A phone ringing in the midst of a busy day at the office can put one in a quandary. While somebody needs to pick it up, that same employee may be assisting a customer or fulfilling an order, some important task. This is where the answering service comes in, but before anything else, businesses usually ask one BIG question: aside from the answering service cost, will it really be worth it?
The answer is about what service will keep and what your business will achieve with it.
An Unanswered Call Will Cost You
Know about what happens when no one answers.
For example, a prospect may pick up the phone and call another company. Such an existing customer might be irritated. You can skip an appointment right away.
Not every missed call is lost revenue. However, if unanswered calls are a recurring problem, the financial burden could be substantial.
That’s why only looking at the monthly price makes for only partial information.
What are You Really Buying?
An answering service actually goes beyond just answering a phone.
It may include, depending on your provider and plan:
- Customer Messages: Collect key information at a time when your staff is unavailable to do so.
- Calls Transfers: An urgent call can be transferred to the required employee.
- Appointment Scheduling: Book appointments without your team having to wait at all.
- Evening Cover: Calls can be managed outside of office hours.
The right mix will depend on your line of business. A business that simply requires message taking may not need a high-end package with feature sets.
The Employee Time Factor
The one cost that tends to get overlooked quite easily is employee time.
Consider a small team that handles dozens of interruptions every single day. It takes only a couple of minutes for each call, but the interruptions can avoid concentration and postpone other jobs.
An answering service can relieve some of the daily phone calls employees have to make. That allows them to concentrate on tasks that are more personal in nature.
When this comparison is made, then answering service cost has to be measured against avoiding the paying wages of these staff member time that can be saved or taken up for some important work.
A Simple Value Test
You can assess a service by asking three questions:
What will it cost?
Estimate monthly fee usage charges additional expenses.
What will it save?
Account for the time of staff, the need for administrative effort yet this costs a great deal to carry them internally.
What could it generate?
Consider new leads, appointments, sales opportunities, and retained customers that could be a result of more call coverage.
This provides a greater context than just the price.
Make the Decision with Real Numbers
The ideal way to assess answering service cost is to see how it stacks up against your real call volume, you’d have staff between inbound calling, and how much value you’re likely to miss from calls.
Always ask providers for a detailed pricing breakdown. Research to discover users’ limitations and additional costs. Then compare the probable monthly cost to what business they can get from this.
So, while the question comes in, people want to know “How much does an answering service cost for the business?” it is, “What does it cost you when vital calls are not answered?”
