20 Services you can get on hiring a virtual receptionist

Everyone is aware of the old saying the customer if the king more than just being a business owner. Today’s customers demand 24×7 services and that is why we need a virtual receptionist. But problems arise when the business owners fail to devote enough time to serve them the way they want. Continuous ringing of phones can be quite distracting of you are concentrating on something very important. But have you ever given it a thought that by directing them to the voicemail can result in losing on a big lead?

Only an expert person like the virtual receptionist who shows outstanding capabilities on the reception desk can provide such outstanding customer service. When you appoint them, then only can you provide your customers with a proper channel to get in touch with you, any time of the day and night, but how? The receptionist attends to all your calls, solves customer queries and grievances, and ensures that you don’t miss any new leads. This is all possible by just giving them a set of instructions initially as to how you want them to handle the communication.

The Million Dollar Question – Why choose a virtual receptionist?

Are you skeptical about leaving your business communication in the hands of a stranger? Here are some of the roles that the virtual receptionist performs because of which you can depend on them blindfolded:

• Answers call and take messages.

• Transfers the calls to the respective department or person.

• Schedules appointments and resolves customer queries and disputes.

• Offers 24*7 customer service and pursues new leads.

• Manages the mailbox and carries out personal or professional errands

Apart from these, the most important reason why you should appoint a virtual receptionist is that they act as a filter which lets only the most important calls to get through to you. What exactly this mean? This means that no irrelevant call can annoy you any more to be precise. Apart from this, these assistants can do much more than just managing your phone calls. They can carry do email, and project management, customer service et al. Read on and you will understand how these professionals can make a huge difference in your life.

Improved Customer Relations

1. Supporting The Customers

So long, maybe due to your extremely busy schedules, you’ve been diverting the customers’ calls to an automated machine. And as a consequence, you must have already lost a lot on the business front. Don’t worry your customer service will not be neglected anymore. The virtual receptionist offers stellar customer support.

They make sure that all the calls are attended, all emails read, and all the questions answered. Are you into the international market? Then, it will really be helpful for you if you appoint a bilingual receptionist. A virtual receptionist can easily gain the trust of the customers and they feel satisfied talking in their own native language. After all who does not know that a satisfied customer is a permanent one?

2. Expertly Handles The International Clients

If you want to serve the global market appropriately, then appointing a virtual receptionist, who has expertise in many languages and cultures, is a must. Hire them and see how your business expands slowly. You will never miss a deal again due to the language barrier. By appointing a receptionist capable of handling international clients, you can stretch out your reach into the foreign lands smoothly. Start growing your business internationally via a skilled assistant.

3. Attending The Incoming Calls And Emails Promptly

We know, from many surveys, that the customers always want to hear a human voice and expect that a human person attends to their calls. They lose interest almost immediately if this doesn’t happen. Moreover, it is very important that their call reaches the right person or department. The virtual receptionist makes sure that all these points are taken care of. 

It becomes almost impossible for an upcoming entrepreneur to answer phone calls the whole day. But then, it should not mean that they are useless and unimportant. That is why it always makes sense to appoint a trained person to attend to the calls so that you get the time to focus on vital areas that need strong attention. A virtual receptionist is qualified in dealing with day to day calls with the right kind of gesture and responses. Their expertise and experience let them assess the value of each call and need your assistance only when some special input is required on your behalf.

4. Remarkable Customer Service

A virtual receptionist is expertly trained to answer calls and emails in the most professional way. They are thoroughly trained and a highly experienced lot. They have the right skills to deal with the most critical customers. This kind of experience gives them the capability to weigh each incoming request and query. A highly trained virtual receptionist knows exactly how to handle a call. The person on the other side of the phone may be a disgruntled one or a candidate seeking a job, the receptionist knows how to tackle them all. They also provide the right kind of attention and response to all the calls. Then, what are you waiting for? Get yourself a perfect receptionist to avail these outstanding services, each time and every time. 

