What is an answering service?
An answering service is a company that provides a professional to answer telephone calls during and after hours so that you can focus on your work. Answering services can also provide callers with information about your business hours, directions to the business, and other scheduled services. Some answering services even record messages for you and forward calls to staff members’ cell phones and voicemails. The average cost of an answering service varies based on its features.
A study shows that about 91% of consumers reported poor customer service from companies in 2021-2022. Your business can avoid falling into these statistics by hiring a professional live receptionist.
In this article, we will review how much answering services cost and what considerations you should keep in mind while paying for one.
General Answering Service Pricing
As mentioned above, an answering service’s pricing usually varies depending on its features. But generally, an answering service charges anywhere between $1 – $2 per minute on a phone call.
To give you a better understanding, we have categorized the three main types of billing that answering services use to determine the cost of their services:
- Per-minute billing: This type of billing is the most common type that companies use where businesses are charged according to the length of the call. As a result, the price increases the longer a consumer is on the phone. Most live answering services provide pricing plans with set minutes; if you use more than are included, you will be charged extra.
- Per-call billing: You will be billed based on the number of inbound calls received and handled. The disadvantage of this billing system is that your company can still be obligated to pay for incoming calls made accidentally by consumers who dialed the wrong number or even if someone were to abruptly hang up. Another disadvantage of this billing system is that it can be more difficult to track the number of calls received and handled.
- Per-unit billing: In this method, you are billed for each call, text message, or transferred call. The method is considered the least preferred by company owners, as it tends to be slightly confusing and subject to the answering service provider’s discretion. The method is also a bit more expensive, allowing the answering service provider to set their rates.
What Goes into an Answering Service Cost
Another important thing to consider while choosing an answering service is what goes into the cost of the service provided. Here’s a breakdown and explanation of the various things involved:
- Billing or plan type: The best way to find the right plan is by looking at your call statistics and estimating how much you will spend monthly. For instance, the cost per call could be greater if your call volume is large. On the other hand, it might be smarter to choose the per-minute price if you have a large call volume but short call durations.
- Account activation fees: Service providers typically charge you a fixed setup fee during account activation. These costs represent the time and effort the answering service provider put forward to set up your account and create customer support scripts customized for your business.
- Increased holiday rates: Some answering services are open 24/7, even during significant holidays. These virtual receptionist services may compensate staff members for this with holiday fees. Consequently, there can be an extra fee for your company at peak holiday times.
- Additional contract fees: When initially working with an answering service provider, check the billing cycle and inquire about each expense. There might be additional fees for anything from overtime to long-distance costs. Additionally, choosing a supplier that provides a monthly charge over those that tie you into annual contracts is always the better option.
- Other features: Other features that you might consider could include bilingual capabilities, operating 24/7 for 365 days, if they’re offering any additional services on top of answering business calls, etc.
Benefits of Choosing an Answering Service
Answering services can be ideal for any business owner who wants to ensure they’re receiving every call but cannot afford the overhead of hiring an in-house employee to take and relay messages. It can also can help your business and save you a lot of money over time, so it’s important to know what you’re getting into before hiring one.
Expand Your Business Hours
Answering services can offer your round-the-clock business support. This means that you can have a real person answering phones for your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is especially important if your business operates in certain industries like healthcare, veterinary service, or transportation, where emergencies are common. In an emergency, it’s best to know that someone will always be available to help when lives are on the line.
No More Missed Calls
If you’re a small business owner, one of your biggest fears is that you will miss an important call when you’re unavailable. At the same time, it’s not feasible for you to have your phone on 24/7, so you need a reliable and accessible way to answer incoming calls when you’re away from your desk. The best way to handle this is by using a professional answering service. Click HERE to also learn how call center reports, provided by DesignRush, can boost your bottom line. DesignRush is a B2B marketplace that connects brands with professional full-service agencies, web design companies, digital marketing firms, and tech companies.
Schedule Appointments Easier
With live telephone answering services, appointment scheduling is much easier. This is especially useful if you have multiple locations that need to be staffed at different times of the day with different appointment settings. You don’t have to worry about staffing your locations properly since the call center service can take care of scheduling appointments for you.
Less Pressure on Employees
When your staff is especially busy, giving each customer the time and attention they deserve can be challenging. Statistics show that around 83% of customers would prefer just talking to one person who could resolve their issues. A professional call answering service will take care of this while also providing your staff more time and energy for other important tasks.
Choose Gabbyville as Your Affordable Phone Answering Service
If you’re looking for a way to make your business run smoother, look no further than Gabbyville’s affordable phone answering service. By outsourcing with our best answering services and call routing, your calls will be automatically routed to any phone number you choose.
Gabbyville is a reliable and affordable phone answering service. We have been in this business for years, servicing thousands of clients worldwide, including medical answering services strictly compliant with HIPAA rules. We can guarantee that our call-answering services are second to none.
We offer live call answering by real people and not by machines, so your callers will always be in the hands of someone you can trust who is ready to provide exceptional customer care.
Get in touch with us for a quote on Gabbyville’s cost-effective pricing model!
