Hiring a virtual receptionist guarantees you’ll never miss an incoming call to your business (and a potential sale).

It also means all callers will be dealt with professionally and efficiently to give them the excellent customer service you want and that customers expect.

But while a virtual receptionist is an excellent investment, what about businesses in a particular niche or those whose customers will have specific enquiries?

Or what about businesses dealing with particularly sensitive customer information?

Does a virtual receptionist still work for these businesses?

In short, yes.

But it could be worth looking to invest in a virtual receptionist with specific industry experience.

This blog looks at the benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist with industry experience.

1 – They’ll understand the types of calls you deal with

While many businesses handle similar customer calls, some companies deal with calls specific to them or their industry.

For example, law firms, medical professionals, real estate or letting agents will all have enquiries specific to their sector or expertise.

For a ‘general’ virtual receptionist, a particular enquiry may catch them off guard, or they may not be 100% sure how to deal with it.

A virtual receptionist with experience handling calls in a specific industry will be more aware of the calls and issues they’ll be handling for you and better equipped to manage them.

2 – They’ll understand industry jargon

Every industry has particular jargon or shorthand that people use, but someone outside the industry won’t necessarily understand that.

And chances are when someone calls your business; they’ll use that jargon or shorthand with your virtual receptionist.

Suppose your receptionist doesn’t understand what the caller is talking about.

In that case, it could give off a negative impression of your business that your customer-facing staff don’t know what they’re talking about.

Which doesn’t instil confidence in your customers.

3 – They’ll understand the needs of customers

In some industries, confidence and discretion are highly important and something your customers will demand when contacting you.

Experienced virtual receptionists who have worked in a specific industry will automatically understand the particular needs of dealing with certain information and know the procedures and expectations they’ll need to meet.

While all virtual receptionists can be told about the need for discretion and privacy with some information, it’s much easier to hire someone who already understands this and has been adhering to the responsibility for a long time.

4 – They’ll understand the industry you’re in

Industry knowledge is precious for your virtual receptionist, particularly if you’re trusting them to deal with some basic customer enquiries.

Armed with an understanding of the types of issues they’ll face and the best way to handle them, a virtual receptionist who understands your industry is in a better position to take your calls than someone who’s potentially facing these types of enquiries for the first time.

5 – They’ll need less training and supervision

There are two stages to training your virtual receptionist.

The first is training them to answer calls and deal with enquiries in line with your expectations as a business.

This involves tasks like who to direct specific calls to or what enquiries they should be able to handle.

The second is understanding and being ready for the specific enquiries they’ll be expected to handle.

This second stage is something that only comes with experience.

Only by working in your industry and dealing with the specific enquiries you get will your virtual receptionist feel more confident.

Hiring a virtual receptionist with that industry experience will save you time with training.

6 – They’ll ensure your business appears professional

As a business owner, you want to know that your business is being represented in the most professional way and that customers have confidence in your customer service when they call.

By hiring a virtual receptionist with experience answering calls in your industry, you can be more confident they’ll be able to deliver a better customer experience and help callers regardless of the enquiry they deal with.

With an existing understanding of the common issues they’ll deal with in your industry, there’ll be less chance of them being caught out by an unexpected enquiry.

Hire experienced virtual receptionists with Face For Business

At Face For Business, we provide virtual receptionists with experience across various industries.

From law and real estate to medical, retail and construction, our industry-experienced receptionists can help you deliver expert customer service and provide a professional front-of-house service for your business that you can be proud of.

If you want to know more about our virtual receptionist service and if we can provide them with experience in your industry, get in touch.

Alternatively, you can arrange a free 7-day trial of our virtual receptionist service to see the benefits first hand before committing to any long-term investments.

Arrange your free trial now