You Have Business VoIP - Should You Have the Auto Attendant, Too?

When the technology for the auto attendant first came on the scene, businesses saw the opportunity to streamline some of their communications and eliminate a position, adding a little more to the bottom line. In some businesses, however, the technology was implemented before it was really ready, the customer experience wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and customers complained.

As a result, competitors who had not yet entered the auto attendant realm used this positioning as a way to stand apart from the competition. In fact, I once worked for a company where the owner made the claim that a live person would always answer their calls during the typical business day, unlike the larger competitors who had all adopted the automated technology.

But a lot has changed since that statement was made more than 10 years ago. Not all customers today want to reach a live person when they call. Sometimes they simply want the self-service menu with the option to connect with a live person only if they cannot complete what they set out to do. In environments where business VoIP is the supported technology, this works well and streamlines communications. In others, it may just be time to make a change.

Nextiva, a business VoIP solutions provider, recently posted a blog, highlighting three benefits to using auto attendants for your business. Let’s examine their list and add a few of our own in the argument in favor of the auto attendant.

Streamline communications – it’s not uncommon to reach out to a company and forget the extension you need. With the auto attendant, you simply call one number and indicate where you want to go. Hopefully, the solution is robust enough to help if you’ve forgotten.

24x7 availability – while the individuals in the departments the caller may be trying to reach won’t be in at all hours of the night and day, you can still give the caller the impression that the call matters and they can leave a message for the intended party or complete the steps on their own through the self-service channel.

Save money – it may be nice to have that person sitting at a front desk answering phones all day, but why invest in the position when it’s not necessary? Either eliminate the person or put them in a place within the company where they can contribute more value. Your auto attendant then becomes your virtual assistant.

Increase productivity – if you’re operating more than one location, you’ve had staff members take calls for individuals in another location. You’ve also had employees answer calls for the wrong department and even talk to wrong number individuals. Why not route all of that through the auto attendant instead?

Consistent professionalism – while we would love to assume that every employee delivers the same level of consistent care to customers each and every time they call, we know that sometimes people have a bad day and it can come out in phone conversations. Avoid this issue and ensure complete professionalism for each and every caller.

Today, whether you’re a business VoIP user or not, you’ve grown accustomed to technology to improve interactions. Why not leverage the auto attendant to improve communications in your business and reap the benefits?