The benefits of an out of hours answering service

Customers love convenience. So, when they have a question for a business, they expect to get support as efficiently and instantly as possible at a time that suits them.

There’s a growing expectation on businesses to meet these demands by expanding their customer service operating hours from the standard 9am to 5pm to 24 hours a day. The overnight hours between 5pm and 9am are known as an “out of hours” service.

Of course, an out of hours answering service is more expensive to run than one that follows usual business hours, but the benefits in terms of customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and increased revenue opportunities can make the cost worthwhile.

Read on to learn about the business benefits you can experience by having an out of hours answering service.

Customers demand instant responses

Normally, if a customer contacts a business as they’re leaving work on a Friday evening, they will have to wait until Monday to hear a response.

But, according to data compiled by SuperOffice, 75% of customers demand fast responses from agents. They say it is the most important attribute of their experience, ranking it as more important than speaking to knowledgeable staff and even having a real person to talk to.

By providing out of hours customer service, you’ll be equipped to answer incoming calls instantly and resolve customer issues as soon as they arise, helping your business achieve greater customer satisfaction.

Never miss the chance to interact with a customer

When every call gets answered, whatever the time of day, you never miss the opportunity to convert customers and make sales.

50% of consumers say that having a live person answer questions during a purchasing decision is one of the most important features a brand can offer. Available customer service agents can distinguish between a customer completing their purchase or abandoning interest.

Increase your potential revenue

If a business is always available to speak to customers, it shows it is established and prioritises customer needs. This leads to happier customers, which leads to repeat purchases, better reviews, more recommendations, and more business growth.

The vast majority (93%) of consumers are likely to make repeat purchases with businesses that offer excellent customer service, according to 2022 HubSpot data.

Therefore, out of hours customer support can help you achieve more revenue over time.

Give yourself and your employees proper rest

Having a team of receptionists dedicated to handling out of hours customer interactions gives your team who work the day shift a chance to truly switch off from work. It removes the need for them to monitor notifications or anticipate emergencies while away from the office.

This improves team morale and productivity, as they can properly rest while not on the clock and return to work happy and motivated. This helps overall operations run smoother and more efficiently.

Reduce your ticket backlog

When you implement out of hours support, your First Response Time and Average Resolution Time will likely drop as your support team is available 24/7.

Having staff working overnight means your employees can show up to work in the morning without worrying about a massive backlog of activity that happened while they were sleeping or enjoying their weekends.

This means they have more time and energy to devote to incoming calls, handling them instantly and efficiently.

Serve international customers

Offering out of hours support means you can grow your customer base worldwide. If you’re only offering support during local business hours, Monday to Friday, then international customers in different time zones will struggle to contact your support team and are more likely to abandon your brand.

Out of hours support ensures these customers get a consistent level of care and as local customers.

Is it better to outsource an out of hours telephone answering service?

Running an out of hours telephone answering service in-house gives the business complete operational control over its customer service. However, hiring more staff means more responsibility and higher costs.

Although there’s no legal requirement, employers often need to offer higher wages to incentivise employees to take on unsociable hours and overnight shifts. And it’s not just wages. It’s also employers’ National Insurance contributions, pension contributions, sick days, holiday days, paid breaks, and other benefits like maternity and paternity leave.

Plus, if staff work from an office, that means keeping the space open and using utilities and amenities 24/7, plus more hours of pay for additional building staff, such as security and cleaning personnel.

More receptionist staff also means hiring more managers to spend time sorting out staff schedules and training new hires.

All these factors make an outsourced out of hours service like Bizik a more appealing and affordable option.

How Bizik’s out of hours service saves you money

If you’re looking for an affordable way to meet your customers’ expectations, increase your efficiency, and boost revenue, let us handle your out of hours service.

With Bizik, every call gets answered, no matter the time or how many calls you get. The service can scale with your growing business and seamlessly handle seasonal peaks and troughs.

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Plus, you’ll reduce overhead costs like office space and hiring and training staff. Bizik’s pricing means you only pay per second of incoming calls you receive, so you get the best value for money.

You can choose between an out of hours service only, or hand over your 9-5 hours too, so we can manage all your incoming calls.

Bizik PAs are highly experienced and follow any personalised instructions you lay out. You can trust them to answer in exactly the manner you wish, just as you would with an in-house receptionist.

No more voicemails to pick up, no more long-overdue tickets. Everything handled neatly by us. Get in touch to request your price and book your seven day free trial today.