CHAT NOW

Virtual Reception- What Is It, Cost, Setup, More


By Ned McRae


The success of any business depends greatly on how it interacts with customers and the amount of time and effort dedicated to core functions. A virtual reception service could make a big difference in a world where one can only do so much in search of a competitive edge. Virtual reception is also becoming increasingly popular thanks to the availability of high speed internet as the one offered by SpinTel.

What is a Virtual Reception?

Virtual reception entails outsourcing traditional reception jobs to dedicated customer service or professionals in remote areas. Upon outsourcing, all calls to the business would be diverted to the virtual receptionist tasked with responding to every query or routing them to the appropriate parties.

Contrary to perception, virtual reception is not all about making and receiving calls. A virtual reception can also schedule appointments, route calls, and provide necessary account information. Outsourcing ensures no business call goes unanswered. Additionally, a virtual reception service averts the need to hire, train, and manage a full-time employee along with all the added expenses and burdens.

Tailoring virtual reception for small businesses is quite possible. For instance, the professionals operating from a remote location can answer calls and respond to emails based on how the client wants and based on business needs. While leveraging SpinTel’s high-speed internet the virtual receptionists can also deal with customers through video calls.

Outsourcing the traditional receptionist job is becoming increasingly popular owing to the synergies. For starters, virtual receptions operate full-time during business hours, averting the risk of business calls being answered. The risk of a business missing out on important business calls is minimized.

Essential Features of a Virtual Receptionist Service

The features available for a virtual reception service depend on the individual and business needs

Auto Attendant: A more straightforward and less expensive part that directs all customer calls to the right place and personnel within a business.

Live to answer: The feature comes with a live agent that gives customers real answers to their queries while adding a layer of professionalism and personal touch.

Message taking: It is an essential virtual reception feature that involves recording caller information and the reason they are calling. Messages are then sent to the relevant parties.

Patching and call transfer: In this case, virtual receptionists patch calls directly to the relevant phone number. Transferring callers for immediate assistance helps streamline the answering process.

Appointment scheduling: In this case, virtual receptionists integrate your preferred calendar application and schedule appointments when necessary.

How do I Set up Virtual Reception?

Small businesses can make themselves look large by deploying a virtual receptionist. In most cases, the business seems small whenever a person calls, only for the business to answer sooner. In contrast, whenever a receptionist answers, it affirms the magnitude of the business backed by a significant workforce.

While most businesses don’t have the resources to employ receptionists full-time, outsourcing the same is a sure way of remaining competitive. A virtual receptionist will not only perform all the roles of an in-house receptionist but will also be more cost-effective. In this case, the business will not have to part ways with salary benefits, let alone furnish the office and provide supplies for them to do their work.

Virtual receptionists performing all the tasks of an in-house receptionist at a more reasonable rate could make a big difference for a small business.

Setting up a virtual reception is pretty simple. While many firms and businesses offer virtual receptionist services, deciding what you want the operators to do once engaged is essential. For example, you need to decide whether the virtual assistants will only answer calls. If that is possible then it would be wise to turn to a reliable internet
 provider such as SpinTel.

Do you want the virtual receptionists to answer calls at a certain time of the day when you are unavailable or during business hours? Also, you will need to explore whether the receptionist can route the calls, make appointments, and sometimes manage your diary.

Once you engage the services of a virtual receptionist, it is important to be clear whether the assistants will answer or transfer important calls to you. The assistants may also be asked to screen out any annoying calls.

Once all the fine print of what the virtual receptionist will do is made clear, the final stage of setting up the service involves synchronizing the business number with the provider or virtual receptionist. This way, all the calls will be directed through them. One can also share business email login keys for them to respond to emails where necessary.

The best virtual reception service will work around the existing communication system without a business having to incur additional costs. Some services also set up a dedicated app and client portal where one can access all the messages in one place and in real-time. Some also offer Virtual reception Zoom powered by high-speed internet as the one offered by SpinTel.

How much does a Virtual Reception Cost?

The precise cost of a virtual reception service depends on the kind of service a business chooses and the pricing model. Some virtual receptionists service resort to the per-minute rate pricing model, where pricing depends on the selection of service and the call volume. In this case, all businesses leveraging the service are charged a nominal rate depending on the monthly call time and the time the virtual receptionists connect to customers.

Virtual reception services offer monthly subscription plans, including a pre-paid package for minutes. While the minutes don’t expire, they depend on the signed agreement. In this case, there is usually the number of minutes it must spend to keep the account active.

Some answering services offer pricing tiers allowing businesses and other customers to prepay for only the required services. A lower-tier plan would be ideal if a small business only needs an automated menu to direct customer calls to in-house staff.

However, it costs more to engage the services of live agents who respond to all customer calls. The cost might also be much higher in cases where virtual reception Zoom is part of the package. In this case, a business will also have to subscribe to an NBN plan or any other internet plan.

SpinTel for Reliable Virtual Reception Service

There are significant benefits of resorting to virtual reception services. For starters, virtual receptionists can address basic customer service issues and allow human operators to focus on other core objectives. Virtual reception for small businesses can also reduce customer wait times and the workload that other call center staff has to contend with.

Additional virtual reception service allows large companies to reduce call center spending as they don’t have to employ in-house receptionists with full benefits. Virtual reception zoom can also come in handy when powered by congestion-free internet from award-winning provider like SpinTel.

DO YOU NEED HELP TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLAN?

Our friendly gurus are ready and waiting to help you choose the best plan for you.