5 Criteria to Find the Right Answering Service for Your Wedding Planning Business

If you’re running a small business, you’re likely juggling a lot of different responsibilities. Fortunately, when it comes to delegating and dividing the work, you can now cross answering all those incoming calls off your list, thanks to the modern answering service and virtual receptionist solutions. 

The right answering service can do a lot for the success of your wedding planning business, from screening incoming leads and potential clients to being available to answer basic questions when you’re in the middle of planning and/or executing a beautiful wedding. Your job title is planner, not receptionist. Let the pros help and you’ll find plenty of perks when you outsource to an answering service. 

And, when you have an answering service on your side, you’ll enjoy benefits like:

• Never missing a single call or opportunity
• Not being sidetracked or distracted from the work at hand
• Improving your business image with a professional team
• Decreasing the need for an assistant or other payroll employees

Plus, people today love when a live person answers the phone. We live in the age of automation and for some people, it’s too much at times. That includes dealing with complex interactive voice response (IVR) menus and other hassles. With a person answering the call, your callers will always get what they need with ease.

It can seem daunting to try to figure out exactly what you need in an answering service, but with the assistance of this list, you’ll have a much better idea of how to find your perfect partner for communications and more. 

1. Easy set-up 

First and foremost, an answering service needs to be easy to setup and integrate. It should be seamless, and they should be the ones doing most of the work. Granted, you’ll have to take care of things on your end, but they should make that simple and be there to support you along the way. 

This is supposed to improve your business. Why would you want it to be difficult? Fortunately, the best answering services have setup and integration strategies that have been practiced and practically honed to a science, giving you the peace of mind that everything will be taken care of. If the process sounds complicated or they don’t even bother to explain, you might want to look somewhere else. 

2. 24/7 availability

While you might not think being available 24 hours a day for your wedding planning clients is essential, it’s time to revisit how you think about business. The Internet has created instant access to everything and given people the chance to get answers around the clock. Therefore, they often expect the professional services that they work with to have the same availability. 

What if your bride is panicked about the table settings the night before the big day? You’re probably up to your ears in last-minute details, but with an answering service, she’ll get an attentive response and be reassured that everything is in place. Perhaps you’ve got a client that wants to reach out over the weekend before they forget to ask about the venue rental. Sure, your cell phone could be a great resource, but so could a professional answering service. Then, clients get answers, and you only get bothered if it’s necessary. 

3. Experience

Experience counts for a lot with a professional answering service. Stick with companies that have tried-and-true experience and have been providing their services for quite some time now. See what kind of firsthand reviews they have and how other people feel about the company’s expertise. It can also help you to see if they have any industry experience that will make it easier for them to feel like an extension of your wedding planning business. 

You don’t have to hire the company that’s been around the longest, by any means. You just need to vet your options and find a team that’s got the right experience for you.

4. Customization options

The Internet and the cloud are doing wonders for small businesses who want to be able to have the same access to custom solutions that larger companies have. Therefore, you should always be on the lookout for an answering service that has all of the customization options that you desire. From custom greetings to the opportunity to create a totally tailored plan for their services, you’ll want to take advantage of as much as you can. 

While you’re doing your research, you’ll learn about all the different ways that answering services and virtual receptionists can customize their services, helping you to get a better idea of what you want for your own plan. Consider how scalable their solutions are, too, so that you have a team that grows with you. 

5. Transparent pricing 

There’s nothing worse than being told you have to contact a company for a quote when you’re just trying to figure out what the going rates for service are. The best companies take pride in delivering transparent pricing structures and payment information, and that’s something you should look for. If a company is hesitant to talk pricing, there’s usually a reason—either it’s high, or it’s limited in what you get for the money, etc. 

When you visit the website of different answering services, check out their pricing or plans page for more details about what they offer. There may be some things that require a custom quote, but that shouldn’t be the status quo. If an answering service doesn’t give you up-front and clear pricing information, you should be asking questions, or just looking elsewhere. 

Save the stress and partner with Smith.ai for all these features and more 

In addition to having a 24/7 answering service for your wedding planning business, the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai also offer a host of other communications and admin solutions, including live website chat, new client intake, appointment scheduling, and even assistance with outreach campaigns if your marketing needs a boost. 

Plus, it all comes with a custom-tailored strategy for your needs, no matter what those might be. Learn more when you schedule a consultation or reach out to us at hello@smith.ai. 

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