Wednesday, January 30, 2008

How A Phone Answering Service Can Get You New Clients And Help You Keep Your Old Ones

Have you heard of Phone Answering Service services before? If not, you are urged to familiarize yourself with them. Phone answering services, which are also often referred to as business answering services, are when an outside company assists you in answering the phone calls that you and your staff cannot personally answer. What does this mean for you and for your business? Essentially, it means that your clients? phone calls will not go unanswered. In turn, this may result in an increase of new clients, as well as the retention of your old ones.

A phone answering service or a business answering service is often compared to voicemail, such as the voicemail found on a cell phone. Although similar purposes are served, they are two completely different things. With traditional voicemail, your clients will be speaking to an automated machine. With a phone answering service, your clients will be speaking with a real person. That person is usually employed by an individual or a company who runs a business that delivers needed services, such as a phone answering service, to business owners just like you.

As stated above, a phone answering service or a business answering service allows your customers to speak with a real person, when you or your other employees are unable to take their phone calls. Most phone answering services will speak with your client, record their message, and then forward it on to you. The way that message is forwarded on to you will all depend on the phone answering service that you choose to do business with. Despite different methods of operation, many phone answering services will forward your clients? messages to you by email. In cases of an emergency, you may be contacted on your personal cell phone or home phone. This is often something that is discussed as soon as your account is set up.

Although you are a business owner, you are also a consumer as well. After all, you do need to purchase food, clothing, office supplies, and other necessities. This also gives you an edge as a business owner, because you know how you like or do not like to be treated. Therefore, you likely already know that there is nothing worse than trying to contact a business and having your calls go unanswered. In fact, some consumers dislike this so much that they decide to take their business elsewhere, of course after giving a firsthand account of their experience to anyone who will listen. This in turn may cause you to lose a customer of yours, as well as prevent you from acquiring new customers. It is amazing, but the simple voice of a real person can work wonders for you and your business.

To help increase your client base, you are urged to inquire about a phone answering service or a business answering service. In the end, you will likely be pleased with your decision to do so.

Rob Porter is president of 1-800 We Answer Answering Service, a nationwide provider of virtual office services including Answering Services, Mail Forwarding Services, Voicemail Services , and Fax Services

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