5. Quick Response To All Queries

A virtual receptionist knows your business and its processes inside out. This gives them an edge towards tackling the varied customer queries with expertise. They promptly answer all queries and direct the customers to the right department for any issues. When a live person like the receptionist attends the customer call and answers to all their queries instead of a machine, almost immediately the credibility of your company increases manifold. This increases the satisfaction level of the customers also. They ensure outstanding customer service resulting in the booty of happy customers at your end.

Professionals With Exceptional Training

6. Perfectly Trained and Highly Qualified Professionals

If you are looking for a receptionist well versed with your industry norms, then definitely choose a virtual receptionist who holds this kind of expertise. They know exactly how to cater to the daily calls and requests, directing only the most relevant ones to you. Among the many skills that these receptionists have, perhaps the best one is the skill of organizing things. A virtual receptionist puts in order all the menial tasks nicely. They keep everything organized, but the tickets in order, and clear the voicemails. As a small business owner, you must appoint a dedicated receptionist to keep everything organized.

7. Web Chats And Ticket Managing

Customer service doesn’t only mean answering phone calls. A virtual receptionist also chats with the web surfers on the website or social media platform. Whenever your customer queries about something via the web, these receptionists promptly answer back. This makes your presence felt online. You can convert your website and social media accounts in a sales tool through them.

Such a virtual receptionist always takes a special note about the queries of the customers and keeps a record of all the grievances – negative and positive alike. They are trained in such a way so that your customers become happy in the end when they see that both the positives and negatives are all accepted with equal interest and care.

8. Schedules Appointments And Processes Orders

Your virtual receptionist aids in saving your precious time by scheduling the appointments on your part and from answering the incoming calls and from doing a lot of the back-office jobs. They manage your calendar accurately and keep track of all the daily meetings. All this lets you focus more on other matters of vital importance.

Your virtual receptionist is also capable of taking down the orders of the customers and processes the payments if required by you. All you have to do is to train them on the way your online tools are to be used. If you can train them accurately, they are capable of doing an excellent job of handling the placed orders and answering to the customer queries.

Reduction In Expenses

9. Quality Service At A Quality Price

As because there is no need to pay any fixed salary to the virtual receptionist, your expenses remain within the budget. They don’t carry the high price tag on their back but offers the best quality services and are dedicated to their task. Their services are cost-effective and are definitely a smart investment for small business owners.

Managing everyday calls and appointments may seem to be some menial task and seem to have no immediate financial implications, but it results in the loss of huge opportunity. Do you know why? It is because it shifts your focus from the more important matters related to the growth of your business to things that are mundane. For many businesses, hiring a full-time receptionist may seem to be a difficult proposition and also a costly one. So, hiring a virtual receptionist instead ensures that you have a great combination of experience and quality services, and that also at a fractional cost.

10. Pay According To Service And Saves Office Costs

The virtual receptionist is paid according to the number of hours they work and this is one of the best things about their service. They are not entitled to any paid leaves and additional benefits. And you will definitely see the outcome of hiring them as your business can save huge amounts of money and ends up saving more. What’s more, these receptionists can be hired according to your budget and there are many plans under which they can be appointed.

Choose a plan that works best for you and go ahead. As the virtual receptionist works remotely, the expense for providing the extra office space is absent. This implies that one can continue working out of your home or café area without having to arrange for a reception area. This is another clause as to why hiring them is an extremely smart move.

11. Nonsalaried And No Training Cost

In-house receptionists can cost you a fortune every month. Added to that are the benefits, taxes, overhead costs that you will have to pay them and when you calculate all these together you may feel that you are heading towards a total financial disaster. Hire a virtual receptionist and say bye to all these recurrent costs. Your receptionist is trained according to the ways of the business world. So a month-long training is not required. Basic instruction on how you wish to operate your business is enough to get them going.

Greater Flexibility

12. Wide Coverage with Flexibility

Choose a virtual receptionist to handle all the calls, emails, and other messages daily. They will carry on with their duties even if there is an ongoing holiday and even when the company closes after the regular business hours. An online receptionist offers its services round the clock and he or she is accessible all day, particularly if they come from different time zones. You can enjoy your leisure and take some time off and stay assured that your business will continue as usual.

