If you own or operate a small business, there is no doubt that you have a lot of factors stacked against you. Competition in the business arena is tough and when you are going against larger businesses you have to fight for every bit of market share that you have. In most cases, the big guys are capitalized better to pay for all the marketing and support staff they need to keep their business running efficiently during all hours of the day and night.

Your Business Can Never Sleep

One of the biggest challenges facing a small business operator is having non-stop availability. Obviously, no one can single-handedly run all aspects of a business all the time. People are not Superman and must have time to take care of their family, sleep and run a business. Even if you able to employ people to cover the business during off-hours, you are likely not going to want to pay them full-time or overtime to be there around the clock. Unfortunately, this probably is not a cost-effective approach to running a small business, either. For a small business to be truly profitable, the employees need to be generating more profit than what they are being paid on an hourly basis.

The Internet Makes Businesses Accessible All Hours of the Day

The Internet has changed the way that people do business. E-Commerce has made it possible for people to buy things and place orders at whatever time is most convenient for them. Sales are no longer just contained to regular retail business hours. When people buy online, they expect to have access help if they need it, either by live chat, Email or in many cases by telephone. If there is no one there to help them the moment they reach out for assistance, the chances of losing the sale increase. If they order on the weekend or a holiday when normal office hours are not being kept, chances are they will find another vendor that can accommodate their consumer needs.

Man the Phones

The rise of affordable outsourced solutions has given small business owners more options for providing the services that they need to address their customer inquiries at all hours of the day and night. Small businesses can gain from telephone answering services the most because they then have a way to stay in communication with customers and potential customers, even if they are away from their usual business phone. To be successful and trustworthy business any time you are available by phone, you increase your business reputation. Answering services are an affordable option for small businesses because the service is charged at a flat rate or on a monthly basis, depending on the package that you choose. Answering services are beneficial because it makes forecasting expenses easier and costs a lot less than paying an employee a part-time or a full-time wage plus benefits. Whenever someone calls your business, your phone will be answered by a live person. Your attendant will then handle the call by taking a message or ringing it forward to you or a designated employee. The rules for your business call handling are set up when you set up your phone service.

Call Routing Is Easy

Phone answering services can greatly improve all of your business processes even during your regularly scheduled work hours. When you are able to have an auto attendant take messages or connect callers to the right person in your business, you can streamline your calls and stop spending time on unproductive phone calls. Your callers will not even know that their calls are being handled by anyone other than you! They will receive professional customer service. If they are put on hold, hold music will help keep them entertained and let them know that their phone call is still connected and being forwarded to the next available customer service agent. Small business owners no longer have an excuse to leave their business unattended for a weekend or a holiday when they can contract phone answering services to handle the job while they are away. No matter what your specific answering services are, there is a package available to cater to your unique needs.

Enjoy Your Time Off

If you have been missing sleep trying to come up with a phone answering solution that does not break the bank, you can stop worrying and start enjoying your time off without feeling guilty. When you have an answering service working for you, you are giving yourself a break from the responsibilities of worrying about missed phone calls. When you stop worrying about missed phone calls, you can enjoy your time off and spend it with friends and family, taking care of other parts of your business or participating in your favourite hobbies. Everyone deserves some time off, especially small business owners. Just because you are the owner does not mean that you have to spend all of your time and energy worrying about managing your company.

You can pick the answering service that best fits your work schedule and your business budget. One thing that you can be sure of is that an answering service is more cost-effective than taking on extra employees. If you typically have a low or small call volume, you can select a plan that is billed by the phone call. This type of calling plan provides a minimal amount of coverage while keeping your professional image at a high standard. If you have a higher amount of phone calls that need to be routed, flat-rate monthly answering service plans might be the solution for you. This helps keep your overhead low while giving your customers and end users a high-level of professional phone support and service. No matter what you decide, selecting an outsourced answering service is one of the smartest things you can do to compete with larger companies that are known for their exceptional phone support services.