May 1, 2025
An online store may not seem like it needs the help of a virtual receptionist, but it does. There are many reasons why a virtual receptionist can help with the needs of an online store. Here’s a look at just a few of the reasons:
Efficiency
Since most online stores need somebody to answer the phone and most customers expect support, a virtual receptionist can fill this gap. The level of demand may change, which means you won’t have to pay for the downtime of a full-time traditional receptionist.
Management of Online Orders
A virtual receptionist can do more than just answer the phone. They can also be given access to your system to help manage online orders for those calling.
Saves Money
If you can run your online store from your home, you won’t have anywhere to put a traditional receptionist. Getting an office space and paying a full-time employee or multiple employees can be very costly. However, a virtual receptionist can save you from spending money on an office, desk, phone and other expenses.
You will also only need to pay for the time you use with a virtual receptionist. An in-house receptionist could be on a bathroom break or doing something else and you still have to pay them.
Call Routing
A virtual receptionist has the ability to screen and route calls to the right place within your company. Whether you need the call to go directly to you or to another department, this person can make the task of call routing much easier.
Personal Touch
Nobody likes to call a customer service number and choose from a menu. Instead, you can have the virtual receptionist be the first point of contact to add the personal touch.
Saves You Time
If you’re a smaller business without many employees, you may get stuck answering the phones and being interrupted from other business tasks daily. This can become a hard issue to deal with and can cause long work hours and unnecessary stress.
Instead, you can use a virtual receptionist to handle your incoming calls. They can still forward the most important calls to you, but many of the calls received can be handled without interrupting you.
Professional Touch
With a virtual receptionist, you get a consistent, personal and professional greeting. When somebody calls, they will hear a professional greeting instead of a menu of options or somebody annoyed because of the interruption to their busy schedule. This can go a long way to building a customer base of lifetime buyers.
Experience
Virtual receptionists are trained and highly experienced individuals. They know how to answer the phone in the right way and how to represent your company in the best possible way. You may not get this on a consistent basis with in-house receptionists.
If you run an online store and you’re looking for a cost-cutting, time-saving tool, a virtual receptionist service may be the answer for you. With the right choice, your customers will gain the service they need and you will gain a much better reputation.