Improved Productivity

13. Never Misses On Business Opportunities And Increases Productivity

If you want to remain in the rat race, your service must be available to your customers round the clock. But this kind of service cannot be expected from an in-house receptionist. On getting virtual receptionist service and you will never miss a business opportunity ever. On top of that, being available 24×7 promotes and projects a great professional image to your customers about your company, which boosts up your market impression as well. When your daily calls and emails are handled by them, you save more and more time and have the bandwidth at your disposal. 

In place of answering to innumerable phone calls throughout the day, you can dedicate yourself completely in developing powerful business strategies, meet your suppliers, and focus on business growth. You, being the founder, have plenty on your plate. So why complicate your life more by doing the job of your receptionist as well? You very well know how irritating and distracting a continuously ringing phone can be when you’re in the middle of a meeting or an important business discussion. Choosing a virtual receptionist can help you to be free from these unnecessary distractions and enjoy the benefits they offer.

14. Deals With Cold calls Breakless

With a virtual receptionist, you can successfully get rid of the pain of having to take in useless calls from cold callers and salesmen. Your receptionist takes care of everything and transfers the most important ones to you. Because they charge on an hourly basis, they get incentives to manage their time judiciously. They don’t kill time in idle gossips and on social media. This results in an increase in productivity, in a given day by, among the staff members as well. When you are at the zenith, you should not worry about your business all the time. Taking a break becomes all the more essential as it clears your mind and helps you to focus and think much better. These receptionists let you enjoy a holiday fully as they carry out everything silently for you. This relaxes you all the more which is vital to generate creativity.

15. Centralizes The Operations

The virtual receptionist segregates all the important messages and emails in a single area to stop the possibility of any confusion while answering to them. They centralize your day to day operations and organize the whole business process. Centralization and streamlining of everyday operations improve efficiency level and removes frustrations from the employees as well as the customers.

Saves The Valuable Time

16. Frees up Time So That You Can Work At Your Convenience

Hiring virtual receptionists gifts you the liberty to go through the messages, emails in your leisure time. Instead of always staying on your foot, let your receptionist handle these for you and reply to them at your convenient time. The more you devote your time and concentrate on your business, the more your business will grow, your products will improve, and as a result, more and more customers will come to you. To be successful, the last thing you wish to do is answering to unlimited messages and emails. 

Now, are you still thinking about what’s so great about this virtual receptionist? Let me tell you, it is them that will never let you miss on a single query even when you are on leave or taking a vacation. So, you will have more time to focus on the vitals in your business as your assistant takes care of the other stuff. When they track your meetings and appointments, you no longer need to worry about them and find out at regular intervals as to where you will proceed next. Allow your receptionist to deal with your schedule and you concentrate on the business.

17. Manages Time Better And Saves Human Hours Without Offs

Allowing your virtual receptionist to take appointments and handle queries can put your time to better usage. You no longer check the voicemails, respond to calls, or send emails. Because these receptionists do not require being present physically at your workplace, it saves them the commute time, unlike the in-house ones. This allows you to get more work done by them. Hire a receptionist and they will never ask you for an off day. Your receptionist will be accessible all day and will offer a stellar performance every day for your business.

Available Round The Clock

18. Always There With Extended Period Of Service

Even if you are not there, your virtual receptionist is there to deal with everything tactfully. This is something which becomes very useful if you have no on-site receptionist or a reception area to work from. They always make their presence felt no matter where you and they are. And your customers will also feel their presence 24 x 7 as well. If you’re thinking of extending your customer service way beyond the regular business hours, then you can take their help to keep the communication channel open. This extra customer service projects a very good impression among your customers, something that’s great for your company’s overall wellbeing in the long run.

Positive Brand Image

19. Creates Impression And Improves Brand Image And Awareness

As we all know, the very first impression matters, may it be in real life or in the business. When a customer calls you for the first time, chances are that they may not call for the second time if the first goes unanswered. A virtual receptionist ensures that this never happens thereby creating a great impression in the minds of these leads.

