Today, with the help of mobile technology a number of American businesses are able to go virtual with much ease. This means loads of savings on rents, bills, mortgages, maintenance costs, etc.

However, while you are saving quite a bit of bucks on these overheads, compromise on customer service is a total no-no. This means that whether virtual or not, customers would expect top-notch service from your business. And why not? After all, the customer is king. The first impression is, more often than not, the last impression, and sometimes, that all starts with a simple “hello.” This is where the importance of a virtual office phone answering service comes into play. Also known as a virtual receptionist (VR), this service is nothing but the job of a telephone operator that has been outsourced. So, while you are operating from anywhere in the world, your VR answers the phone ever so politely, making customers believe that it is your office premises they have made a call to.

What does a virtual answering service do?

Your virtual office phone answering service performs a number of tasks like answering calls, taking messages, virtual phone number forwarding, handling emergency calls, etc. Apart from this, most VR’s also have access to the Internet that would help solve your customer’s queries in real time and even answer FAQ’s should they have access to your company’s database.

But how does a VR help you reduce business costs?

A virtual office phone answering service helps reduce your business costs by saving on the salary you would normally pay a receptionist. A full-time receptionist would easily cost you anywhere between USD 10 to USD 20 for 160 hours of work, i.e. 4 weeks of work, broken down into 8 hours per day. A VR would cost you barely 12 cents to a dollar for 720 hours of work per month (Yes, a virtual office phone answering service operates 24/7!). So, no matter how big or small your business is, hiring a VR can certainly help you save some big bucks!