Will My Business Need An After Hours Answering Service?

If you’ve found having to stay up late to answer work calls tiring, you're not alone. You've also likely heard of the solution: an after hours answering service.

An after hours answering service is what it sounds like. You outsource the answering of your phones to an answering service. They take the calls when you’re closed and report back to you about what it is you missed when you come into the office first thing in the morning. An after hours answering service provides so many benefits and opens up so many opportunities for your business to grow!

But, will your industry benefit from an after hours answering service? That’s what we’re going to look at today before we let you know which answering service is right for you.

So, first, let’s take a look at the industries that would directly benefit from using an after hours answering service.

1. Property Management
2. Information Technology
3. HVAC and Home Services
4. Healthcare and Medical Practices
5. Law Firms and Insurance Agencies

Now let’s look at how the property management industry benefits from an after hours answering service.

But, let’s take a closer look to see how exactly the after hours answering service can help in your industry.

Property Management

Most tenants are probably at work from nine to five, just like you. If they have an issue or emergency, it’ll likely be when they get home from work or in the middle of the night. That’s why an after-hours answering service is one of the best solutions for property management firms. Call center agents can connect tenants with your team if emergencies arise, and forward non-critical messages to you to listen to in the morning.

Information Technology

If you're in the information technology space, it is crucial to be ready for service phone calls 24/7. Meeting your customers’ service level agreement (SLA) requires having resources and infrastructure that can be costly. Using an after-hours telephone answering service can be a great solution.

They can open up tickets, dispatch emergency issues, and provide friendly customer service 24/7.

Let's face it, IT professionals may not be the best first-point-of-contact at 3 am for customers.

HVAC and Home Services

If you provide HVAC, plumbing, electrician services or other common home services, you’re likely performing your work during the day. This may be the best time for customers to call you. And if that’s the case, you won’t want to miss their call.

And, you don’t want to interrupt the flow of your work. An after-hours answering service can make sure all of your calls are answered, and ensure you are only interrupted when absolutely necessary.

Healthcare and Medical Practices

Medical emergencies don’t have schedules, and often happen after hours. But patients don’t always know what is and isn’t a true emergency. After-hours answering services with deep experience in healthcare are often the best solution for medical professionals. They know when to connect patients with medical professionals, and when patients can wait until morning.

Law Firms and Insurance Agencies

People need access to legal advice at all hours. Oftentimes, it is after hours phone calls for an attorney that makes the most money. Making sure that new clients' calls are answered and handled professionally is key.

These calls can immediately be escalated based on severity of need. Callers can be connected to an attorney or the information can be sent via text, email or directly to your CRM. The intake process can be customized around your law practice's specialty.

There is no sense to run pay-per-click advertising if no one is ready to answer your calls 24/7. Making sure that you capture new clients with a call center is smart and just good business.

Which After Hours Answering Service Is Right For My Business?

In short: an after hours answering service is likely to help your business regardless of what industry you’re in.

So, while this is a list of industries that we can attest will help your business, there are other industries out there that also benefit from an after hours answering service.

Especially if your busy season is around the corner – or if you can stand to take back more of your free time – a professional after hours answering service may be your best solution. Remember, burning out is a real problem. But it often goes unaddressed – it is too easily rationalized away as a natural product of running a business.

So, we recommend looking into what are the best answering services today. Also, you might want to look at how much answering services cost today as you prepare a budget.

We at Ambs Call Center also offer an after hours answering service! You can receive a quote from us today by clicking the link below!