First impressions count when meeting for the first time. Similarly, the impression your potential customers get from their first phone call to your business can make or break a deal.

This is where the benefits of a Virtual Receptionist (VR) can be your best small business advantage.

Despite our love of all-things online, customers still prefer over the phone engagement when it comes to doing business. 

What is a virtual receptionist and what does a virtual receptionist do?

A virtual receptionist is a professionally trained (real-live) person who will answer your business calls on your behalf in an engaging and friendly manner and provide simple information to customers.

The added benefit of a virtual receptionist is that they work externally to your business, meaning that you do not need additional office space and assets.

Your virtual receptionist can access your business programs (email, calendar and booking tools) remotely, which lets them do your dirty work. You now have more time to do what you do best as a small business owner.

Do you think having a company website with a Contact Us button and Facebook page has your business covered?

Here are 5 reasons why great customer call experience counts and the benefits of a virtual receptionist for your business:

1. Call Me. Most business is handled by phone

Your customers (existing and potentials) expect their call to be handled in a timely, courteous manner.

Customers are unlikely to call back if they recieve poor service and don’t get the information or outcome they wanted.

It’s essential to have an eloquent, informed receptionist on the other end who can handle everyday business inquiries on your behalf, to ensure every customer receives personalised, professional service and a positive experience with your business.

If you are a micro business, the benefits of a Virtual Receptionist is that it gives the impression of size and a highly professional team, which translates to winning more new business.

ProfitAbility Virtual Assistance’s team of Virtual Receptionist’s are expertly trained, have exemplary phone etiquette, message taking and scheduling skills. Because they take the time to get to know your business, a virtual receptionints can present a positive impression of your business to your customers.

2. Hello? Unanswered calls cost you clients

Most callers will hang up without leaving a voicemail if their call goes unanswered, meaning customers will call a competitor if they can’t get through to a real-live human to help solve their problem.

But it’s not always possible to answer the phone, especially when both hands are cleaning out a septic tank or attending to a client’s physical ailments.  

Outsourcing call reception to a virtual receptionist solves this problem without sacrificing other tasks you need to accomplish, allowing you to focus on your work and clients.

3. Hung up. Poor phone etiquette kills business

Poor phone conduct drives more than 70% of clients away from a business relationship.

Even if you are the best in your field, having poor phone ettitquette can drive away clients and stop you from generating new leads.

This is when outsourcing your customer calls to a well-spoken, informed virtual receptionist makes good business sense.

A phone call handled poorly reflects badly on your business. You want a reputation for excellent customer service regardless of how many calls you receive. Each call should be a high calibre conversation.

Another benefit of a virtual receptionist is that they will only be managing your calls (and not dealing with walk-in customers or other in-office tasks), you only pay for the time they are conversing with your clients. Short Term Virtual Receptionist Support packages from ProfitAbility Virtual Assistance starts from as little as $20 a day … a perfect trial period or when your team suddenly call in sick.

4. Speakerphone. People prefer phone conversations over email trails

Hearing a real human voice on the end of the line makes the world of difference to your customers and their dealings with your business.

It reassures them that you actually exist, it makes them feel they’re getting personal attention.

It also builds their confidence in you by being able to answer their questions and by conversing over the phone builds relationships, faster.

5. Hanging on the Telephone. Customers expect more customer service

Customers expect more than ever . This means having good people who know their stuff is crucial. Your customers want to be treated like VIPs, particularly if they are parting with their hard-earned cash. A good phone call is a great way of giving them that gold star treatment.

A professional, affordable virtual receptionist service can help small businesses that can’t always man their own phone lines adequately make new clients, keep existing ones and increase business productivity.

Need to grow? A virtual receptionist lets you expand your workforce capacity quickly, without the logistics, legalities and overheads of employing someone full-time.

Having your own virtual receptionist respond to all your general customer inquiries and book in follow-up appointments saves money and time, allowing you to work on the more profitable aspects of your business.

This is just one of the many benefits of a virtual receptionist.

ProfitAbility Virtual Assistance is a team of Australian Virtual Assistants dedicated to helping small business owners to scale, survive and thrive.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for affordable Virtual Receptionist services on our website.

Here you’ll also find our range of Virtual Receptionist packages and other business services.