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Answering services are companies that answer incoming telephone calls for other companies. They are much like call centers, but usually only take messages via live operator or IVR (Interactive Voice Response). The reason for the popularity of hiring an answering service is that a company can give 24-hour care to their clients without the hassle of staffing and operating the service. There are many call answer services in the market today. Some services specialize in a specific industrial field, such as the medical field, while others offer their service to a wide range of companies. In the medical field it is better to go with a service that is more designed to the medical community's specific needs. Answer service can be answered by either a live operator or via an IVR. There are pros and cons to both of these answer services. The live operator makes the service seem more personable, but can be more expensive to maintain, while IVR service is impersonal but cheaper to run. Of course, an answer service company can combine both of these services to provide a better solution for all. The reasons a company hires or contracts with a phone answer service are mainly cost and customer service. The overhead cost to answer calls 24/7 is very high, but in many industries it is a must to maintain an answer service. Since the answer service specializes in answering calls and may work for many different companies, the overhead cost is not a factor, just part of the business. Hiring a service for answering your phone calls also provides better customer service--no longer will customers just get the message that the company is closed for the day; they can talk to real people. The answer service will answer the call as if it is the company itself. The service should never let on that they are only a messaging service, but that the service is actually part of the company. To do this they will answer the phone with the hiring company's name and, if asked, state that the service is part of the company. This helps the person calling the answer service feel more comfortable and hence more likely to leave a message. Crm21.com has a comprehensive and accurate list of answering services for the phone, and also breaks them down into categories such as medical answering services and live answering services. Web Design - Small business custom website from EverestWebDesign.com. Rich Christiansen: - Management metaphors at RichChristiansen.com. |
Answering Services
