Why a small business should use a UK answering service

In this article we will discuss everything you need to know about UK answering services. We will start by discussing what they are. Followed by why you need one and how you can get started. We will cover all the information you need, to make an educated decision, as to whether or not your business needs a UK answering service. So, lets dive right in.

What is a UK answering service

A UK answering service is an agency that takes your calls when you are not available to take them inside your business. This can be for a variety of reasons such as:

  • Switchboard and Reception service – directing calls or taking messages if unavailable.
  • Overflow and Out of hours – when you’re just too busy or simply not there.
  • Customer service – complete customer service solutions such as tracking packages and taking complaints.
  • Diary management and appointment booking – very useful for dentists and garages.
  • Help desk – providing help to your customers.
  • E-commerce order service – letting your e-commerce customers talk to a real person can really help build your brand.
  • Direct response marketing – incoming calls from advertising.
  • Enquiry Handling – enquiries from existing and new customers.

Of course, you can use the answering service whenever you need it and can be as specific as you wish.

For example: You can take calls on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday afternoons but the rest of the week your team is on the road.  So the agency will take the calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Friday mornings. The agency can deal with issues and problems, take bookings and of course, take messages. All of this information is then passed on to you immediately by email.

Why your business needs a UK answering service

So, now that you understand how an answering service works the big question is why does your business need it. You have a mobile phone and you can divert your business number to that. So what is the big deal. In short, professionalism. Yes, you can answer the calls on your mobile phone but what does it sound like to your potential and existing customers. When you use an answering service the calls are answered in a professional environment by well spoken and polite operators. This in turn raises the profile of your company and brand by adding this level of professionalism.

How you can get started with a UK answering service

There are several agencies providing UK answering services and so you must consider several points when picking the best agency for your business. These points are:

  • Are they friendly, courteous and speak good English?
  • Can you ask them questions?
  • Are they available to talk to when you need them?
  • Do they have the correct equipment?
  • How do they communicate with you about calls?
  • What happens with out of hours calls?
  • Can they support you 24/7?
  • How much do they cost?
  • Call centre or boutique agency?

Once you have considered all these points and finished your research you can pick your agency and get started.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, we have discussed what a UK answering service is, why your business needs one and how to start using the service. We have discovered that a UK answering service is an agency that takes your calls when you are not available to take them inside your business. We found out that we can use this service in your business for a variety of reasons including enquiry handling and diary management. Finally, we found out that the key questions to think about is what agency is best for your business.

Get Started Today

If all of this makes sense and you want to start using a UK answering service today you can Call BHT Marketing on 0808-172-1900 for a free consultation or click here to fill in our form and one of us will give you a call to discuss how we can help.