When calls and emails are responded to promptly and professionally, the success of your venture becomes almost certain. It gives the impression that your business is of repute and is serious about its customers. In this way, your virtual assistant improves the credibility of your brand and its image. It requires a lot in building a brand and demands lots of time, resources, and immense patience. By hiring a trained virtual receptionist, you can always put forward the impression of a highly established business to your customers. It also assures your customers that they’re interacting with a renowned brand, which is healthy for any business. Enhance this kind of brand awareness at the minimum cost!

20. Establishes Solid Customer Relations And Projects A Professional Image

Developing and solidifying a relationship with your customer needs time. But a virtual receptionist promptly develops this kind of rapport by answering all their queries and solving their problems with utmost sincerity. This vibe is felt by them and they definitely come back. Another way by which you can gain your customer’s loyalty towards your brand is by presenting a very clean and professional image of yourself to them. And the easiest way to do this is to hire a receptionist virtually instead of an automated answering machine. Not answering the calls on time, dents the image of your business permanently. With receptionists like them, your customers will see you as a thorough professional and trust and remain loyal to you and the tour brand.

Why Businesses today need a virtual receptionist?

As implied from the name itself, a virtual receptionist is a person who works remotely from the virtual world. He or she works under contract for doing a specified work remotely. They attend the calls on behalf of the company that has hired them. They are highly skilled and utterly professional human beings, who can be reached on demand, and are the virtual face of you and your company. They carry all sorts of tasks starting from taking calls, messages and transferring them, to making appointments, dealing with FAQs, to doing outbound calls for you, and many more.

Advantages In Hiring Them

• Cost-effective – The virtual receptionist is contracted as an independent worker, and paid on the basis of the agreed hourly rate. The total cost incurred in pain is calculated by multiplying the number of productive hours with the rate per hour. It is calculated that if you hire these assistants against the office-based receptionists, you can save up to 82% revenue. 

• Flexible –If you want to creatively manage your workforce and design their schedules that cover business operations beyond the office hours, then appointing a virtual assistant is the best option. It will be especially advantageous if your involved with international trade with clients from remote places, these team of virtual receptionist can work round the clock to satisfy them.

• Quality service – Indeed, handling calls is a skill that needs learning. Every bit of information can prove itself to be vital for the business. Jotting down essential and accurate details is an absolute necessity. A virtual receptionist has a huge experience that ensures great performance as that is exactly what they specialize in. in contrast to regular office workers, they have higher levels of competency and maturity. Moreover, they have higher levels of productivity because they are flexible. They work in four-hour shifts and thus retain their focusing levels than an office-based worker who works continuously for eight hours daily.

Their Impact On Modern Business

Every Call Is An Opportunity In Itself

The fortune of a company can decrease or increase with every single incoming and outgoing call. Communication done by a virtual receptionist is that medium that brings in opportunities and matures them. Companies try to limit the entry of a call as each one of them has the potential to be the most important call in that very company’s history.

A virtual receptionist or VR does more than simply answering to the phone calls. Historically saying, they perform their work involves the responsibilities of a secretary. They ready your letters, schedule, work, and set appointments when they are not taking the calls. They even render services like setting the dinner and travel reservations and even take care of CEOs dry cleaning jobs.

A virtual receptionist is there for all intents and purposes. Although not exclusively for a single client, they provide their services as a freelancer. They work for multiple organizations at a time unless their contract terms are different. But still, they are the independent lot who schedule their services according to their own terms. Let us find out a little more about how they can help your business grow.

Provides Reputable Customer Service

With live virtual receptionist services, you can become the leader in customer service in your area of business. Numerous surveys have shown that it is a common preference of the customers to make business-related discussions over phone calls. These customers wish and highly expect to speak to a human representative regarding business matters. It is seen that around seventy-six percent callers never call again or leave any voice mail if in the first instance their call is not attended. And around sixty-seven percent of these callers hang up their phone if their call area attended by an automated system.

