How to drive ROI with live answering for small business.

Every small business wants to grow yet many miss phone calls every day. It’s widely accepted as “just the way it is.” But did you know that answering every phone call is a simple and cost-effective way to drive ROI? 

Our study with Arlington Research found that businesses are losing up to $1.6 million in yearly revenue due to missed calls. Voicemail machines and bots are often used to catch missed calls but they’re subpar solutions. Customers want to speak with real people when they contact companies. 

We commissioned OnePoll to explore customer attitudes to AI and bots and the results were clear. Of the 6,000 consumers polled:

• 84% want companies to disclose if they’re using AI in their customer service.
• 78% prefer to speak to a real person over AI or a bot.
• 71% feel that AI does not improve the customer experience.

AI and bots may offer companies convenience but they frustrate customers. They don’t build trust. But a live answering service for small businesses does.

Small businesses may struggle to compete with industry leaders on marketing budgets and reach. But they can compete on customer service. And a live answering service for small businesses can have a positive impact on your business within hours.

Make 5-star customer service a competitive advantage with a live answering service for small businesses.

First impressions matter. And so does speed as customers don’t want to keep calling trying to get through. A live answering service for small businesses makes sure every customer feels heard. Even if you can’t solve issues right away, taking the call and providing great customer service goes a long way to building trust.

Answering services have been around for years because the ROI is undeniable. Today, where it takes seconds to find pages of companies offering the services you seek – being the company that always picks up the phone to help is a powerful way to stand out. 

At AnswerConnect we know that 5 star customer service is an incredible way to build your brand and a great way for people to hear from other businesses that are in similar circumstances. Make sure that you make your Trustpilot page easily accessible for your customers, so that they can leave positive reviews after receiving exemplary service.

You can do this by:

• Sending emails to customers requesting reviews
• Make your review platform visible on your site
• Asking for reviews after having positive customer experiences
• Advertise your reviews to your customers

How a live answering service drives ROI.

Make more sales

Enhancing customer satisfaction with live answering services provides excellent customer service 24/7. The phone call is the most convenient and effective as it has the crucial “human touch” customers want. With phone lines open at all times, you can capture high-interest leads and make more sales around the clock.

Leads entering your sales pipeline via capture forms and email inquiries is a good thing (of course). But that process is slower than direct 1:1 contact. Many leads drop out before they get to talk to a virtual receptionist. The average response time for web leads is 17 hours. With a live answering service for small businesses, leads get instant customer service.

Secure more high-quality leads and qualify them faster

A 24/7 answering service makes it easy to capture, qualify, and prioritize leads faster. Speed is key, as after 5 minutes the odds of qualifying a lead drop by 80%! A team of friendly receptionists uses your lead-qualification criteria to screen callers and send you the details afterward.

Reduce recruitment and training costs

It takes time and money to recruit staff and train them up to standard if you want to manage phone lines in-house. Plus, you’ll need to regularly adjust as the number of calls fluctuates month to month. There’s a risk of paying for receptionists you don’t need, or struggling to find more ASAP when business picks up. 

A live answering service equipped to help small businesses saves you money as you can adjust your plan month to month; you only pay for what you need. 

Increased customer satisfaction

Happy customers will recommend you to their friends and family. A simple way to make customers happy is by having a real person answering the phone. No matter the industry, customers love to know they can always talk to a real person whatever time they call. 

Boost productivity

Voicemail machines and bots catch the calls you miss but… they create a backlog of people to call back! You end up reaching callers’ voicemail machines (oh the irony). Or it’s too late and they’ve found help elsewhere. Either way, voicemail machines and bots create more work.

Employees spend an average of one day a week dealing with customer problems. It makes you wonder – how many of those problems could have been solved with a quick phone call? 

An answering service eases into a workflow with a customized protocol to manage calls, so you can focus on tasks that grow your business – minus the stress of managing phone lines. 

How answering services meet the needs of small businesses.

A reputable answering service adapts to your business model. You won’t need to adapt to theirs! You can get up and running with a small business live answering service and start experiencing the benefits within 24 hours.

Many services offer a call-overflow service, after-hours only, or they can take every call for you 24/7. As part of their onboarding process, they’ll help you create custom brand scripts so your values are reflected on every call. Plus, a protocol will be put in place to manage every type of query.

Live answering services for small businesses tend to offer flexible contracts too, so you can upgrade or downgrade your plan as call volume fluctuates throughout the year.

Another common fear is that business owners won’t be able to handle the workload that follows a higher influx of calls. This shouldn’t be a problem as most live answering services offer more than just answering calls.

Common answering services include:

• 24/7 phone call and live chat assistance
• Lead capture & qualification services
• Appointment booking
• Order-management
• Engagement tracking, and more.

AnswerConnect’s positive impact on small businesses.

McGraw Realtors was in the top ten fastest-growing real estate companies in the US. But with the rapid expansion came some growing pains.

Chris Swift, Director of Operations, needed help managing a high number of calls across multiple locations. But he was hesitant as he’d worked with a live answering service before. And it was a disaster:

• Customers complained about unhelpful receptionists.
• Calls were being misrouted.
• When Swift listened back to calls for quality assurance, he heard his receptionists’ loud children in the background.

We met with Swift in 2021 and walked him through our process before we partnered; he’s still a valued customer three years on. Swift is now managing 20 different locations with Answerconnect. He said that customized scripts have made setting up customer service lines in new offices “a breeze.” 

Another long-standing client of ours, Kristen Fercho, Operations Director at Mosquito Squad of Columbia has been an AnswerConnect client since 2018. When COVID-19 shook the world, AnswerConnect helped her delight customers with exceptional customer service despite COVID-19’s disruption.

After-hours call cover, appointment scheduling, and hosting video meetings and webinars via the AnswerConnect App helped her delight customers with a friendly and efficient service. 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track with your answering service for small businesses.

Average call resolution time

This is the average amount of time it takes for a company to resolve a customer’s issue. It’s vital to track as it shows how effective your virtual receptionists are. 

First call resolution rate

A first-call resolution rate is a company’s success rate at solving a customer’s call/live chat in the first interaction. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, as they say. It matters.

Customer satisfaction scores

Companies of every size use the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) to measure their performance. They ask customers to rate “How satisfied were you with your experience?” on a scale from 1 to 10. 

What to look for in a small business live answering service.

Proven experience

Your brand is too important to take any chances with. Look for an answering service with years of experience and lots of positive reviews, case studies, and testimonials.

Industry expertise

A good level of industry expertise is required to make callers feel like they’re talking to you, not an outsourced service. As no two customer journeys are the same, answering services often specialize in niche areas such as law, medical and healthcare, real estate, etc.

Look for an answering service for small businesses with proven industry expertise to provide a smoother, helpful experience for callers.

Customization options

Some answering services take on multiple clients, which swamps receptionists with too many calls and less room for customization. This results in a basic service that quickly falls apart following a few questions from a caller. Especially for more complex businesses.

Virtual receptionists should sound just like members of your team. To achieve this, you’ll require a great level of customization. An answering service should walk you through their customization options to show you how it’ll sound when callers call you. 

Customization options should include:

• Customized brand scripts
• Call handling instructions
• Appointment scheduling
• Bilingual support
• Call analytics and reporting
• Emergency response protocols
• 24/7 availability

Workflow assistance experience

Services offering 24/7 call answering for small companies should ease you into your new and improved workflow. When speaking to answering service providers, ask about their onboarding process. They should be able to explain their process step by step and convey how they benefit your workflow.

Integration options

Ultimately, an answering service exists to make life easier for your team. Look for a company that offers integrations with the software you’re already using to streamline your workflow.