The Answering Service and Internet Technology

Since the dawn of the answering service, every new technology was predicted to be the death of the industry. From the answering machine, to call forwarding, to voice mail, each was predicted to bring the industry to it's knees. Yet, the impact has been quite the opposite. The same predictions of the fall of the mighty answering service industry have applied to internet technology. Yet, instead of becoming the beginning of the end of answering services it has opened a whole new world of opportunities. The internet is used in almost every facet of running an answering service.

It has changed the way that the industry communicates with it's clients, potential clients as well as the way that the service communicates amongst itself. The internet has opened a world of opportunities and expanded the variety of services that a call center can provide. The internet has also provided the answering service with a whole new revenue stream, while it has helped reduce major costs such as phone bills, long distance service and equipment costs.

The first way that the internet has changed the answering service industry is through sales. Companies are no longer relying on yellow page advertising to attract customers. Most businesses rely heavily on search engine and placement marketing to attract potential customers. Because of this, the potential customer is more technically savvy and the whole sales process changes, integrating email and interactive marketing tools to aid in the potential sale. Sites such as superpages.com have replaced the outdated yellow pages as guides, but the internet in general has opened eyes as well as potential markets for answering service companies.

The internet has also replaced the need for expensive equipment and software needed to provide upscale services, such as order taking and appointment setting. The need has been replaced by simple and inexpensive web site integration. Here the answering service can actually take orders, set appointments and provide information by being directly linked to the customers web site. Internet usage has actually increased the need for live customer service as opposed to diminishing it's usefulness.

Customer communication has changed dramatically as well. Answering service's have more options in reaching it's clients at a much reduced costs. Email messaging, text messaging and online posts are a byproduct of the answering service industry adapting and progressing with internet technology. The exciting aspect of this change is that the future of the industry is endless. As more and more people use the internet the scope and depth of the services offered will continue to change and develop, making this a most exciting time in the answering service industry.