Moneypenny combines technology and people brilliantly
There are a number of tech options available when searching for a call answering service, but how do they compare to a real person answering the phone?
We’ve put together some key points to help you decide which option is the right one for you and your business.
Technology
Call answering service software automates some of the tasks involved with taking calls. They normally come with an app and/or portal for you to control where your calls are sent and how they are handled by your receptionist. Automation options usually include sending calls straight to your cell phone number, a colleague and/or send them to voicemail as a fall back.
They also provide other useful add-on features which help you appear bigger and more professional. One of these tools is creating greetings for callers; this can be as simple as a welcome message when they call your business number, such as ‘Thank you for calling Richard’s Landscaping’. You also have more interactive options to choose from, including an auto-attendant e.g. ‘Press 1 for sales, press 2 for accounts…’ and speech recognition, which prompts callers to say the name of the person or department they wish to speak to and routes the call accordingly.
Voicemail is also a key part of any call handling technology solution. Most call answering providers offer voicemail transcription as an optional extra. This is a great time-saving feature, as you don’t have to call your cell phone provider’s voicemail number to listen to the recording. You can just view it in text format, just as you would an email.
People
Tech solutions may have some great features, but you really can’t beat having your calls answered by a real person. We understand that not everyone likes to leave a voicemail; in fact, 55% of people are more likely to hang up if they hear a voicemail message. But think about this in terms of new business; having a real person there to answer your phone means that you’ll never miss a business opportunity.
A real person will also help to filter calls more efficiently. Imagine being in the middle of an important meeting and your phone starts to ring – you don’t want that call to go to voicemail in case it’s a new inquiry, but you also know you can’t miss the meeting. With a real person answering your calls, you can relax knowing a message will be taken and sent through to you immediately, ready for you to call back when you’re free.
We’ve already mentioned how useful voicemail transcriptions can be, but unfortunately using tech to automate these transcriptions isn’t always the most accurate method. You can miss out on key bits of information like a customer’s name, phone number or an order number which results in you having to listen to the recording anyway, therefore defeating the point of having voicemail transcriptions activated in the first place. By having your voicemails transcribed by a real person, you can ensure they’ll be accurate every time and provide you with all the information you need to handle that inquiry effectively.
At Moneypenny we offer a dedicated receptionist service; we give you one person you know and trust to answer calls exactly as if based in your office. You’ll gain time, flexibility, cost savings and a professional image. Experience if for yourself, try Moneypenny free for a week with no ongoing commitment – you’ve got nothing to lose.
