For these and other reasons, more and more businesses and professionals are turning to answering services to manage all incoming calls. Some business types, however, are more likely to use call centers than others.
A retail store, for example, probably wouldn’t hire a call center. But if it’s a big retail chain and they do direct mail or catalog sales, it would be unfeasible in most cases for them to create their own call center service. No, they go to one that’s experienced and has all the pieces already in place.
On the other hand, doctors and dentists definitely need to have their inbound calls answered around the clock. Perhaps a receptionist can handle the job during regular business hours, but not many medical and dental receptionists work at three o’clock in the morning – when a distressed or sick patient might call.
Answering services can take these calls and follow the client’s directives on how to handle the messaging. This can be done within a specified amount of time, depending on the nature of the call or emergency, and it can be accomplished by phone, fax, email, text message and other communications tools.
Any company engaged in direct sales, like the department store above, will benefit from hiring an answering service. The phone agents are well-trained and courteous. They know how to upsell and suggest related products or services the caller might be interested in. And the larger the sales campaign, the more useful a call center is in taking the orders.
In addition to fielding calls in emergencies, during off-hours and to sell products and services, answering services can provide some or all of the following:
- Third Party Verification
- Internet Assistance and Services
- Telemarketing
- Dealer Locator/Lead Control
- Secure Online Data Delivery (FTP)
- Reservations/Event Scheduling
- Online Credit Card Authorization
- Customer Service Assistance
- Lead Generation
- Surveys
- Database Management
- Customized Marketing Reports
As you can see, it’s no longer accurate to think of a call center as just a place that answers the phones for its clients. Today’s best answering services perform a long list of critical jobs that help companies do more and better work and increase growth and profits.
Leonore Krone is a freelance writer for Ansafone Contact Centers, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based answering service. Interested in finding out more about Inbound Call Center Services and Outbound Call Center Service? Visit our website today for more information.
