By now, most people have become accustomed to working remotely. And many of us have become intimately familiar with our computers—attending everything from virtual meetings and presentations to virtual meetups, doctor’s appointments, consultations, dates, weddings, happy hours, baby showers, therapy sessions, international tours, and more.
It’s no surprise that tech companies are busier than ever, or that information technology providers in particular are dealing with extremely high call volumes. If you run an IT business, you might be experiencing not only an influx of calls from interested buyers, but also a flood of calls from customers who are having not-so-sunny experiences with their technology. And if that’s the case, it’s time to consider an IT answering service.
An IT answering service ensures your clients and potential clients connect with friendly, professional receptionists. Those receptionists can help the people you serve navigate the often sensitive and emotionally fraught challenges they bring to your business.
We’re talking about conversations with people like…
- Confused potential customers bewildered by multitudes of options and technical specifications
- Leery sales leads concerned about the expense of purchasing IT products and services
- Distressed customers with urgent IT issues that seem to occur at the worst possible times, like right before important meetings or deadlines
- Concerned customers who need help after hours
The best IT answering service will answer the call (or website chat) when someone’s in need, solving problems and handling questions while engaging and retaining your customers. Here’s how the right IT answering service will grow your business.
An IT answering service keeps your business human.
For non-specialists, IT conversations can get very technical very quickly. This is both a practical and emotional reality. Whether they realize it or not, people who reach out to your business want to connect with a human on the other end of the call who will not only offer them solutions but also empathize with their concerns.
In other words, they keep the conversation human.
A virtual receptionist solution’s quality makes all the difference. The most effective IT answering services combine warm, personalized interactions with active listening, setting the tone for the entire customer experience.
It happens in ways big and small. For instance, an IT answering service can keep your business human by…
- Providing 24/7 service, so your customers reach a live person whenever they want to connect. Given that IT issues aren’t limited to business hours, an after-hours IT answering service is crucial.
- Responding to every call promptly, ideally within four rings or fewer.
- Answering calls with your customized greeting. The ideal IT answering service will sound like a seamless extension of your business—indistinguishable from an in-house employee—and your callers will never know the difference.
- Connecting your callers with well-trained customer experience professionals who know how to engage in real, wow-worthy conversations rather than rely on scripts.
An IT answering service gets right to the solutions.
When a customer calls an IT answering service, more often than not it’s because something just went wrong—an emergency needs to be resolved right now. When that customer’s life or business occurs online, it can be an intense situation, not unlike the experience of rushing to the ER.
Virtual receptionists are trained to stay calm—especially when a caller isn’t. Even without having the technical knowledge required to find the correct solution right away, they know how to diffuse a situation and guide the person to the help they need.
This is where call handling comes in. When time is of the essence—and basic subject matter knowledge and FAQs aren’t enough—an IT answering service can save the day by knowing exactly how and where to transfer a call. Well-trained receptionists are experts in call handling. They can avoid conversational dead ends and set the right expectations, insulating businesses from overly demanding customers and keeping everyone happy.
Call handling: A-to-Z
Learn all about call handling—the process of managing phone calls.
An IT answering service knows your audience.
This may come as a shock, but in a pinch, most people can’t identify a SATA drive from a PATA drive. (To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I understand what I just wrote there .)
Which is why great IT answering services train receptionists to use clear and simple language when speaking to clients and prospects. These professionals understand technical jargon—they’re seamless extensions of your business, after all—but combine that knowledge with active listening skills. They engage a caller to gauge their expertise and direct the conversation accordingly, offering the right level of service whether a customer is calling to ask about manually rewiring a hard drive or about opening a PDF.
The best providers of IT answering services go above and beyond by empowering receptionists to have real conversations (built on talking points rather than scripts) with callers and providing bilingual answering.
An IT answering service keeps the conversation going.
Truly effective customer support extends past phone and chat reception, and even beyond problem-solving. It’s more than support; it’s a form of ongoing customer engagement, a flywheel that continually reminds customers of your company’s value, brand, and commitment to improving their lives. It’s also a great way to stay at the front of a customer’s mind and gain word-of-mouth publicity.
Here are a few ways in which IT receptionists stay connected with customers beyond initial calls:
- 24/7 messaging collection and delivery when staff members are unavailable
- Following up with a customer after the first support exchange is complete
- Keeping customer contact information on file for future engagement opportunities
- Placing outbound calls on your behalf
It’s all a part of creating an omnichannel customer experience and delighting the people you serve no matter how, where, or when they contact your business.
Get the best IT answering service—and more—with Ruby.
Customers expect your business to be online 24/7—but that doesn’t mean you personally have to be. Reclaim your time and take full control of your business with Ruby.
Ruby is more than another answering service. We’re a full-fledged customer experience solution dedicated to making meaningful connections with your customers and growing your business.
Learn more about how it works:
