Talking to customers used to be simple. Someone would call your business, and youāor someone else at your officeāwould (hopefully) be there to pick up the phone.Ā
These days, you might not need to answer every call yourself, but you do have to consider more questions:Ā
- What experiences do your callers expect?
- Are you losing customers to voicemail?
- How do you make sure you donāt miss opportunities?
- Do you need your own receptionist?
- Or should you use a remote receptionist (AKA a virtual receptionist) or an automated answering service?
It all comes down to a fundamental question: Do you even need a real person to answer the phone anymore?
After all, with so many customers using channels such as live chat, email, and social media to reach out, phone calls might not seem as important as they once were. And with shortcuts like phone trees and auto-attendants, the phone seems like an easy thing to automateāwhich is exactly what many businesses do.
On the other hand, people still crave human connection. Multiple studies have found customers would still rather speak to a human when given the choice. Customersā expectations are higher than ever, and automated phone systems just donāt deliver the warm, friendly, personalized service many of us want.
What should your business do? If you donāt wantāor canāt affordāa full-time, in-house receptionist, you have two basic choices:
- An automated phone system (the automated option)
- A virtual receptionist solution (the human option)
Well, first, letās clarify something: the human option also includes automated technologyātechnology that enables human receptionists to do their jobs better and faster. Weāre not talking about people using rotary phones and relying on handwritten notes. What weāre really talking about is automating your phone entirely versus hiring an outside service to handle your phone for you.
Spoiler: that second option is usually better. Weāve found that itās often the marriage of technology and the human element that makes the biggest impact. Read on to find out why.
Talking to customers used to be simple. Someone would call your business, and youāor someone else at your officeāwould (hopefully) be there to pick up the phone.Ā
These days, you might not need to answer every call yourself, but you do have to consider more questions:Ā
- What experiences do your callers expect?
- Are you losing customers to voicemail?
- How do you make sure you donāt miss opportunities?
- Do you need your own receptionist?
- Or should you use a remote receptionist (AKA a virtual receptionist) or an automated answering service?
It all comes down to a fundamental question: Do you even need a real person to answer the phone anymore?
After all, with so many customers using channels such as live chat, email, and social media to reach out, phone calls might not seem as important as they once were. And with shortcuts like phone trees and auto-attendants, the phone seems like an easy thing to automateāwhich is exactly what many businesses do.
On the other hand, people still crave human connection. Multiple studies have found customers would still rather speak to a human when given the choice. Customersā expectations are higher than ever, and automated phone systems just donāt deliver the warm, friendly, personalized service many of us want.
What should your business do? If you donāt wantāor canāt affordāa full-time, in-house receptionist, you have two basic choices:
- An automated phone system (the automated option)
- A virtual receptionist solution (the human option)
Well, first, letās clarify something: the human option also includes automated technologyātechnology that enables human receptionists to do their jobs better and faster. Weāre not talking about people using rotary phones and relying on handwritten notes. What weāre really talking about is automating your phone entirely versus hiring an outside service to handle your phone for you.
Spoiler: that second option is usually better. Weāve found that itās often the marriage of technology and the human element that makes the biggest impact. Read on to find out why.
Editor’s note: This article was updated in February 2024 with more information about how small businesses and their customers can benefit from live call answering.
Editor’s note: This article was updated in February 2024 with more information about how small businesses and their customers can benefit from live call answering.
What automated answering services can and canāt do
Automated answering services, also known as interactive voice response systems, are exactly what they sound like. Theyāre systems, not humans, that āinteractā with your callers without help from a person.Ā
Calls (or at least the āphone tree portionā of the calls) are handled through interactions with a preset machine. Systems vary but general processes they have in common include being able to:
- Answer incoming calls
- Play pre-recorded messages
- Query callers about their intent (i.e. reasons for calling)
- Transfer calls or play pre-recorded information
This is the kind of system a lot of big businesses and organizations use. And if youāre getting hundreds orĀ thousands of calls per day, itās probably the option that makes the most sense.Ā
But for small businessesāwhich are 99.9% of all businesses, by the wayāthis has the unfortunate effect of irritating and pushing away callers.
As we mentioned above, study after study shows that people prefer talking to people. But you probably donāt need statistics to confirm that fact.Ā
Anyone whoās called with an urgent issue, navigated a slow phone tree, waited on hold, and/or pressed 0 one or a dozen times only to reach an unhelpful machine knows how irritating these phone systems can be.Ā
We live in an automated world, and the phone might seem like an obvious thing to automate, but itās just not effective. That point of human connection actually means more than ever. With all those ways to research and get self-service answers about a business online, people call because they want to talk to people. They have a question a computer canāt answer, or they want to make sure they can trust the business, or theyāre ready to take the next step.
