Phone answering services were once exactly what the name suggests. Today, they have evolved into innovative communications hubs where live agents can interact with customers in a variety of different ways. In this post, we’ll explore some of the most important phone answering service trends that can benefit your small business in 2021 and beyond.
Multi-channel communication
In today’s digital age, companies have more ways than ever to communicate with customers. In fact, an increasing number of customers prefer platforms such as email, social media, SMS text message over an old-fashioned telephone call.
Offering multichannel communication gives your business the opportunity to improve your customer experience and boost customer loyalty. With that said, the best phone answering service companies are no longer just “phone” answering services. Here at Answering Service Care, our live agents are available 24/7 to monitor and respond to text messages and live website chats in addition to phone calls.
Email marketing
Following up with callers via email is one of the most effective ways to keep in touch and stay top of mind after they hang up the phone. Answering Service Care’s email marketing option automatically generates and sends an email to the address collected from the customer during the call. This follow-up email can contain a variety of relevant information and calls to action, such as appointment confirmations, coupons or discount codes, general business information, and much more.
SMS text messaging
Recent data shows that most customers prefer to communicate with businesses via SMS text message. Considering that texting has become the main method of communication in our everyday lives, the best answering services have adapted and begun offering text message answering services. Offering customers the ability to text your business not only offers a better way to communicate. It frees up your phone lines for other callers, and those who prefer to text will appreciate having the option to do so. In fact, they might already be trying to text your business- are you receiving and responding to these messages?
Follow Me
We know you’re busy and that it’s not always possible to answer your phone. Perhaps you have multiple office locations, or your job requires you to be out in the field often. Either way, missing calls means potentially missing out on lucrative business opportunities. Our Follow Me (also referred to as “Find Me Follow Me”) service ensures that no matter where you are, your callers will be able to find you and your team members quickly and easily. With a single phone number, you’ll be able to assist callers without having to worry about missing calls.
Stop paying for robocalls
Paying for virtual receptionists to answer, identify, and hang up on robocalls is so 2020. We’ve seen automated spam calls become an increasingly large nuisance in recent years, so we came up with a solution. Our Spam Blocker feature offers an extra layer of protection by filtering out automated spam calls before they are even picked up. This frees our virtual receptionists up to assist more callers, and our clients no longer get stuck paying for the time it takes to answer and hang up on robocalls.
