Ninety-one percent, and increasing, of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7. What does this mean for businesses? It means that they need to be more readily available than ever for customer calls. Utilizing a 24-Hour answering service allows customers to contact your small business at all times of day or night and gives you the ability to potentially generate revenue literally while you’re sleeping. So what is an answering service and how can it help your small business? Continue reading to find out!

What is an Answering Service and How does it Work?

So you’ve got your daughter’s first choir concert, or you’re attending a wedding, or better yet, you’re simply on vacation and you’re not taking calls unless it’s an absolute emergency. These are just a sample of situations that you could potentially need an answering service for. With answering services for small businesses, you can contact doctors, dentists, electricians, and more 24 hours a day. Doesn’t this sound like the kind of convenience you would like as a customer? Then why not provide it to your very own customers. The whole premise for answering services for small businesses is that you hire an outside company to take and screen calls. Your call answering service maybe provides after hours assistance. However, answering services for small businesses are not new, but the technology and capabilities continue to evolve and change.

Are There Problems with Answering Services?

Of course, it could seem cheap to let another service be the voice and driving service providers behind your business. However, positive helpful operators boost your customer service ratings with your clients. Having an after hours call answering service can help drastically increase the positivity of your customers, and business owners know that word of mouth can be everything when you’re a small business. Utilizing a 24 hour message center can make your small business a commodity and help drive sales. So are there really any problems with answering services for small businesses? Well there certainly can be… Selecting the wrong or the cheap answering service can be costly if they lead your customers astray, give bad advice, are rude, or just don’t mesh well with your brand.

So how do you choose the right one?

Cross check. Get online and find out what their values are. As a small business owner, it is easy to express what your business values.

So naturally, you should be seeking an answering service for your small business that matches those values and your revenue goals. Answering services for small businesses could be the next step in not being so small.