Telephone Answering Services in Burlington: 6 Key Studies

If you’re a small business owner in Burlington, MA, you have more than just a job. You have several jobs rolled into one. You’re the head of production, purchasing, marketing, sales, accounting, human resources, research and development, and administration. Every task ultimately lands in your lap — even smaller ones like telephone reception. That’s where a telephone answering service can make a big difference.

In the past, businesses had to hire a part-time or full-time receptionist to handle phone reception duties. The investment was too much for most small businesses. Modern telephone answering companies — like Office Evolution® Burlington — solve this dilemma. These companies offer telephone answering services, provided by live agents or a virtual receptionist, at rates that are a fraction of the cost of a part-time or full-time hire.

But is the investment worth it?

Stats for Business Owners on Telephone Answering Services

Telephone answering and virtual reception services have become more and more popular in recent years. In response, journalists and business leaders have started to pay more attention. Recent studies have examined the impact these services have on customer service, the areas where they most effectively increase profitability, and the relative value of live answering vs. virtual reception.

Below, we’ve collected six key findings on telephone answering services for businesses in Burlington, MA.

1. Small Businesses Miss Most Phone Calls. Small business owners are busy people. That makes it hard to consistently answer phone calls. A recent study found that 62% of calls received no answer or ended up going to voicemail.
2. Voicemail is a Customer Service Black Hole. You’re in a meeting. Someone calls. You don’t pick up. No big deal, it went to voicemail. Unfortunately, voicemail is a sieve for effective customer service. According to industry journal Telecompaper, callers hang up on answering machines 69% of the time.
3. Spam Calls Lead to Big Losses in Productivity. Spam calls needlessly interrupt your workflow and distract you from priority items. In the end, that means real damage for your bottom line. Estimates reported in ZDNet claim that US small businesses lose $500 million each year to spam callers.
4. Live Agents Cut Hold Times in Half. Consumers hate being put on hold. But if your business uses a virtual receptionist, you’re likely extending their wait time. When Time magazine compared wait times for virtual reception vs. live answering, they found wait times fell by 54% with live agents.
5. Automated Systems Leave Customers Unsatisfied. If you’re comparing telephone answering services in the Burlington area, a great customer service experience is important. This is an area where a virtual receptionist may fail your business. An extensive study by HuffPost in 2016 found that callers only gave virtual systems a passing grade a measly 10% of the time.
6. Customers Prefer Live Telephone Answering Services. In the same study by HuffPost, consumers were asked whether they preferred virtual reception or live answering. 3% preferred virtual reception. 7% were undecided. And a whopping 90% said they preferred live answering.

Live Telephone Reception in Burlington, MA

Small businesses in the Boston MetroWest area have the perfect option for telephone answering services, thanks to Office Evolution Burlington. Our remote receptionist services improve customer service, minimize disruptions, and add two hours to the average client’s workweek. We offer a range of answering plans, serving businesses in Burlington and nearby communities like Lexington, Bedford, Woburn, Winchester, Billerica, and Wilmington.

Call 781-222-8075 today to learn more about telephone answering services at Office Evolution Burlington.