Attend to your Auto-Attendant

Posted by: Guest Author

All About Auto-Attendants

Our small business clients often come to us having previously used landlines for phone service. Typically, they have a main number that they publicize and then roll-over (hunt-group) lines for times when multiple calls come in simultaneously. Calls are answered live, and if all lines are busy, or a call comes in after hours, a voicemail box kicks in with a short message and the call goes to the (group) voicemail.

There are even cases when I call a number for a small business, all lines are busy and it doesn't even go to voicemail - I just get a busy signal before disconnecting. Not a great first experience for a potential client, if they can't talk to anyone or even leave a voicemail.

When clients transition to Aptela, it is not uncommon for them to get their phones and voicemail set-up and then to continue to use Aptela's solution in a similar manner. It always surprises me to a degree when clients sign up for the service, which includes 70-plus features, and then don't take advantage of the system's powerful, business-enhancing, capabilities.

It should be noted upfront that your callers will never get a busy signal with Aptela's attendant. If you use the attendant to greet callers, every caller to your main number will be greeted and offered all the menu options, and then be routed according to the options they choose, regardless of how many people call-in simultaneously to that number. If you answer live during business hours, all calls will route in, and if you can't get to them all, will either route to voicemail, or to some other user or group, or back to the attendant, according to your preferences. We don't give callers busy-tones.

Real Customers - Real Auto Attendants

In my mind, Aptela's auto-attendant should be considered part of a company's marketing program. Often the first contact your prospects have with you is when they call in to speak to someone at your company. Our attendant can offer a customized greeting, [which can be different for different times of day (on-hours and off-hours greetings), different days of the week, and days of the year] and then offer dial-by-name directory options, information message options (audio blocks), options for groups/departments (like sales, support, billing), and even fax-back options (to receive a fax of our menu/price-sheet/newsletter/whitepaper, press #__).

Like a website, this means the client can now learn about your business when you are unavailable, hearing (or getting faxed) information they need (if you are open or if they have reached you after-hours, and more). The possibilities for making a super-professional first impression on your callers is one that businesses should take advantage of, even if only for after-hours and times when all hands are on calls. And we all know: You only get one chance to make a great first impression.

Many customers tell me that they pride themselves on answering all calls live, with a real person picking up. Our auto-attendant can be set to ring live to a receptionist, or group, during business hours, and if no one answers, roll-over to another person or group, or even back to the auto-attendant if no one picks up. Some companies use their own staff during business hours and answering services after hours. We can alternate how inbound calls route through our time-of-day controls. No longer will businesses need to manually forward, or toggle over the auto-attendant, before they leave the office (OR FORGET TO, and then have to come back to work or call in using Remote Call Forwarding, when they finally realize they forgot to reset the system).

Aptela created the Auto Attendant with a wide range of business models and personal preferences in mind. Individual users and groups can have custom hold music/messages, custom transfer messages, and more. There are many other options to allow each company, and each extension under it, to customize every aspect to exact preferences. For example:

• Some of my restaurant customers have found it extremely helpful to not have to constantly pick up calls (especially during rush periods) just to tell people their address and give directions, how late they stay open, how to find their menu online, or to fax a menu over. Efficiency is dramatically increased when they can keep people on the floor during rushes, rather than faxing menus and giving directions constantly.
• We have hundreds of insurance agencies that require an after-hours menu. These agents use the after-hours menu for an ‘After-Hours Emergencies' option that routes calls directly to their 24-hour response groups at their headquarters call-centers when the office is closed.
• Many medical offices offer after-hours emergency messages and options, and most also like being able to customize the on- and off-hours options based on the doctor's varying office hours. It is not uncommon to see doctors with different hours for each day of the week. Once the system is pre-programmed it does all the work.
• Realtors often like using submenus to route calls to audio blocks that can give details on a specific available property.

Frequently we hear from SOHO Businesses that they want to sound "bigger" or "well established" to callers. Most companies want that polished attendant sound, to reassure prospects that they are doing business with a professional company (without having to buy/replace expensive equipment). Clients with multiple businesses often just add an extra attendant to offer a whole different greeting and new set of menu options, which then route to the same phones that are already in use for their primary business. The possibilities are endless.

Letting Aptela's Auto Attendant Work for You

And the Aptela system is always being improved by our developers, with new features and upgrades. Any in-suite PBX system would just get older and out-of-date over time unless you paid for modules to be added, with replacement looming eventually. Users outside the office would need sophisticated VPN programming to get on the office system, which is often beyond the scope of small business owners. Aptela's cloud-based system is always getting better without needing replacement, and is scalable up and down at any time, to handle anything from one to hundreds of users, regardless of location.

One caution: I call into businesses every day that contact Aptela by filling out a form online, requesting a call from an Aptela rep. When I call their main number I often find myself trapped in what I call an "auto-attendant maze", often with no exit. I don't have the person's extension, or the person did not give a last name (and the dial-by-name directory only uses last names), and none of the menu options offer the person's name that I am looking for, or an option to speak to an receptionist (or the receptionist doesn't answer and I go into their voicemail), etc. We've all been there, unable to get to the person we want or even get to their voicemail. It can be a nightmare for customers who really need to speak to you.

When our clients sign up for service, we assign a dedicated set-up rep to each new account. We encourage new customers to take the time with their set-up rep to customize their auto-attendants and to call into them, like a customer or prospect, and try all the options. This helps them make sure that their customers will be impressed by the logical way everything is set-up, and to ensure that there are no frustrating or confusing options/omissions.

Summary: Aptela's service is customizable, built for a wide range of business types, and is capable of enhancing your businesses sales and marketing efforts by providing audible and faxable information, while making a great impression on callers into your business. Everything can be modified at anytime, by you, online through our web portal. Upload your own hold music files, record messages with your phone, or use Text-to-Speech options. We even offer professional voice services if you are interested. Spending a little time on your auto-attendant up-front can return dividends for your company for a very long time.