Voicemail or Live Answering : Which is the Right Choice for Startups?

The convenience of technology has one small flaw—it has created a generation of impatient consumers. This proves to be a tough challenge for small businesses that run on minimal manpower. Moreover, people involved in startups often have to sacrifice their personal time to swiftly meet the demands of customers.

Man vs. machine

How often do you come across a person who likes leaving voicemail, let alone retrieving it? For most people, the answer is highly unlikely. The reality is, science has yet to invent something that could win over the human touch. Automated voicemail lacks warmth and give callers the feeling of being detached. This may be costing you customers instead of helping you capture more sales leads. In fact, studies show that 3 out of 4 people are more likely to hang up if they reach a machine rather than leave a message. The worst part–they are also not likely to call back at a later time.

Message retrieval

How many times have you forgotten to check your machine or couldn’t find an important message? Wouldn’t it be great to have your messages forwarded via SMS and email so you have easy access to it wherever and whenever you please? A live answering service does just that. Both retrieval and archiving of messages becomes a painless task since everything can be filed in your dedicated email and web portal. You simply can’t do that with a voicemail machine, unless you have a voice to email service.

Value for cost

Although calls are essential to every business, they can be distracting. There’s just no guarantee that every single one you answer would be a sales lead or a business call. Research shows that every time a person gets distracted, it takes them 25 minutes to get back to work and focus on their task. Now multiply that with the amount of calls you get per day, and imagine how much time you and your staff waste. Filtering calls through a virtual receptionist is easier, less tedious, and doesn’t hurt your valid business calls compared to voicemail. Not only can you make your job more efficient, this also allows you to enjoy your personal time outside of work by assuring you that all calls are answered by professional Australian based operators, trained to take calls as you and your staff would. Virtual receptionists do the same tasks as that of in house staff; like take messages, check your availability, and transfer calls, but without costing you any overhead costs.

The bottom line

Customer service is now as important as the product or service itself when it comes to the buying decisions. It’s also one of the factors that affect customer referrals to friends and family. Startups often have a small window to create a strong and lasting impression on their customers. Better invest in the tools that can help you provide excellent customer service minus the big business price tag. If you’d like to know more about live answering services, give us a call at 1 300 ALLTEL or visit our website at www.alltel.com.au.