Why Virtual Receptionist Phone Handling Can Improve Client Relations

Every business needs strong client relationships. Creating those can be difficult, however. That’s particularly true when your team must balance other tasks with answering client calls and fielding questions. A virtual receptionist service can help improve your business’s efficiency, strengthen client relations, and boost your team’s productivity. 

Why client relations are so critical

Unsure why improving client relations is so important to your business’s success? Here’s a quick snapshot of the situation:

• According to Forbes, 60% of consumers report having switched brands due to a single negative experience. 

• Zendesk notes that 70% of brands see a direct connection between customer service and business performance and that 81% of customers say a positive customer service experience increases the chances of them making a repeat purchase. 

• According to Salesforce, 88% of buyers say experience matters as much as a company’s products or services. 

So, delivering a positive contact experience every time is critical. But how do you do that while still ensuring your team can handle their other responsibilities? The answer is to use a virtual receptionist. Let’s take a closer look at why a virtual receptionist handling your phone improves client relations.

The availability clients expect

Client expectations have evolved a lot in recent years, and nowhere is that more apparent than in terms of availability. Today’s clients expect to be able to reach your business whenever they need to, even if that’s the middle of the night. Most businesses cannot afford 24/7 staffing, however. 

Virtual receptionists ensure that you’re able to deliver on those expectations without the cost of hiring in-house receptionists to work around the clock. Not only does this ensure that client calls are answered whenever they come in, but it avoids the problem of voicemails not being listened to or responded to.

Improved efficiency

Each of your team members can only work with one person at a time. What happens when multiple people call or when they’re working with a client in person and the phone rings? If a client cannot get ahold of your team members when they need them, there’s a chance that they’ll go elsewhere. 

A virtual receptionist helps prevent that while also boosting office efficiency. The right answering service can handle multiple client calls simultaneously, making your business more efficient, reducing wait times, eliminating the need for clients to leave voicemails, and improving client satisfaction.

Delivering personalized interactions

There are few things clients hate more than dealing with automated answering systems. They’re cold and impersonal. They can also be difficult to navigate for some clients. A virtual receptionist can deliver personalized interactions that improve client engagement and satisfaction. 

Think about it – would you prefer to deal with an impersonal automated system or be warmly greeted by a human being who understands your needs and goals? Chances are good you’d pick the human being, and so would your clients. But what does “personalized interactions” really mean when it comes to improving client relations?

The virtual receptionist can also help add caller information to your CRM. With a service that integrates with your CRM, caller details are automatically entered into your system, saving your team valuable time while ensuring that you have access to critical information.

A better experience with your brand

You can only brand automated phone systems so much. That means clients who call your office may not have the ideal experience in terms of brand building. They may even associate your brand with the negative experience of dealing with an automated phone system, unanswered messages, and poor communication overall. With a virtual receptionist, those problems don’t occur.

Virtual receptionists are highly trained, experienced professionals who understand not only the importance of accurate communication with your clients but also how essential it is to represent your brand the right way. That includes using your brand’s established language, taglines, and more, but it also applies to how they interact with potential clients and established clients.

More than just an answering service

Many business owners assume that a virtual receptionist will answer calls and take messages. That’s certainly at the heart of what they do, but there’s so much more available. The right virtual answering service can augment your team and deliver a better overall client experience in several ways, including:

• Intelligently routing calls to the right team member every time.

• Routing calls to other team members when a client’s primary contact is busy with important tasks or is out of the office.

• Handling time-consuming but important tasks like setting appointments, reminding clients of upcoming appointments, and adding client information to your CMS.

• Qualifying leads by taking potential client information, learning about their challenges, and explaining how your business can help.

• Warm transfers of leads primed to convert into paying customers to your waiting team members.

Finding opportunities within customer interactions

Every client call is an opportunity, but how often do your team members explore those interactions in depth to identify additional opportunities to fill the client’s needs? If your team is pressed for time, chances are good that they address the primary opportunity only. Unfortunately, that leaves some client needs unaddressed. 

If you truly want to build strong client relations, you’ll use a virtual receptionist to identify hidden opportunities within every interaction. The right answering service can ask the right questions and connect the dots between client answers and your business’s products or services to better solve the customer’s range of needs.

Let Smith.ai help build strong client relations

Are you ready to see firsthand how virtual receptionist phone handling can improve your client relations? At Smith.ai, our team of virtual receptionists ensures that your business is available 24/7. We can also offer lead intake, appointment scheduling, warm phone transfers, and more so that you’re able to make the most out of every client interaction, improve business performance, and strengthen your brand.

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai.

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