Self-reliance is an ideal many business owners aspire to: Rather than spending money on external agencies to handle key business tasks, they prefer to take care of all aspects of running their businesses internally. However, while this sounds like good business sense, especially for small and new businesses, outsourcing certain office tasks has its advantages. Even small businesses can benefit from hiring an answering service; Not only can they save money on overhead, but an answering service can even facilitate rapid growth. More and more companies are recognizing the value of hiring an answering service to handle their customer service, and there is no reason aspiring entrepreneurs shouldn’t be able to take advantage of it for their own businesses.
Saving money through outsourcing may seem counterintuitive at first – how can hiring an outside agency to work for you be less expensive than an in-house receptionist? First, consider the hidden costs of having an in-house receptionist. Not only do you have to pay his salary, but you also have to pay for his equipment: computer, headphones, high-speed Internet connection, etc. You also can’t always rely on having them around to do your work due to vacations, holidays, and sick leave, and worse still, you have to pay them for time spent away from work. If there is bad weather or heavy traffic on your daily commute, you may be late for work or not show up. There is even the possibility that they will quit smoking, with or without two weeks’ notice. Finding a suitable replacement, temporary or otherwise, can be a difficult task, and training them to do the job amounts to another expense.
In contrast, offshore agents not only work for much less than in-house staff, they also provide their own training and equipment, with no additional costs involved. Better yet, an answering service can provide professional customer service 24/7 – no more losing work due to vacation, sick leave, traffic, or other variables. Whenever your clients need them, day or night, rain or shine, the offshore agents will be there to take their calls and answer their questions. Outsourcing your customer service means that quality of service is no longer tied to the whims of a single person – all of your customers can expect service with a smile from an agent who will treat their issues with the importance they deserve. If the quality of your customer service leaves a good impression on your customers, they will be more than happy to continue doing business with you.
Another advantage of overseas answering services is that it will be nearly impossible to interrupt your customer service for any reason – power outages, technical difficulties, natural disasters, etc. Call centers abroad are prepared for any kind of potential outage: if the power goes out, they even come equipped with backup generators so they can continue to operate normally. Even if your business is affected by a tornado, hailstorm and earthquake at the same time, your customers will still be able to reach someone who can take their calls.
Outsourcing answering services may seem like a stretch for a small business, but it can be an effective way to reduce overhead and improve the quality of your customer service. Small businesses can take advantage of all the benefits that answering machine services offer. Give them a try and see for yourself.