So how can you provide that human touch when you canāt always answer yourself or hire someone full-time? Well, thatās where virtual receptionists come in.
What automated answering services can and canāt do
Automated answering services, also known as interactive voice response systems, are exactly what they sound like. Theyāre systems, not humans, that āinteractā with your callers without help from a person.Ā
Calls (or at least the āphone tree portionā of the calls) are handled through interactions with a preset machine. Systems vary but general processes they have in common include being able to:
- Answer incoming calls
- Play pre-recorded messages
- Query callers about their intent (i.e. reasons for calling)
- Transfer calls or play pre-recorded information
This is the kind of system a lot of big businesses and organizations use. And if youāre getting hundreds orĀ thousands of calls per day, itās probably the option that makes the most sense.Ā
But for small businessesāwhich are 99.9% of all businesses, by the wayāthis has the unfortunate effect of irritating and pushing away callers.
As we mentioned above, study after study shows that people prefer talking to people. But you probably donāt need statistics to confirm that fact.Ā
Anyone whoās called with an urgent issue, navigated a slow phone tree, waited on hold, and/or pressed 0 one or a dozen times only to reach an unhelpful machine knows how irritating these phone systems can be.Ā
We live in an automated world, and the phone might seem like an obvious thing to automate, but itās just not effective. That point of human connection actually means more than ever. With all those ways to research and get self-service answers about a business online, people call because they want to talk to people. They have a question a computer canāt answer, or they want to make sure they can trust the business, or theyāre ready to take the next step.
So how can you provide that human touch when you canāt always answer yourself or hire someone full-time? Well, thatās where virtual receptionists come in.
How virtual receptionists compare
When we say āvirtualā receptionists, we donāt mean AI or holograms. Virtual receptionists are live customer communication agents who work remotely. At Ruby, virtual receptionists handle our customersā business calls using proprietary software to help them integrate seamlessly into different companiesā teams throughout the day.Ā
When you use a solution like Ruby, callers never know they arenāt talking directly to someone from your office.Ā Ā
Rubyās virtual receptionists offer a holistic, integrated, and personalized approach that can drive engagement and boost your bottom line. Our flexible features and capabilities include:Ā
- 24/7 live answering
- Mobile app notifications
- Custom voicemail
- Bilingual English-Spanish servicesĀ
- Appointment scheduling
- Call forwarding
- Robocall filtering
- Outbound calling
- Lead capture
- Scheduling
- Payment processing
- Webforms
- Number porting and hosting
- HIPAA compliance
- Answering FAQs
How virtual receptionists compare
When we say āvirtualā receptionists, we donāt mean AI or holograms. Virtual receptionists are live customer communication agents who work remotely. At Ruby, virtual receptionists handle our customersā business calls using proprietary software to help them integrate seamlessly into different companiesā teams throughout the day.Ā
When you use a solution like Ruby, callers never know they arenāt talking directly to someone from your office.Ā Ā
Rubyās virtual receptionists offer a holistic, integrated, and personalized approach that can drive engagement and boost your bottom line. Our flexible features and capabilities include:Ā
- 24/7 live answering
- Mobile app notifications
- Custom voicemail
- Bilingual English-Spanish servicesĀ
- Appointment scheduling
- Call forwarding
- Robocall filtering
- Outbound calling
- Lead capture
- Scheduling
- Payment processing
- Webforms
- Number porting and hosting
- HIPAA compliance
- Answering FAQs
5 key benefits of using virtual receptionists
1. Increased customer satisfaction
When it comes to calls, the key to customer satisfaction is human connection. More than two-thirds of customers will hang up when they canāt reach a live person. And most of them dial up your competition next!
Your callers want (and deserve) fast, responsive, personalized service. With a solution like Ruby, thatās what they getāpersonalized interactions that enhance first impressions.
2. Better customer serviceāand better word of mouth
72% of customers share positive experiences with others. They become loyal cheerleaders for your business. Thatās free advertisingāand itās more effective than any other kind of marketing.
So for every caller who reaches a friendly, capable representative, the number of new prospects contacting your company goes up. A human touch, you see, really does elevate customer experience.Ā
In contrast, if someone has a negative experienceālike if they canāt get through or they reach an annoying programāthere are strong odds theyāll vent to everybody about it, dinging your reputation over an avoidable situation.
