. More importantly, this type of solution is not only flexible, but can also be fully customized to your team’s needs, whether it be help with customer service queries, placing orders, or simply identifying and tracking callers.
Modern businesses should be agile and efficient. Live receptionist services are a great complement to remote teams that are location independent and seeking for new ways to provide excellent service.