Every missed call could be a missed opportunity. However, maintaining an in-house receptionist can be expensive for some businesses, especially those with smaller teams or fluctuating call volumes. This is where a live answering service can help. They give you trained receptionists, available to answer your calls during peak periods, after hours, or even 24/7, who capture every lead and ensure your callers always have a positive customer experience.
Live answering services are becoming a popular option for many businesses looking for a way to improve customer service and increase productivity. There’s lots of providers out there, all with different plans to choose from, so the question arises; how much does a live answering service cost?
The average cost of an answering service
The cost of a live answering service can depend on lots of different factors. It’s important to know that having additional features will increase the price of the service, but this could also make using the answering service more valuable. Here are a few factors that can influence the cost:
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- Call volume – Ultimately the amount of calls taken by an answering service will impact the price that you pay, for example, the more calls you receive, the higher the cost. Lower call volume businesses may benefit from per minute billing, where you are charged for the amount of time that your receptionist is on the phone for.
- Features required – Additional features can also add to the cost of a live answering service. These could include appointment scheduling, call recording, bilingual operators or 24/7 answering.
- Industry – Specialist industries might require additional criteria from their provider, meaning they may be more expensive. For example, being HIPAA compliant for healthcare businesses.
- Service level – How complex your requirements are could impact your monthly cost too. For example, some businesses might just be looking for basic message taking, whereas others may need something more personalized and detailed.
Most answering services will provide a trial before you fully commit to the service. This is really important, as it allows you to track your call volume and gain insight into how much your monthly payments would be going forward.
How much is the cost of an answering service compared to a receptionist?
When thinking about hiring an answering service instead of a receptionist, cost is one of the most important things to consider. The beauty of using an answering service is that you only pay for the calls they take for you. On the other hand, hiring an in-house receptionist can be more expensive as there’s more associated costs that you’ll need to cover, including:
- Salary
- Recruitment
- Training
- Employee benefits e.g. healthcare
- Workspace costs e.g. IT equipment
Why is a live answering service cheaper than a receptionist?
In the long-term, there are more financial benefits when outsourcing to an answering service than hiring a permanent new team member.
Outsourcing to a live answering service means that your business can be available 24/7. As in-house receptionists often work limited hours, outsourced support means you don’t have to pay for someone to physically sit in your office and answer calls around the clock. Using an answering service instead of a receptionist also means you won’t need to seek cover during holidays, breaks, lunches or sickness, as there is always someone available to answer your calls.
Another factor is the size of your business. If you have multiple offices, then you might need to hire more than one receptionist, which could increase your costs significantly. An answering service is able to scale up or down depending on the amount of calls that your business receives and can answer incoming calls for multiple offices simultaneously.
How do you pay for a live answering service?
The cost of an answering service isn’t the same for every business. It depends on the service level you choose, the features your business requires and any customization that you need. You will also need to consider that every answering service is unique and they all bill differently, for example:
Monthly billing: This is the most common way an answering service charges you. This billing structure is great, especially for smaller businesses, as it can often be more affordable and helps you keep track of your outgoings.
Per-minute billing: Some providers charge based on call duration, which means the longer your receptionist is on the phone with your customers, the more it will cost. This can work for lots of businesses, but it’s worth remembering that if you require lots of information to be captured during the call, this will result in longer calls and a more expensive bill.
Per-call billing: This plan charges you per call, but doesn’t take into account the duration of the call itself. This plan would be suitable for businesses with predictable call volume and short call durations.
VoiceNation’s simple and transparent pricing
Here at VoiceNation, we believe in fair pricing. That’s why we offer our answering services in the form of two plans – Essential and Personalized. This allows businesses, just like you, to choose an answering plan that works for them.
Hundreds of businesses, from a range of sectors, rely on VoiceNation’s Live Answering solution to enhance their customer experience and ensure every inquiry is captured in the most cost-effective way.
With the best people and most flexible pricing in the industry, VoiceNation leads the market. Contact us today to find out more about our Live Answering service and pricing plans.