On Answering Service: Should You Go Cloud Or Not?

How enterprises communicate has changed and evolved, especially since the dawn of the internet era. And the best among them have adapted to the times, knowing that failure to evolve will eventually lead to demise.

That’s why a lot of them have ditched the desk phone to choose predictive dialers such as https://www.phoneburner.com/homepage/predictive-dialer-software or go cloud with virtual numbers provided by companies like Telnum.

But that’s not where the evolution ends. The next step would be the use of this tech to free the business from handling communication so that everyone can concentrate on it becoming a formidable player in the industry. That’s made possible with a cloud-based answering service.

A quick intro on cloud-based answering service

DO you know how some businesses outsource the phone communication aspect of their operations to others? That’s basically it, only that it’s available through the cloud.

This means that whoever is providing ivr services to you isn’t using old tech that requires you to have physical equipment. Instead, it uses VoIP tech.

And as with anything that you can get virtually instead of physically, it’s usually an upgrade. You get everything that you can expect from its non-cloud-based counterpart and so much more.

Why should you get one?

It centralizes all communication

Even if you’re not handling the communication end per se, it’s still highly essential that you’re in the loop. That way, you know just where your money is going, thus increasing your confidence in your decision to outsource.

Having this kind of access – without doing any of the work – also allows you to target potential avenues for growth. Centralization makes everything so much easier to manage because everything is in one place.

It can be much more affordable

If your answering service needs to have a physical space from which they’d perform their tasks, the costs will soar through the roof. This is actually one of the reasons that before, only bigger and more established businesses can afford one.

Even if you recognize the potential of outsourcing, it wasn’t just possible for smaller businesses. But that’s not the case right now.

Thanks to the cloud, the company from which you’d outsource would have much lower overhead. And their savings pass on to you by offering the same service for much lower.

Reliability

In business terms, you’re not putting your eggs in one basket. Even if you’re just delegating the task to an outside company, you still want to keep whatever information they obtain safe and secure.

And that’s the beauty of this service. Using the cloud means the data isn’t stored in just one place. It’s stored in many places so even if disaster strikes, your information will never get lost.

Why shouldn’t you get one?

Potential issues with call quality

As the entire service relies on internet connectivity, any issues with such will definitely affect the call quality that your customers get. That would unfortunately reflect on your brand even if you have nothing to do with it.

That’s why it’s very important to ask questions before you seal the deal. Most importantly, how do they ensure that there won’t be call quality issues. Do they have a backup connection?

Don’t say yes to a company that you’re not a hundred percent confident about.

Reputation issues

Because the transaction can be done over the internet, it’s so much easier for some to make it seem they’re bigger than they actually are.

So if possible, only contract those that are registered in the same country you’re in. This way, you can take legal action should they fail to fulfill their end of the bargain.

Not sure if it’s for you? Here are a few things to think about

Flexibility

If your needs change quickly, then this might be a great solution to employ in your enterprise. Especially for startups that are just establishing their systems, a cloud-based solution would be really helpful.

Potential savings

Trying to keep costs as low as possible without affecting the level of service that you can provide customers? Or perhaps hiring additional staff is out of the question right now?

You should consider outsourcing. This allows you to allocate money to a substantially smaller investment and still get the same results as before.

Efficiency

Let’s say you’re doing everything well. But maybe things can be a little better. Efficiency is an ever-moving goal, so anything that can improve on that 99% is worth considering.

Delegating tasks lets you focus on things that truly matter, to the heart of why you established your enterprise in the first place.

And considering the impact of communication on any business no matter what you’re selling, it’s important that we estimate your capabilities in handling such endeavor, especially for client-facing communication.

An answering service is definitely the right way forward if you want to maintain your relationship with your clients without the heavy lifting. But going cloud-based will definitely bring you even more opportunities for advancement.