3. More leads
Calls are an invaluable source of leads. Yet automated systems miss out on capturing many of the salient caller details you need.Ā
Virtual receptionists, on the other hand, are trained to snag all those vital detailsānames, contact information, and reasons for getting in touch. We also screen spam calls and help qualify leads based on the information your business provides to us.
4. More business opportunities
Did you know that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service? On top of that, a whopping four out of five customers become repeat buyers after positive phone experiences.
Additionally, thereās the 5% customer retention rule. As Forbes notes, āan increase in customer retention by 5% can lead to a companyās profits growing by 25% to around 95% over a period of time.āĀ
With these numbers in mind, every business should make customer satisfaction a priorityāespecially service-based businesses, where a single interaction can lead to a four- or five-figure sale. Virtual receptionists make that happen without burdening you or your team with answering phones 24/7.
5. Standing out from the crowd
For whatever reason, many businesses still use automated call systems that are proven to frustrate, inconvenience, and ultimately drive away callers. While that may not be the best move for them, it presents a major opportunity for you.
Those companies are handing you a perfect way to stand out from the pack when you deliver extraordinary customer experiences over the phone with virtual receptionists.
5 key benefits of using virtual receptionists
1. Increased customer satisfaction
When it comes to calls, the key to customer satisfaction is human connection. More than two-thirds of customers will hang up when they canāt reach a live person. And most of them dial up your competition next!
Your callers want (and deserve) fast, responsive, personalized service. With a solution like Ruby, thatās what they getāpersonalized interactions that enhance first impressions.
2. Better customer serviceāand better word of mouth
72% of customers share positive experiences with others. They become loyal cheerleaders for your business. Thatās free advertisingāand itās more effective than any other kind of marketing.
So for every caller who reaches a friendly, capable representative, the number of new prospects contacting your company goes up. A human touch, you see, really does elevate customer experience.Ā
In contrast, if someone has a negative experienceālike if they canāt get through or they reach an annoying programāthere are strong odds theyāll vent to everybody about it, dinging your reputation over an avoidable situation.
3. More leads
Calls are an invaluable source of leads. Yet automated systems miss out on capturing many of the salient caller details you need.Ā
Virtual receptionists, on the other hand, are trained to snag all those vital detailsānames, contact information, and reasons for getting in touch. We also screen spam calls and help qualify leads based on the information your business provides to us.
4. More business opportunities
Did you know that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service? On top of that, a whopping four out of five customers become repeat buyers after positive phone experiences.
Additionally, thereās the 5% customer retention rule. As Forbes notes, āan increase in customer retention by 5% can lead to a companyās profits growing by 25% to around 95% over a period of time.āĀ
With these numbers in mind, every business should make customer satisfaction a priorityāespecially service-based businesses, where a single interaction can lead to a four- or five-figure sale. Virtual receptionists make that happen without burdening you or your team with answering phones 24/7.
5. Standing out from the crowd
For whatever reason, many businesses still use automated call systems that are proven to frustrate, inconvenience, and ultimately drive away callers. While that may not be the best move for them, it presents a major opportunity for you.
Those companies are handing you a perfect way to stand out from the pack when you deliver extraordinary customer experiences over the phone with virtual receptionists.
Virtual receptionists or automated answering service: Whatās right for your business?
As we mentioned at the top, virtual receptionists simply outperform automated answering systems. But that doesnāt mean theyāre the right fit for everyone. If upfront savings are more important than customer experience, or if your business has a very high volume of calls that can be handled through self-service, an automated answering system might suit your needs better. But for small and growing businesses, especially in service-oriented industries like legal, home services, financial services, and healthcare, virtual receptionists are a must.Ā
And at the end of the day, if customer service is important to you, then give āem what they want: a way to talk to a live, courteous, helpful representativeāinstead of a robot.
Ready to learn more about how to turn callers into customers with virtual receptionists? Check out this guide.
Virtual receptionists or automated answering service: Whatās right for your business?
As we mentioned at the top, virtual receptionists simply outperform automated answering systems. But that doesnāt mean theyāre the right fit for everyone. If upfront savings are more important than customer experience, or if your business has a very high volume of calls that can be handled through self-service, an automated answering system might suit your needs better. But for small and growing businesses, especially in service-oriented industries like legal, home services, financial services, and healthcare, virtual receptionists are a must.Ā
And at the end of the day, if customer service is important to you, then give āem what they want: a way to talk to a live, courteous, helpful representativeāinstead of a robot.
Ready to learn more about how to turn callers into customers with virtual receptionists? Check out this guide.