For small businesses, acquiring and retaining customers can be a real challenge. Ensuring every incoming call is answered is critical because responses largely determine overall customer satisfaction, perception of the brand, and sales opportunities. If your small business is constantly missing calls, you have two choices: Use a traditional answering service or utilize an AI receptionist like the one from signpost.com. Signpost’s AI voice agent can completely transform customer management and call handling, and the company currently has clients across the US, including service businesses. Which one should you use? We have shared a few aspects in this guide to help you!
A Look at Both Approaches
We will start by discussing the role of an AI voice receptionist. It relies on AI, natural language processing (also called NLP), machine learning, and voice synthesis to answer customers. Callers can get assistance for questions, specific requests, and even appointments and bookings. Outsourced services have been around for years and are extensively used by large companies. The process involves outsourcing the work to a real call center, and the human receptionists talk to callers directly. From greeting customers to taking requests and transferring calls to the right person, AI can do it all.
Response Speed & Availability
AI is always around and can take each call in just two to three rings. AI receptionists can manage as many as a thousand calls at the same time and can work on weekends and holidays. Traditional calling services are different in that context, because responses and hold times largely depend on operator availability. Also, many centers only work for fixed hours, which means your small business can still miss calls.
Consistency & Accuracy
There is no denying that consistent responses create trust and enhance brand value. AI doesn’t get tired or exhausted and will greet every caller with the same enthusiasm. AI receptionists also help reduce the usual mistakes related to manual work. On the flip side, AI may not always understand or comprehend accents, and unless FAQs and scripts are changed and modified on time, accuracy could be a problem. Live answering services, on the other hand, are more flexible and personal, and agents can identify people’s needs and intent better. However, not all call center executives are the same, which could impact customer experience and consistency.
Capabilities & Advanced Features
AI receptionists can work with many commonly used tools, such as calendar, CRM, marketing apps, and even payment gateways. Small businesses don’t engage a separate team to ask for payments or send reminders on time. All calls are saved, and the data can help with further training. Traditional call answering is more bespoke, but a lot of the work is still done manually. Also, the overall experience largely depends on the operators and agents.
Price & Scalability
Small businesses and service companies can largely benefit from the low price of AI receptionists. Providers usually have packages with fixed minutes, and compared to the cost of conventional call centers, the price is considerably lower. Also, there is an option to scale on demand. For instance, if yours is an HVAC business that experiences seasonal demand, you should use AI over traditional calling services.
What’s the Best Option?
If you don’t mind paying more for better customer service and personal call handling, traditional call centers are certainly a good option. However, small businesses often don’t have massive resources to continue using these services. In that context, AI is more reliable and doesn’t have any downtime. If you choose a dependable service provider, your AI receptionist can automate the entire process of confirming bookings and taking payments, besides handling all incoming calls without a miss.
Instead of hiring more people to manage your front desk and callers, consider using an AI receptionist, and if required, you can always consider outsourced call management in the future.
