Virtual Reception & Call Answering Service Australia
With Customer Experience (CX) becoming increasingly critical to surviving in a competitive marketplace, when a customer tries to contact your business, you want to make sure you provide the best first impression.
And that starts with the phone being answered!
According to the Australian Call Centre Rankings, published monthly, some industry sectors fail to answer approximately 40% of phone calls for new business opportunities—it's just a wasted opportunity that not only loses revenue but also damages reputation.
And when it comes to small businesses, the outlook isn't any better.
Virtual Reception and Call Answering Services Australia can be known by several names, including phone answering, call answering, answering service, message taking, virtual reception, virtual receptionist, virtual headquarters, etc., all of which essentially refer to the same thing.
Regardless of the name, the providers of Virtual Reception & Call Answering Services Australia can answer the phone using your business name e.g. "Welcome to <your company> this is Emily, how can I help you today?" and then depending on your requirements, they can offer a range of professional services, including:
- Take a message and forward it to your nominated contact, typically via email or SMS.
- Transfer the call to a nominated contact.
- Capture the details required and enter them into a database.
- Answer questions of varying complexity.
How Much Does Call Answering Services in Australia Cost?
Providers of Virtual Receptionist & Call Answering Services Australia use a range of different commercial models, and determining the right one for you can depend on the expected number of calls, what you need the provider to do on each call, the location of the person answering the phone, whether you need 24/7 or standard business hours and so on.
Location can also play a big role in the pricing and with the high cost of labour in Australia, there is no doubt we are the most expensive option.
For some Australian businesses, an offshore service provider in the Philippines, South Africa, or even New Zealand may be a viable solution because it offers lower rates than an on-shore (within Australia) solution.
Ultimately, which location is right for your business is something only you can decide - you can learn more about the benefits of call centre outsourcing locations >
Are There Minimum Call Volumes?
When engaging a Virtual Receptionist & Call Answering Services provider in Australia, yes, there can be minimum call volume requirements.
However, there are phone answering providers who specialise in different models including those that specialise in after-hours solutions, overflow solutions, on-call solutions and more.
As a rule, most of the large call centre outsourcers aren't typically interested in taking on low call volumes, however, there are hundreds of suppliers who specialise in taking the odd random call through to having dedicated agents answering calls exclusively for your business.
To be profitable, call centre agents are typically expected to answer calls for a variety of businesses. The technology used by the virtual reception providers advises the call centre agent on how to answer the phone and what to do.
The challenge for the phone answering providers is always trying to balance the expected number of calls to keep the call centre agents busy - if a call centre agent is sitting at their desk and not taking calls, they aren't making money, but if too many calls come in, it can lead to longer wait times which equals unhappy customers.
Learn more about the common commercial models used by phone answering businesses >
Key Requirements to Engage a Call Answering Provider in Australia
If you are thinking of engaging a Virtual Receptionist & Call Answering Services Australia to answer your calls or take messages for your business, there are some key elements you will need to know:
- The expected number of calls per day/week/month.
- How that traffic normally comes in (e.g. if you have a TV ad you might get a big surge after the ad, there might be peak periods during the day or perhaps your calls are just spread out throughout the day/night)
- What do you want the phone answering provider to do when they answer the call?
- Do you expect them to follow any scripts or instructions?
- Any technology you would need them to integrate with.
- The hours of support you want to be covered.
How to Find Suppliers of Call Answering Services Australia
It can be confusing to find the right phone answering company in Australia and/or the right commercial model for your business.
Simply scroll through the list below and contact the providers of Virtual Receptionist & Call Answering Services Australia directly and they will be more than happy to provide you with a quote.
Alternatively, try our free call centre outsourcing wizard, which will provide you with a recommended shortlist of the best suppliers tailored to your requirements saving you time, money and frustration.
Search the Australian Phone Answering Suppliers below:
Just scroll below for suppliers of virtual reception and call answering services Australia or use the search filters to find suppliers in different countries or by other outsourcing functions.
You may also be interested in searching for Australian suppliers of After Hours & 24/7 solutions.
