Outsourcing Your Telephone Answering Service – A Case Study
At Officefront, we provide corporate services to businesses of all sizes. Our bespoke telephone answering and switchboard services are tailor-made to suit the requirements of each individual customer. We don’t believe in a one size fits all approach! Sometimes, when prospective clients approach us, they’re not entirely sure what level of service they need. Small businesses often enquire about a telephone answering service and need to understand the benefits it can deliver. Larger companies may already have an in-house reception team but find that their switchboard is often left unattended and client calls are missed. They may not have the budget to hire more in-house staff but need confidence that every client call will be answered.
To help them (and you) understand what level of service is best for each type of business, below you’ll find a couple of case studies detailing the scenarios and our clients experience. Each case study will then explain which Officefront service best helps to overcome the challenges faced.
Case study 1 – the small business
Picture the scene – perhaps you run a small solicitors, HR company, estate management company or building firm. Your business provides a personal and attentive service and you pride yourself on customer satisfaction. Business is going well. Your diary is packed with meetings and the phone is ringing off the hook. Great news!
Every small business needs to grow in order to thrive. But growth brings certain challenges that can be difficult to overcome. How do you maintain a high level of service for existing clients, while ensuring you answer the phone to potential new clients? If you’re a sole trader or practitioner and you are the business, you’ll already be familiar with this challenge! You’re in a meeting with a valued client and the phone rings – what do you do?
- You could leave the call to go to voicemail and return the call later. But what if the caller is a prospective client and they don’t leave a message? What if they take their business elsewhere?
- You could excuse yourself from the meeting to take the call. This might not sit well with the person you’re meeting – they may think that you’re more interested in taking on new business than you are in nurturing their account. Who is a bigger priority?
The answer is c). None of the above.
You simply outsource your telephone answering service to an external company like Officefront. For a fixed and affordable monthly fee, your business phone will be looked after all day, every day.
You’ll be given a dedicated reception team, who will greet your customers with a friendly tone, in your business name, and most importantly, they’ll never miss a call. With this in mind, you can focus on giving it your all in that client meeting, safe in the knowledge that your switchboard is in good hands. Any inbound calls will be answered promptly and professionally – directed to the right place or noted down and passed on to you so you can return the call at a convenient time.
Affordable peace of mind for your business and outstanding service to clients as you continue to grow? Well, that’s priceless.
Case study 2 – larger businesses
You already have an in-house reception team, so why would you need a switchboard service too? Because of heavy inbound call traffic, meeting/greeting visitors, lunch breaks, holidays, sick days and mail sorting. There is a seemingly endless list of things that crop up and remove your receptionist from their position next to the telephone. An absent receptionist, even for a few minutes, can mean that client calls go unanswered and potential business may be lost. Unanswered calls do not show your business in the best light.
Many large businesses choose to outsource their switchboard service to external providers like ourselves so they can feel confident that every single inbound call to their business is answered. Some only outsource calls when they need an overflow after calls are missed by their own internal teams. In the competitive world of business, first impressions count. At Officefront we’re always on hand to make sure every call to your business is answered. We never have a day off, we’re never sick and we don’t take a lunch break. In addition to availability, the biggest benefit of outsourcing your switchboard service is efficiency. A trained team of professional receptionists who don’t need to be trained or managed by you? No wonder so many businesses opt to outsource!
If you like the idea of outsourcing your switchboard and would like to find out if it’s right for your business, give us a call and we can advise on the best option for you. You can call us on 020 7127 0660 (we always answer!) or get a quote via our website.
