A voice assistant is a person who provides assistance to business owners. A voice assistant can be an individual who provides telephone services, transcription services, or a business that offers hosted VoIP services as part of its CRM suite. The capabilities of a voice assistant are limited only by the limits of a particular business and the way that a business owner decides to use their voice assistant. Businesses that rely heavily on their voice assistant will want to ensure that they have selected the best assistant for their needs. A good voice assistant can help to enhance the productivity of a business and increase customer satisfaction.
There are many different kinds of voice assistants. Some of the most common ones are CPA (certified telephone services), salespeople, call center agents, and receptionists. Each of these types of voice assistants has specific functions that are unique to their function. While all voice assistants do the same general function of making telephone calls, there are some differences among them.
A CPA is a generalist voice assistant that provides telephone support for business offices. This type of assistant is the perfect assistant for sales representatives and other people who work in a more generalized position such as business managers, executives, and other higher level administrators. This kind of assistant can answer the phone and take messages for specified phone numbers. This type of assistant typically does not carry out any of the tasks that a receptionist or telemarketer would. However, this assistant can be very valuable if a business depends heavily on phone calls to run their business.
A CTA is a more specialized type of voice assistant. This kind of voice assistant is typically needed by a business where the customer service aspect of the business outweighs the other aspects. A CTA is often required to give direction to a recording or an online inquiry. A CTA will record the information that is being requested and then give directions such as “press one to listen to an audio file.” If a caller is unhappy with the information that they have received from the company, a voice assistant can often clarify and edit the caller’s question or answer.
There are many other types of voice assistants. These assistants are sometimes included with answering services, but they can also be independent contractors that work on their own. A common practice is for small businesses to hire voice assistants to perform their basic phone answering functions in addition to other work.
Voice assistants are no longer confined to answering services that offer voice mail. Many businesses are now contracting with outside businesses to provide live voice assistant services. With a live voice assistant service, a business can record a message for an answering service, then have the assistant call the customer at a time of their choosing. An outsourcing voice assistant may call the customer during business hours, or during random times throughout the day. Depending on the terms of the contract, the answering services can also record the voice messages for the assistant to read during client interactions.
The cost of a voice assistant is dependent upon several factors. Some voice assistants are freelance and receive a flat fee per call; others are hired on a commission basis, with some businesses paying more than others. Other answering services include a membership plan, wherein a customer chooses a number of toll free numbers and an assistant is assigned to each account. This allows customers to get one-on-one assistance from a live voice assistant. In most cases, the membership fees are less than a single call for a single customer, while businesses that use outsource voice assistants pay a flat monthly fee.
Small businesses that do not use outsource voice assistance need to determine whether they need to retain a live customer support representative or if a remote receptionist service will be sufficient. Businesses that receive a large number of calls need to make sure that they are prepared to handle any customer questions or concerns promptly. These services can be especially valuable when a business has a high turn-over rate or a busy season. Remote answering services can also be a good choice for smaller businesses that do not have enough employees to cover all of their phone calls.