The leaves are barely starting to turn, but the most successful business owners have been planning their holiday strategies for weeks (or even months). For many companies, the holidays are a time of increased sales, but also stress and chaos. Early planning is the key to boosting profits and minimizing stress as you head into this busy season.
If you see an increase in business during November and December, it’s important to consider how you will keep up with an increased call volume. In addition to planning marketing campaigns and vacation policies, business owners across a variety of industries are partnering with holiday answering services.
What is a holiday answering service?
A holiday answering service is a telephone answering service that provides seasonal support to businesses, typically in the months of November and December. A holiday answering service manages a business’ incoming phone calls and can help with tasks like appointment scheduling, email marketing, call routing, customer service, and more.
A holiday answering service is often a cheaper alternative to hiring seasonal employees to manage your phones. Unlike seasonal employees who are typically paid an hourly wage, you only pay a holiday answering service for the calls that your virtual receptionist handles.
Who needs a holiday answering service?
Many types of businesses partner with answering services to successfully navigate the busy holiday months. From medical practices, to hotels, to construction companies, there is no shortage of businesses that can benefit from a holiday answering service. Here are some of the ways that a holiday answering service can provide value to a variety of different businesses:
- Holiday answering services help medical practices accommodate the influx of patients calling to schedule that last checkup or procedure before their insurance plans and deductibles change in the new year.
- Holiday answering services help construction business owners complete more projects by the end of the year. By freeing up their hands and allowing them to fully focus on finishing their projects, they are significantly more productive.
- Holiday answering services help independent contractors like photographers and cleaners accommodate everyone who desires their services. Whether your callers want Christmas photos taken or they wish to have their house cleaned before hosting Thanksgiving dinner, our virtual receptionists are ready to help schedule these appointments.
- Holiday answering services help retail and e-commerce businesses that are experiencing a rapid increase in sales. Virtual receptionists can help callers by answering general questions, taking orders, and providing tracking information on existing orders. They do all of this while freeing up your staff to focus on things like helping in-store guests and fulfilling online orders faster.
- Holiday answering services provide support to travel and hospitality businesses, enabling their on-property staff to spend more time assisting guests. Holiday travel is stressful for many people, and when guests need help they don’t want to have to wait for your staff members to hang up the phone. When your staff members are available to assist hotel guests immediately, these guests will appreciate the special personalized attention that they receive.
