17 Things Smith.ai Can Do for Your Business in 2017

Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service has grown tremendously in the past year. Refining our existing features — and developing new ones to meet your needs — has kept us busy as we step into 2017. The list of things that our virtual receptionists can do for you and your business is ever-growing, but, in the spirit of ‘17, here are 17 of the most important ways our expert receptionists can assist you in the year ahead.

1. Expand your client base

A growing business is a promising sign of success. The paradox is that an influx of new customers can take you away from your existing work...while at the same time, answering the phone can be the difference between gaining a paying customer or losing a lead to your competitor. Smith.ai can facilitate the growth of your business by managing your incoming calls, enabling you to focus on your work. With Smith.ai, you will not lose new clients because you could not answer the phone.

2. Improve your workflow

At Smith.ai, we understand that your customers are your number one priority. Given that, we want to help you maximize customer satisfaction by fielding incoming calls and delivering actionable information to you. We want to save you from spending all of your time answering the phone, and empower you to focus on your business.

3. Reduce distractions

Telephone calls are distracting. We think minimizing telephone distractions is an important part of maximizing focus. That is one of the core reason Smith.ai built our virtual receptionist service. By eliminating repetitive interruptions we allow you to focus on and prioritize whatever is most important to you.

4. Qualify new leads

Smith.ai will screen incoming callers to ensure they are a suitable match for your services or product, based on your criteria. Whether your services have geographic restrictions, or you offer a specialized product with a defined target audience, your virtual receptionist will instantly deliver qualified leads to your inbox.

5. Book appointments

Scheduling an appointment with a caller can be the difference between landing a new lead and losing a potential client. At the same time, stepping away from your work every time someone calls to schedule an appointment can have a negative impact on your workflow. If you prefer to meet with clients, face-to-face or over the phone, but want to avoid the tedium of booking your appointments, our live receptionists will gladly facilitate.

6. Block spam calls

When you list your number publicly, spam calls are inevitable. You want people to find you, otherwise you would not have listed your number in the first place. However, being easy-to-find online has the unfortunate trade off of attracting automated spammers, who try to sell you everything from insurance to low-interest business loans. Smith.ai’s intelligent software will block most of those annoying calls without them ever reaching your receptionist or you. For those that do get through, your expertly trained virtual receptionist will verify spam using a national database, and then block it manually in our system. Spam calls are a thing of the past. You can even train our system to know which seemingly-innocent calls you would like marked as spam in the future, too.

7. Screen sales calls

As a business owner, you undoubtedly get calls from other companies trying to sell you things — especially SEO optimization and Google ranking. While you may be interested in some of those products or services, fielding those calls is likely not your top priority. If one of our agents takes a sales call, they will gather all of the relevant information so you can follow up at your convenience. If you wish to permanently block sales calls from a particular number, you can do so by simply clicking a link within the call summary.

8. Provide basic information to callers

Smith.ai agents will gladly provide callers with your address, phone number, fax number, email, or any other information you specify. We will happily list available services and provide basic details to interested customers. If there is something particular you would like us to share with your callers, just let us know. We will pass on the information, and notify you immediately.

9. Reinforce your professional image

As a business owner, your public image is a crucial facet of your success. All of Smith.ai’s features and services are highly customizable. From the way our agents greet your callers, to your after-hours incoming voicemail message, you have total control. If you have a particular way you like to present information to callers, our agents will happily follow detailed instructions.

10. Make outbound calls on your behalf

Smith.ai understands your time is valuable. We also understand the value of regular contact with clients. Your friendly receptionist will gladly reach out to new or existing clients to confirm existing appointments, book new ones at your request, remind of upcoming events, or any other outbound calling needs you may have.

11. Enhance your CRM’s reach by integrating it with Smith.ai

Smith.ai can integrate with many existing CRM products. Our receptionists will send you instant call summaries containing important and actionable information from each call, including client status, call disposition and priority. Use these summaries to continually monitor and improve client satisfaction while building meaningful, long-term relationships.

12. Eliminate customers lost to voicemail

Talking to a person is always better than talking to a machine. With Smith.ai's virtual receptionist service, you never have to worry about being too busy to answer the phone. If it is a new lead, there is a good chance they will just call the next person on the list. Instead, your customers will always reach a receptionist who can field their questions immediately, and pass along important information to you. You can be confident that your clients are being heard, even when you are not available to take their calls.

13. Give your business the personal touch of a live receptionist

Your Smith.ai receptionist will greet callers however you wish. Our agents are trained to reflect the personality of your business while actively listening to what your callers are saying, and engaging them appropriately to gather necessary, actionable information. If you prefer a more serious tone to your answering service, it is our pleasure. If you like to keep it laid-back and congenial, we can do that too. Our versatile, yet consistently professional approach will keep existing clients coming back, and turn those new leads into long-term customers.

14. Improve communication between you and your clients

Whether it is a schedule conflict, ongoing interruptions, or just a lack of time, it can be difficult to maintain regular communication with clients. Adding a virtual receptionist to your business may be just the thing you need to facilitate effective ongoing communication, and help you ensure your clients needs are being met. We frequently do call-backs on our clients’ behalf, acting as the human intermediary. You get a call summary, you reply to it in email and tell us what to do, and we call the client back and take care of it.

15. Improve efficiency among colleagues

We will swiftly route instant call summaries to a specific department or person within your company (we can even do extension or directory lookup). Using Smith.ai's intelligent software, your virtual receptionist can send call summaries to any phone number or email address you specify. Delivering accurate information to the appropriate person allows client requests to be addressed quickly, and minimizes the potential for miscommunication.

16. Call clients when you are unavailable

In instances where you need to communicate important information to a client but are unable to do so, your virtual receptionist will be happy to reach out on your behalf. If your meeting ran long, you were pulled away from the office to deal with an emergency, you want to provide a quick update to a client, or you are out sick for the day (just to provide a few examples), just let us know who to call and what to say. Your receptionist will quickly reach out to existing appointments to relay the message, and/or reschedule.

17. Keep clients close when you are on vacation

Sometimes you just need a break! Rest and relaxation are an important part of keeping yourself healthy and running a productive business. Still, your business is your number one priority. While you are on vacation, you can rest easy knowing that your calls are being handled by Smith.ai's expertly trained receptionists. Even though you are away, you can still receive instant call summaries via text or email. If something needs your urgent attention, we will let you know immediately.

Here’s to a great start to ‘17! If you are curious about what else Smith.ai can do for your business, sign up for a free consultation with our team or get started risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee.