Managing everyday affairs of a small business is no easy feat. You probably have limited staff and are yourself juggling many roles at once. No matter how constrained your resources, you cannot afford to ignore offering assistance and support to your customers. The phone must be answered every time it rings, because each missed call leads to lost revenue. Scaling your customer care team is resource-heavy and time-consuming, and you have to incur ongoing expenses. There are two alternatives – outsourcing the work and using an AI receptionist from providers like Signpost. Which one should you choose? Here is an overview.
The Problem: Handling Calls with Limited Resources
Small businesses work with smaller teams, and the staff is constantly juggling between catering to customers and dealing with daily operations. Despite all the good work, calls often go to voicemail, especially during weekends and beyond standard business hours. If the caller is a prospective lead, they wouldn’t wait. Instead, they will call the next available competitor. Imagine how many leads you are missing each month. As we mentioned earlier, scaling your team isn’t always practical. Besides the upfront costs, you also need to manage, monitor, and train them to address customer issues.
Option 1: Outsourcing Call Handling
We all know about call centers and virtual assistants who offer call handling services for businesses. The services ensure human interaction, which means callers are more likely to get an empathetic response. If the service provider is well-staffed, it can also handle an increase in call volume and may even work around the clock.
However, there’s a lot on the flip side. While outsourcing may seem cheaper, it is still an expensive choice for small businesses. If you choose an offshore provider, there could be potential language barriers. Also, you never have clarity on how the outsourced team is working. Yes, you can listen to a few calls, but there is much less control over the process.
Option 2: Automating with an AI Voice Receptionist
Let’s now discuss the other option – An AI voice receptionist. Powered by natural language processing, AI voice receptionists automatically take calls through your business line and offer assistance to callers. These agents can be trained on scripts and can handle everything from routine FAQS to information requests.
There are several direct advantages. Firstly, AI voice receptionists can work 24/7, and your business will never miss a single call. With that, you have complete access and control over the data, and the information can help with training and quality control. Another advantage is cost-effectiveness. AI voice agents cost as low as $75 per month, which is much less than what you would pay for an outsourced service. If the call volume spikes suddenly, you only pay for the extra time.
Talking of the possible issues, AI may not be able to handle every complex issue, which means your human staff will still matter. However, that also means you can ensure customers get accurate support when they need it the most. While some people may consider the initial setup to be a problem, many service providers make the process seamless, and you can start taking calls in less than 10 minutes.
Takeaways
Outsourcing customer support is probably a better choice for bigger companies that want to ensure a human touch and don’t mind paying a tad more. Small businesses, on the other hand, may benefit more from an AI voice receptionist that can take care of routine calls while their internal staff continue to tackle tough issues and complexities. If you intend to get AI for better customer service, ensure that you check the features, setup, and pricing in detail.
