In the age of the internet, there are far fewer businesses investing in office space than there were even twenty years ago. In general, companies are also smaller, neglecting to employ administrative assistants, primarily because they choose not to have office space. This can be problematic, as business owners working from home are not inclined to give out their personal numbers or to take every call that comes through.
Live phone answering services can provide a great solution, remotely answering calls to replace traditional receptionists. Generally, live phone answering services operate from centralized locations where they can take large volumes of calls. These answering services are often used by:
- Home-based entrepreneurs
- Accountants
- Attorneys
- Law firms
- Mobile sales reps
- Trade based workers
- Doctors and dentists
- Therapists
- Business consultants
- Mediators and conflict resolution specialists
- Frequent travelers and owners of foreign companies
- Chambers of Commerce
- Senior management
- Real estate
- Mortgage companies
- Stockbrokers and financial planners
- Collections agencies
- Networking groups
- Trainers and instructors
For businesses looking to trim expenses, live phone answering services can help reduce overhead while keeping professionalism high. They can help businesses receiving large numbers of call each day, provide answering after hours, and generally help bridge the gap between business owners and their clients.
When looking for answer services, it’s important to be aware of the common complaints lodged about services of poor quality. Sometimes, they lament problems with security, impersonal staff, high turnover rates, language barriers, translation errors, and lack of professionalism. It is critically important to avoid such grievous issues, and they can mostly be avoided through careful research of prospective live phone answering services.
Ultimately, a live answering service can provide professionalism and after hours assistance for businesses without the resources or facilities for a full time receptionist. Their services can be extremely helpful, as long as they are chosen with care.