Reduction In Overhead Cost And Nourishes The Existing Resources

Live virtual receptionist services boost the results of the customer services and banks greatly on the word of mouth without having to sacrifice huge amounts of money. It is of course great that the organizations get their expert service for a fraction of the cost. They start their work much before the office hours begin and way beyond the office hours and on an as-needed basis during the busiest hours. 

What’s more, with live virtual receptionist services, you need not make any investments regarding the purchase of new hardware or software. The error level is zero and devoid of any pains related to setting up of a new business platform. The whole operation is done virtually. You will feel almost no change as regards to your business operations. Some of the services even allow their appointee to maintain their existing business number so that the callers’ call can be forwarded to them instantaneously.

More Business More Revenue

Here is a rundown about the big helps that live virtual receptionist services do for your business:

• Maximizing The Connectivity With Every Prospective Customer

As mentioned before and once again repeated; calls missed, opportunities missed. A live virtual receptionist answers most if not all of the business calls that come in. They are there whenever you need them most, never gets sick, or are late, or on vacation.

• Great Customer Service is Synonymous To Lifetime Customer Retention

It may sound quite obvious, but it is a fact that this does have a great impact. If your customers get the best of services from the virtual receptionist, most of them will definitely convert their call to business and stick to your organization lifelong.

• Get To Know Your Audience Better

Live virtual receptionist collects call data and vital details about the customers and the prospects like their personal information, the reason for their call, and vital details regarding them as well as the business prospects. They also note down the best time for follow up call, business sentiments, and so on. These data can be extremely beneficial for the marketing and sales department, detect flaws in customer relations, and design the product and/or service and much more.

Their Impact On Productivity

You can very well instruct the virtual receptionist to take in the messages in place of directing the calls. Many services often do additional tasks like planning the meetings, data collection, and making calls on behalf of you or your employee. These, of course, have a very significant impact on productivity as it limits the unnecessary hindrances and reduces stress in the busy seasons or during your absence from the office.

A virtual receptionist can very well free your in-house receptionist for some other job of grave importance which can definitely improve the client experience. As regards small businesses, appointing an assistant can save loads of money that a full-time receptionist demands.

Future of Virtual Receptionist

Because of the huge advantages that a virtual receptionist has for a company, it will definitely be the most sought after thing in the future. They indeed have a very bright future because of the simple reason that they are so convenient for the companies. They are definitely emerging as great taskmasters outside the work area in carrying out routine tasks thereby giving the workers the right kind of opportunity to devote themselves on more complicated tasks. They are making great progress in increasing sales and in improving communications. They will become the most trusted collaborators in business operations. 

How It Helps The Startups

A virtual receptionist can prove to be very cost-effective for small businesses and startups. Their access to high quality and fruitful customer service proves to be extremely effective without burning your pocket. Here are some other key benefits that many upcoming companies have experienced when they appointed these receptionists in their business.

1. No Calls Missed During Business Hours

With a virtual receptionist, you will be free from the headache of the receptionist going for a vacation. You will be sure that all of the calls that will come during the business hours will be definitely attended. He or she is extremely reliable and can address all sorts of problems, as they are always there in the hours of need, For example, you can take an unplanned vacation and let all the calls be diverted to your receptionist and enjoy!!!

2. The Best Customer Service

Using a virtual receptionist makes sure that all calls are being answered by a courteous and learned person. He or she can be briefed on exactly how you wish them to attend the call so that it becomes a great experience for your client. It will boost your prospects and give you an edge over others.

3. Betters Time Management

Don’t bother for not having an onsite receptionist; you’ll see that by using a virtual receptionist can be extremely beneficial for them. You will not be required to stick to your desk or Smartphone, he or she will do that for you. All-day long, you will be updated on the latest developments. Accordingly, one can prioritize issues that need immediate attention. The rest can be diverted to the respective departments within the business.

4. Puts Forward A Professional Image

Prompt and professional response to a call gives the customers an extremely great impression. It also gives your business a great image and clients’ love and respect. The virtual receptionist answers your calls on behalf of your company and takes messages and diverts calls to the concerned person within your business.