Answering Service Price: What You Need to Know
Knowing the answering service price you can afford is important. But does it line up with the average price? For current price points, see our price chart here.
Do you answer calls from unknown numbers? If not, don’t feel bad. You’re in the majority, as a little under 90 percent of people don’t answer them.
If you’re a business owner, though, that also means rolling the dice that you aren’t ignoring a potential client. It’s a tough choice because people routinely miss business calls.
It gets even trickier if you offer off-hours services, such as plumbing, or health-critical services. Some businesses turn to an answering service to help them manage their calls. Of course, there is always the issue of the answering service price.
If you’re not sure about outsourcing to an answering service, keep reading for a quick overview of answering services, their benefits, and their average cost.
What Is an Answering Service?
Unlike some digital marketing services, answering services provide the exact service the name implies. They field your phone calls for you.
Of course, different services focus on different things. Some services provide strictly after-hour answering.
A lot of doctors who treat patients with serious conditions will use medical answering services. These services will often provide referrals or even contact first responders in an emergency.
Other services offer more comprehensive options, such as phone screening. This can prove invaluable to often time-starved entrepreneurs.
Answering Service Benefits
The exact benefits you’ll get from an answering service will vary depending on your service options. As a general rule, though, there are some common benefits.
You don’t miss out on opportunities because you take or respond to your actual business calls. You save time because you or your employees are not fielding those calls. That creates a more productive work environment because there are fewer distractions.
You also typically see an uptick in the perceived quality of your customer service. Unanswered calls make customers or would-be customers assume that customer service isn’t a priority for your business.
Answering Service Price
The average answering service cost works out to around $1 per minute of actual phone time. A lot of factors can alter this price, though.
If you work in a metropolitan area, expect higher prices. If you opt-in for more extensive services, you can also expect higher costs on average.
For example, an after-hours answering service might only answer half a dozen calls per day, so your costs will remain low. A full-time service that offers daytime call screening will cost you substantially more because they’ll answer a much higher volume of calls.
Deciding on an Answering Service
The answering service price is only one consideration when deciding if you should get a service. You must also consider how many business calls you are missing each day. If it’s more than a few in any given month, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.
You must also consider whether your clients will need after-hours assistance. You likely need the service if some customers will call for after-hours or emergency help.
FindAnsweringService.com specializes in connecting businesses with the right answering service. If you’re thinking about an answering service, get a quote today.
Leave a Reply