How easy is it for your customers or clients to reach you? Do you fear losing that one important call that could change your business forever? If you think that these questions are also relevant for you then it’s your time to use an auto attendant with your virtual phone system. It works as an automated receptionist that receives your calls 24×7 and routes your callers to the right person or department of his choice. Following is a brief discussion of some of the important features of an auto attendant and how it can help a business grow:
Help Saves Money
This automatic receptionist completely eliminates your need to hire an office receptionist and thus helps you save a considerable amount of dollars every month. This is very significant for any business that is operating within strict financial limits. But it is also equally important for a big business because they can invest those dollars in other areas of their business. Though an auto attendant helps businesses save a few dollars, it never compromises the quality of the service. Rather this automated attendant offers better service (than an office receptionist) 24 hours a day.
Few Simple Instructions to Follow
An auto attendant receives your calls, greets your callers and routes them to the right person or department. Your customers need to follow just few simple instructions of the automated receptionist to reach the right person/department without wasting much time. It is always advisable to keep the instructions of your automated attendant easy and simple. The first part is generally greetings that help you present your company to the callers. For example, “Thank you for calling ABC Company. Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Technical Support…0 to speak to someone directly.” This is the most popular format of any automated attendant that people are accustomed with. Using something new may confuse your callers.
Record and Customize Your Message
You can record your own message on your automated attendant. Alternately you can also hire a professional voice over artist to record your greetings and instructions. This makes you sound more professional and makes your business sound bigger. So you get the best of both worlds – a professional to instruct your callers and also within your budget. Your automated receptionist makes your business look and sound bigger that it actually is. You also have the flexibility to customize your greetings according to a particular season or festival.
Makes You Available – All the Time
An auto attendant routes your caller to the right person or department. It receives any call and forwards it to the right person. But in case the right person is not available to answer the call, the automated attendant then forwards the call to the voicemail box. This is another important aspect of the automated receptionist. It can also transfer calls to another extension or to an outside phone number. So it helps you to receive and answer your customer’s call – anywhere and at any time.
Disseminate Information
An auto attendant with your virtual phone system can also be used as a marketing tool. You can provide your callers with some important information about your product or service before the automated receptionist forwards the call – record and play your information over the phone while the inbound caller is waiting to be forwarded. This is a great opportunity for your business to advertise information (such as locations of your organization, launch of a new product and others) to your customers.
