Don’t stress over choosing the right live answering service. We’ll help you make the best decision for your business and your customers. Today, we compare Smith.ai to AnswerForce virtual receptionists.
Smith.ai
AnswerForce
Discussion: Smith.ai offers a free trial period and free setup for every plan. AnswerForce only offers free setup for the premium plan, without the option of a free trial period. Although AnswerForce offers a 30-day prorated money-back guarantee, there’s no option to try before you buy.
Here’s an overview of Smith.ai and AnswerForce’s monthly plans.
Smith.ai
AnswerForce
Discussion: Both Smith.ai and AnswerForce offer pay-per-usage plans. However, AnswerForce charges by the minute and only offers their premium features for the more expensive plans. Smith.ai charges per call, leading to much more predictable costs each month. If the average business call is five minutes, as noted by Invoca call intelligence research, Smith.ai and AnswerForce are priced competitively to each other: However, overage costs may significantly alter that, as discussed below.
Smith.ai
AnswerForce
Discussion: According to Invoca research, the average business call is around five minutes. Assuming a 5 minute call, Smith.ai's price per call if you go over on the cheapest plan is about $1.40 per minute. The price goes down to $1.20 per minute for Smith.ai's $6 overage charges and only $1 when you scale up. So Smith.ai is cheaper than AnswerForce in this instance, and you're not worried about one call causing extreme overage costs since Smith.ai has a flat fee structure.
Smith.ai and AnswerForce offer the following similar features:
Smith.ai offers the following additional features:
AnswerForce offers the following additional features, some of which are only available on their premium plans:
Discussion: To get certain features from AnswerForce, you must pay more each month. Smith.ai delivers a far more personalized experience because we map the client call history to each incoming number, giving our receptionists the ability to understand who the caller is as soon as they get on the line. Smith.ai also offers outbound calls, so follow-ups with existing clients, appointment reminders, and more are taken off your plate.
Smith.ai virtual receptionists are trained to understand your business, not read pre-approved lines off a script. They're North America-based professionals with experience in customer service and hospitality; they're friendly, helpful, and thorough. If what you're looking for is a scripted call-center experience for your customers, AnswerForce can provide that, but Smith.ai is the best option if you prefer to give your customers the sense of an in-house receptionist working alongside you and your staff. Smith.ai behaves as a true extension of your business, not just a third-party service for hire.
Don't just take it from us! Smith.ai clients appreciate our quality of service and solutions for small businesses, and here's just one example:
“Amazing service especially for new small business owners providing a breath of fresh air in direct contrast of having artificial intelligence taking over creating such as disconnection without customers. Smith has been great as it allows calls to be filtered before they are transferred to me. Especially love that spam is not charged and eliminates the ever persistent telemarketers. Also just want to say that how appreciative I am for the discreteness of the staff and what a wonderful job these people that have been doing while answering the calls. HIGHLY recommend.”
- Ernest Santos, Driving Fitness Evaluations
Smith.ai virtual receptionists are trained to learn your business and build a relationship with your customers. Discuss your options with us by calling (650) 727-6484 Monday through Friday between 5am – 6pm PT. You can also reach us by email at support@smith.ai. Signing up for our 20-call / 14-day free trial is a great way to get started.
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Contact our sales team today at (650) 727-6484 or schedule a call.
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