Is a ‘virtual’ receptionist real?

Yes, Virginia. Virtual receptionists exist as certainly as that person sitting at your reception desk exists. They abound in welcoming smiles and information that give your customers satisfaction and joy.

But, unlike that receptionist that you can see, a virtual receptionist works in a magical place where they don’t get distracted by:

processing and receiving mail,
fielding unsolicited visitors
organizing deliveries
feeding the photocopier,
responding to other employee inquiries,
taking meeting notes,
doing coffee runs

So what happens to callers when Rosie or Russell are doing their Tim Horton’s run?

Are they transferred to voicemail?

Does an oral version of a stock photo give them a memory test of key options?

Do they hear…?

“Hello. Thank you for calling….. We’re sorry, but we’re too busy for you at the moment. But your call is important to us so please choose one of the following 37 menu choices. Press pound to return to the menu or press zero to speak to a human.”

A few seconds of listening to a robot tell you how important your call is can seem like hours. Being tortured by the muzak equivalent of waterboarding can seem an eternity. (Why does hold music sound like it comes from the deep waters of the Mariana Trench?)

There was a time when receptionists only answered the phone and opened mail. Those days, like the series Mad Men, are gone. Receptionists now are administrative assistants who fit responding to callers between other obligations.

i24 virtual receptionists: real people, real time, all the time.

Your receptionist is your front line, your first point of client contact. First impressions are important. They can win or lose a sale.

Business is personal.

‘People. People who talk to people are the happiest people in the world.’

Whether we’re B2C or B2B, in the end, we’re all P2P (People to People).

A recent survey of more than 2,000 US adults found 75 percent choose a competitor after a negative phone experience. And 30 percent were more likely to leave a negative review.

“50 percent of survey respondents said long hold times were one of their top customer frustrations. People also didn’t want to have to “repeat the same information to multiple representatives.”

Brand perception impacts your bottom line.

Why choosing a virtual receptionist (assistant) can increase profits and decrease pain.

Decreased overhead costs.

If you’re thinking of hiring a receptionist for the first time, there’s a good chance you reached the “tipping point” in your business.

It’s that point when you need help but not sure you can afford it.

Hiring a receptionist represents a large investment. There’s salary, benefits, workspace, computers and paperclips.

Outsourcing your call management saves you overhead costs. It frees your time to focus on building your business and profits to a point where you can hire the help you need. (Reach out to a i24 to get a quote.)

Increased efficiency

A missed call is a missed opportunity.

It takes a lot of time to respond to calls, to tease out exactly what the customer inquiry is. Having to handle calls while managing the rest of your business is dangerous. Your customers and your business need your undivided attention. Dropping focus on one threatens both.

Specialty training

i24 Call Management Solutions is the national leader in call agent training. and communications technology.

Your in-house receptionist may be a “jack or Jill of all trades”. But i24’s virtual receptionists only “trade” is handling your client calls. Their customized training ensures that your callers believe they have reached your office.

Lead generation

Besides saving money, virtual receptionists can increase revenue. A professional tending to all your customers with care yields more sales leads.

I24 collects a lot of data while serving your customers. This data is used to fine tune the customization of your account.

You can turn the data i24 collects into your own management tool:

Track caller results
Discover trends
Identify problems

Generate custom reports on any aspect of a call:

Territory
Product Type
Categories
Advertising Sources
Demographics

Business owners often get caught up in operations and “systems”. Every decision a company makes, every system it puts in place, has to serve customers first. Don’t let the “tail wag the dog”.

Choosing the right stakeholders for your business team is the most important decision you make.

Hiring the right someone to be the welcoming voice of the company is critical. The position requires someone proficient in communications technology. They need to have strong social skills, be personable, patient and professional.

They also have to be able to be intimately acquainted with your company’s services and culture.

This will call for a lot of training. Are you equipped to provide it?

i24 virtual receptionists offer personalized caller support. They supply a seamless extension of your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.