What Industry Has the Greatest Need for Virtual Assistants?

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A traditional assistant is usually reserved for large corporations who don’t mind paying the overhead expense for the added benefits that help improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Many teams have realized that it isn’t possible to have a designated person in the office handling calls, but are still interested in the advantages having an assistant can bring. That is why many have turned to virtual assistants.

A virtual assistant can refer to both a live assistant who works remotely, and to a virtual assistant powered by AI technology. We are going to focus on the second type of virtual assistant, as these assistants are the most accessible for most businesses. These virtual assistants are often referred to as auto-attendants. They can even be included in the phone system you already have, by taking advantage of smart features that can greet callers, learn their reason for calling, and intelligently route them to the best team member.

If you aren’t sure which is best for you, here’s a quick guide to help you compare auto-attendants to live virtual assistants.

Auto Attendants:

• Great for small businesses who don’t want to expand their team size
• Consistent and efficient call handling no matter who is calling, or when they are calling
• Hands off approach, with no training needed
• Low commitment, and can be included with intelligent business phone systems

Live Virtual Assistant:

• A good middle ground, where you can add a team member without needing to support them in a physical office
• Will provide their own personality when interacting with clients and customers
• Typically a high commitment level when hiring, with training required

What can an auto-attendant actually do?

An auto-attendant is able to do all the same work of a live virtual assistant, but through smart technology. We can use our own system as an example.

If you use Yodel as your auto-attendant, Yodel will….

1. Automatically greet callers with a customized message
2. Discover the purpose behind callers, which will be conveyed to your team as a live transcription or listened to live
3. Screen callers to help you avoid spam or unnecessary calls
4. Route callers to the appropriate team members automatically through IVR technology
5. Provide customizable messages or music while your callers are on hold
6. Create office hours that will let your callers know when your team is available, and route them to voicemail if they are calling outside of those hours

With a system like Yodel, you can figure out exactly what features of an auto-attendant will work best for your team. That way you can

What industries and businesses have the greatest need for an auto-attendant?

1. Soloprenuers

   While this category may not be seen as a traditional industry, solopreneurs can see huge returns by implementing an auto-attendant system. This will help reduce lost opportunities from missed calls, and wasted time from taking calls that aren’t highly relevant.

2. Real Estate

   The real estate industry relies on individual realtors who take care of so many aspects of sales. Realtors also have their phone numbers and contact information posted everywhere, which can lead to a high number of irrelevant calls. Having an auto-attendant can help filter out some nuisance and spam calls, leaving more time for the callers who matter.

3. Law Practices

   Missing a call from an existing or potential client can be a huge financial loss for an attorney. When a potential client is looking for representation, they are often working their way through a list to see who is the most responsive. An auto-attendant can help make sure your phone lines are open for these callers, and give you time to pick up before they move on to the next attorney on the list.

4. Contractors and construction businesses

   Similar to law practices, many times new clients are working their way through a list of options to find an available contractor. Having an auto-attendant will help your construction business provide an effective phone line for your callers. If you are a solo contractor, it can also be a great way to improve your call handling capabilities.

5. Charities and nonprofit organizations

   Oftentimes, charities and nonprofit organizations will find themselves struggling to balance increasing their manpower with tight budgets. An auto-attendant can help your charity or nonprofit come out on top, by providing the benefits of an assistant without the budget implications.

In the end…

There are even more industries and businesses that could benefit from having an auto-attendant on their team. If you are looking for an effective phone system that comes with an auto-attendant, then get started with Yodel today. Our free trial comes with the opportunity to sign up for a live demo call, so you can learn from us the best way to improve your phone system with Yodel.