What Is a Virtual Receptionist, and Why Does Your Business Need One?

The very first contact a customer is likely to have with your business is via telephone – and first impressions count!

Here at alldayPA, our priority is to ensure that your client calls are answered promptly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With our state-of-the-art call handling technology, over 20 years’ experience in the virtual receptionist business, and over 600 experienced and professionally trained virtual receptionists.

Are you wondering how a virtual receptionist could help your business become more efficient? 

Find out how your business could benefit from outsourcing your diary management and call answering responsibilities to a virtual assistant company such as alldayPA today.

What is a virtual receptionist? 

A virtual receptionist provides a solution for small businesses to ensure that no calls are missed while your staff are otherwise engaged. If you are a small business, many precious hours of trading can be lost due to time taken handling and directing calls but, of course, you don’t want to miss valuable new business either.

By outsourcing your call handling to alldayPA, you can rest assured that our highly trained staff will never miss a call. Our team delivers the highest standards of professionalism, giving you peace of mind that your customers – old and new – are in safe hands.

Traditional receptionist vs virtual receptionist: What’s the difference? 

Traditional receptionists are located in-house, fielding and taking business calls during conventional business hours. They are the first point of contact for all new and existing customers, and it is therefore paramount that the service provided is of the highest standard.

However, even the most professional and experienced on-site receptionists can be faced with too many incoming calls to handle at once, which can result in missed revenue and damage to your company’s reputation.  

The benefits of a virtual receptionist are myriad, but the main reason to outsource this business function is to take away the hassle of fielding calls. This way, your time, as a business owner, is only taken up with those who you actually want to speak to. 

A virtual receptionist works remotely and provides those trying to reach your business with 24/7 access to a real person, ensuring that no call is missed or mishandled. With this popular service, you can join other businesses like yours that are confident in the knowledge that customers are being dealt with by an experienced professional.  

How can hiring virtual assistants make a difference to your business? 

If you are a small business, you may find it difficult to run your business effectively due to the number of telephone calls you are receiving – yet research shows that a massive 80% of business communications occur via telephone, and unanswered calls can severely damage your business. While you are engaged in a client meeting and other staff members are taking calls, you could be missing valuable new business or losing existing clients due to a perceived non-responsiveness or poor availability. 

Studies also show that customers do not like to be kept on hold, many do not like to leave messages on answerphones, and a massive 85% of people who do not get to speak to a real person state they will not call that company back. Not only do these customer habits impact your company finances, but they could also cause untold damage to your professional reputation. 

Our large team of experts are located across three contact centres. Each centre operates on a different power grade, which enables us to handle all of your calls 24/7, safe in the knowledge that even a power cut will not prevent us from offering excellent customer service to your clients. 

Furthermore, because our virtual assistants act on your behalf at all hours of the day and are not limited to traditional business hours, your clients will receive the personal touch even when you are not available. This is particularly beneficial for those with overseas clients who may not conduct business within the same time zone as you.

Let alldayPA help you save time, money and stress through our virtual receptionist services

Our virtual receptionists are highly trained, approachable, polite, customer-focused, reliable, experienced and incredibly professional so you can be sure that your business is being represented to the highest standard.

Our virtual reception service is not limited to just taking your client calls. We offer a personalised service to suit your needs, which can include (but is not limited to): 

• Telephone answering service – We can take your callers’ details and pass on messages, or forward the call to you if you’re available.
• Custom on-hold messages – On the rare occasion that all of our full-time virtual assistants are engaged on other calls, we can customise a personalised greeting, ensuring an amazing first impression.
• 24/7/365 service as standard – Our fantastic team of virtual assistants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year, giving you confidence that someone will always be available to handle your calls
• Instant email and SMS notifications – Our bespoke service also includes automatic and immediate notifications via SMS and email so that you are kept up to date on all of the customer interactions we handle on your behalf.
• Virtual Office App – Our dedicated app offers you full customer support and access to key information about your customer interactions at all times of the day!
• Remote switchboard services – Our recent £15 million investment in technology means that call transfers are seamless and 100% reliable. 
• Live chat – Innovative live chat management software enables us to provide you with a variety of options for customer contact.
• Call triaging services – Your virtual assistant will prioritise customers based on the urgency and nature of their call. This means that you can always resolve those important issues quickly, whenever necessary.
• Diary management & administration – Our services are not limited to call handling; virtual assistants can manage your diary, schedule appointments and complete other administrative everyday tasks as determined by you.

Could your business benefit from an experienced virtual receptionist? Let us help!

Our highly trained virtual assistants and receptionists have an unrivalled reputation for delivering amazing customer service. Whether you need help answering calls when you can’t be available or are after a full team to pick up an overflow of calls during peak hours, we’re here to help. 

We currently handle calls on behalf of 24,000 businesses, our capabilities are unsurpassed.

Never miss a call again by working with alldayPA. Get in touch with a member of our friendly team for more information on the services we can provide your business.