The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Phone Answering Service for Your Business

Is it a good idea to hire a phone answering service for your business? Is it worth the price? Will it, in fact, save you money?

Is an answering service competent enough to answer your customers’ questions? Or will your customers be frustrated by their lack of knowledge?

If you’ve been fretting over questions such as these, allow us to calm your fears. Below is a complete pros and cons list about hiring a phone answering service for your business.

This guide should answer any questions you have. Plus, it won’t take long to read. Read on to learn what you need to know.

Pros of Hiring a Phone Answering Service For Your Business

First, here are the reasons why it’s a good idea to hire a phone answering service. Mostly, it entails improving your quality of service. It might also help you save money.

1. Uninterrupted Service

One of the biggest advantages is that an answering service offers 24/7 support to your customers. This is especially important if your business currently only offers support during business hours.

2. Better Consistency of Service

Consistency of service is also a problem when you don’t have an answering service to rely on. For instance, if you have only one receptionist, you might lose calls while he/she is taking a lunch break. But answering services have plenty of competent receptionists available to answer at all times.

3. More Satisfied Customers

According to Hubspot, long hold times are one of the most common customer complaints. So, let’s go back to the single receptionist scenario. Even if your customers on hold don’t hang up, they’ll be regularly frustrated by their hold times.

4. Get a Better Deal

The fee to hire an answering service might seem to cost more than one in-house employee. But consider what you’re getting. Namely, you get a whole team of receptionists and you eliminate long hold times.

Plus, turnover will cost you a lot if your in-house receptionist quits. You need to recruit, interview, and train one all over again. You get a much better deal when you outsource.

Cons of Hiring a Phone Answering Service For Your Business

Though the pros outweigh the cons, there are some instances in which it could be a bad idea to hire a phone answering service. However, both of these can be avoided by choosing the right answering service for your business.

1. Lack of Knowledge

Many answering services have general support knowledge but can’t answer specific questions about your company and its policies. This is very frustrating to your customers. Again, though, there are many types of answering services, many of which are equipped to offer such customized support.

2. You Might Benefit More From a Virtual Assistant

Let’s say people call your business to set up accounts or schedule travel arrangements. In any case, the person answering the phone may need to enter this data into your business database.

Not all answering services are equipped to do this. This is more of a job for a virtual assistant.

Is a Phone Answering Service Right For Your Business?

So, have you made your decision yet? In any case, you now have the information you need to do so. Remember this guide and use this information when deciding whether to hire a phone answering service.

Next, do you need help choosing a managed service provider? Or would you rather learn the most effective digital marketing strategies for 2021? Either way, we have all these tips and much, much more in our Business archives.