Businesses have needed receptionists ever since the first shopfront opened up. The role has certainly changed, yes, but at the end of the day, your business does require a person offering initial point-of-contact for anyone – customer or otherwise.
Why Virtual Receptionists?
The good news is that today, you can outsource your receptionist. You don’t need to pay to have someone sitting at your desk, which can be a costly hire if you only get two or three calls a day.
That doesn’t mean you can just take up the mantle yourself, especially if you are regularly out of the office on a job. Missing calls can mean missing work, important updates, and other critical updates.
That’s precisely why the virtual receptionist came into being. To learn more about why virtual receptionists have risen to such prominence, you need to understand how they’ve worked to transform customer service.
Whether you were interested in hiring your virtual receptionist or just stumbled across the concept, this guide will help you fully understand just what they are, what they do, and why your business might need them:
The Role of the Receptionist
Receptionists have manned the front desk for generations. They are there to help those who wander in, make appointments, take calls, and even manage guest passes. They’re needed even if you don’t have a front-facing (meaning clients or customers can visit) office, simply because taking calls around the clock and managing your bookings is essential for business success.
Of course, it can be impossible to justify a full-time receptionist in-house when you are small or have a small profit margin.
That’s where virtual receptionists come into play. With virtual receptionists, you pay a fraction of what you would pay for a full-time staff member, which suits small businesses that have a small volume of calls perfectly.
Why Virtual is the Way Forward
Virtual does not mean AI. You won’t have a robotic voice taking your calls or handling customers. All it means is that your receptionist works in an agency and is taking the calls for several clients at once. They will also have access to your diary or have a way to pass on messages to you virtually through cloud computing.
In short, you can have access to a real human receptionist who works for another company.
The Power of Flexibility
When you go virtual, you technically have the full wealth of resources that your business partner does. If you suddenly grow, or if you went viral and have a sudden massive influx of calls and attention, you can then easily upgrade your service to accommodate all these new calls.
Being able to pivot at a moment’s notice is excellent for new and up-and-coming businesses that don’t have the time to slowly hire the people they need when they must act fast now. Adjustable and flexible virtual services are the way to go. You can increase or decrease the number of virtual assistants working for you, allowing you to capitalize on your business’s current demands.