What if your company could provide your callers with the best possible experiences—without you or anyone on your team ever answering the phone?
It’s possible when you use the right virtual receptionist solution for full-time answering. Here’s how it works:
What is full-time answering?
Virtual receptionists work differently for each business they serve. After all, every organization that outsources customer communication over the phone has its own call handling needs and preferences. Some are looking for part-time or backup support. Others opt to have virtual receptionists answer all their calls.
That second option is what we’re talking about today. Many providers call it “full-time answering” or “full-time forwarding.”
Depending on the nature of your company, the definition of “full-time” can vary:
For some companies, it means virtual receptionist answer callers 24/7, 365 days a year.
For others, it’s similar to the hours a full-time employee may work: 8–6, 9–5, 7–7, or another set of pre-established businesses hours, including or excluding weekends and holidays. (In these cases, when the business is closed, calls would typically go to voicemail or an automated system.)
In either scenario, your business saves time and maximizes productivity while ensuring callers receive the immediate, personalized, human service they expect.
When answering full-time, virtual receptionists essentially take on the role of an in-house receptionist (at a fraction of the cost). They can…
- Transfer calls to you or members of your team
- Direct people to relevant information on your website
- Handle customer service inquiries
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Gather insights about the people you serve
- Assist with outbound calls
- Onboard new clients
- Schedule appointments
- Qualify new leads
- Make lasting first impressions
- And much more!
You can choose to have calls connected directly to you once they’ve been answered, or have the caller announced so you can decide whether you’d like the call connected (an action called a “warm transfer”), have the receptionist take a message, or send the caller to voicemail.
No matter which option you choose, a quality virtual receptionist should act as the frontline of your business and ensure callers receive a consistent, personalized experience every time they call.
Benefits of full-time answering
1. Savings
It takes a considerable amount of time, money, and effort to manage one or more receptionists, or an in-house customer service department. And keeping those positions filled can be a stressful and expensive cycle, particularly during a labor shortage.
By using a virtual receptionist solution for full-time answering, you can minimize hiring headaches and management migraines, while reducing staffing costs.
2. Improved customer experiences
On top of cost savings, there are the benefits to customer experience. A high-quality virtual receptionist solution ensures you always have a friendly, capable professional handling communications with your customers, clients, or patients.
Learn how virtual receptionists elevate your callers’ experiences.
3. Zero distractions
Third, using virtual receptionists for full-time answering protects your team’s attention and productive ability. It insulates your business from unexpected questions and conversations that eat up time, energy, and focus.
Don’t need virtual receptionists to answer full-time for your business? Learn about part-time answering and backup answering.
What kinds of organizations use virtual receptionists for full-time answering?
Any company can use virtual receptionists for full-time answering, and many companies do. These organizations include countless small businesses and solo practitioners, as well as larger businesses without dedicated in-house receptionists.
We’re talking about…
- Medical providers
- Law firms
- Plumbers, HVAC technicians, electricians, and other home services providers
- Accounting firms and financial advisors
- Marketing firms, consultants, and other business services professionals
- Educational institutions
- And numerous other organizations
Not sure if having a virtual receptionist answer full-time is right for you? Consider the following questions:
- Do you or your team prefer to respond to client calls on your own time?
- Do you or your team like to have time to prepare before answering calls?
- Is it important that you or your team have uninterrupted time to focus?
- Does your organization receive calls at various hours?
- Is it important that your callers speak to a real person whenever they call?
- Are you struggling to hire and retain in-house customer service team members?
- Do you need to minimize your customer service costs?
- Do you need qualified call handling help right now?
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” having a virtual receptionist answer full-time is a smart choice for your organization.
Learn more about how virtual receptionists work and how the right solution maximizes efficiency and customer happiness:
