The old saying “your first impression is the last impression” has stuck around for years for good reason. The first impression—whether of a person, a business, a product, or a service—has an incredibly powerful influence on whether the impressions that follow will be negative or positive. The same principle goes for a customer’s first call to a business.

The first few minutes of a phone call set the stage for whether a customer has a positive or negative impression of a company, and whether they’ll actually do business with that company. From the moment potential customers contact you or your staff, they must be met with friendly, confident, and professional service in order to have a good first impression.

If the person managing your phone is too busy to answer and the customer hangs up, or your receptionist gives a caller the wrong information or sounds impatient, the first impression on a potential customer is negative. Your company now has to work twice as hard to try to earn that customer’s trust and purchasing power.

That isn’t easy, because today’s consumers know they have many choices when choosing which businesses they’ll work with, and they won’t settle for “good enough” when they can know they can find “excellence” elsewhere.

The good news is that making a good first impression with each call is easier and more affordable than you may realize. By hiring a live answering service, you’ll have a team of virtual receptionists who are trained to know your company’s priorities and protocols as clearly as if they were a staff member. Even better, the live receptionists are dedicated to managing your customers’ calls 24/7, which lets your customers know that they and their business are important to you.

By trusting a live answering service to manage your customer calls, you’ll save more time and expense than if you hired extra office staff to field calls. Plus, you’ll benefit from the answering service’s advanced technology and professionally trained staff while not being required to purchase or install any costly equipment of your own. With the advanced technology and trained staff of a call center, your business avoids missing calls and business opportunities or mishandling caller’s information. Ultimately, this level of consistent and dedicated customer service improves your customer acquisition and retention rates, not to mention your reputation.

A live answering service that works to safeguard your reputation by providing your customers the highest level of care and compassion will ensure that each impression you make will be one that says “excellence.”

Voice Link of Columbus, Inc. offers nearly 30 years of experience in professional live answering services for all industries and for businesses of all sizes. Our expert staff and state-of-the-art technology will exceed your expectations. Request information online or call us at (800) 262-2799 for a free consultation.

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