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Choosing the best answering service for your business can completely transform how you handle customer calls and streamline your daily operations. The right service not only makes your business look professional but also keeps customers happy and frees up precious hours for you to focus on what you do best.
In this guide, we'll dive into how to choose the best answering service for your business needs.
An answering service handles your incoming calls when you can't. Think of them as your virtual front desk—they answer calls, take messages, and provide basic information using scripts customized for your business. They can also assist in simplifying meeting scheduling by efficiently managing appointments and calendars.
They typically answer calls with your company's greeting, record messages accurately, and send them to the right people, ensuring you improve accuracy and compliance. They share essential information about what you offer, book appointments and manage your schedule, and keep your phone lines open 24/7 so you never miss a call.
These services work wonders for medical practices needing someone to talk to patients after hours, legal firms handling client calls outside office time, service businesses that need to respond to emergencies, small businesses wanting to sound professional without hiring a receptionist, and e-commerce companies supporting customers with online orders.
Never Miss a Call
When every call gets answered promptly, your customers stay happy, and you capture every potential lead. Businesses capturing after-hours calls see a great increase in conversion rates.
Saves Time & Money
Not only does an answering service reduce costs compared to hiring full-time receptionists or investing in expensive phone systems, but it also helps to improve business efficiency by streamlining your communications. You can allocate those savings toward growing other parts of your business.
Scales with You
Whether your call volume doubles during holidays or grows steadily year-round, answering services adapt without the headaches of hiring and training new staff, helping to enhance customer service and efficiency. Additionally, they help you improve operational processes by scaling resources as needed.
Improves Professionalism
First impressions matter. A professional voice answering your calls builds instant credibility. Trained agents who know how to talk to customers create trust in your brand from the first "hello."
Enhances Customer Experience
Professional answering services ensure every caller receives prompt, courteous attention, improving customer service. This consistent experience reduces frustration, increases satisfaction, and boosts customer retention rates. By utilizing customer profiling, you can further enhance customer personalization. Businesses using professional answering services see a great improvement in customer satisfaction scores compared to self-managed phone systems.
Provides Valuable Business Intelligence
Most modern answering services offer detailed call analytics and reporting features, enhancing business processes. These insights help you identify peak calling periods, common customer questions, and potential service gaps.
By leveraging these insights, businesses can improve efficiency and customer satisfaction by making informed, data-driven decisions to enhance operations and marketing strategies.
Track call volume patterns and timing to identify when support is most needed. Create caller personas to understand who's calling and why. Document current processes to identify bottlenecks. Consider seasonality and plan for flexibility.
Conduct a customer journey mapping exercise to identify critical touchpoints where phone support makes the biggest impact. This can help you improve the customer journey by ensuring support is available where it's needed most.
Calculate the lifetime value of customers acquired through phone inquiries to establish a clear ROI framework. Analyze competitors' response systems to identify service gaps you could fill to gain a competitive advantage in your market.
Live answering services offer personalized experiences but cost more. Virtual receptionists provide expanded capabilities like calendar management. Automated systems with conversational AI handle routine matters efficiently. Industry-specialized services employ agents familiar with sector-specific terminology and compliance requirements.
Consider hybrid solutions that combine AI-powered initial screening with human escalation for complex issues, offering cost efficiency with personalization. Explore emergency dispatch capabilities if your business requires rapid response protocols for urgent situations. Evaluate bilingual or multilingual service providers if your customer base spans different language demographics, as this can significantly expand your market reach.
Look for customized call routing, multiple communication channels for message delivery, and integration capabilities with your existing systems. For example, services that integrate with scheduling tools can help you optimize scheduling efficiency. Assess script development services, multilingual support options, and call recording features.
Prioritize providers offering omnichannel support that extends beyond phone calls to include text, chat, and social media messaging integration. Investigate custom reporting capabilities that align with your specific KPIs and business objectives. Seek services with dedicated account managers who understand your industry and can proactively suggest optimization strategies as your business evolves.
Compare per-minute ($0.75-$1.50), per-call ($1.25-$2.50), or monthly package ($250-$1,000+) models. Watch for billing increments and additional fees. Create a comprehensive price comparison, including setup fees and integration costs.
Request detailed usage reports during trial periods to accurately forecast your actual costs before committing long-term. Negotiate volume discounts or sliding scale pricing for growing businesses anticipating increased call volumes. Calculate the hidden cost of missed calls (estimated at $1,000+ per missed opportunity in many industries) to evaluate the true return on your answering service investment properly.
Evaluate agent training programs and quality assurance processes. Test responsiveness during peak periods. Check redundancy systems for business continuity. Review performance guarantees in service level agreements, looking for answer times and uptime commitments of 99.9% or better.
Request information about agent turnover rates, as lower turnover typically correlates with better service consistency and institutional knowledge retention. Investigate their process for updating scripts and protocols when your business offerings change to ensure seamless customer experiences. Review their quality monitoring system, including call scoring methodologies and how often calls are evaluated for compliance with your brand standards.
Verify appropriate compliance credentials for your industry (HIPAA, PCI DSS). Check data security protocols, including encryption standards for secure communication. Review breach notification procedures and liability protection. Assess physical security at call centers and the frequency of compliance training for agents.
Inquire about regular penetration testing and security audits conducted by independent third parties to ensure robust data protection. Examine how customer information is stored, transmitted, and ultimately destroyed in compliance with applicable privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Request detailed documentation on business continuity and disaster recovery plans, including geographic redundancy of call centers to prevent service disruptions during regional emergencies.
Create a scoring rubric for trial periods covering answer time, agent knowledge, and message accuracy. Conduct "mystery caller" tests across different scenarios and times. Solicit actual customer feedback during trials. Track key performance indicators before and during implementation.
Develop specialized test scripts that mirror your most challenging call scenarios to evaluate how agents handle difficult situations or technical questions. Test call escalation procedures to ensure urgent matters reach decision-makers quickly and appropriately. Analyze call recordings for tone, empathy, and alignment with your company culture to ensure the service authentically represents your brand voice.
Request references from similar businesses with specific questions about implementation and support. Check verified reviews on third-party platforms. Ask direct questions about service limitations. Review Better Business Bureau ratings and seek unfiltered opinions from your professional network.
Join industry forums or social media groups where business owners discuss service providers candidly without the filtering that happens on testimonial pages. Inquire specifically about how providers handled service failures or challenging situations, as this reveals more about their true capabilities than success stories alone. Request video conference calls with current clients of similar size and industry to get detailed, honest feedback about their ongoing experience.
Create a weighted decision matrix based on your priorities. Consider both immediate needs and future growth. Calculate the total cost of ownership beyond monthly fees. Plan implementation timeline realistically.
Develop a comprehensive onboarding checklist that includes knowledge transfer, script approval processes, and performance milestone verification. Create a contingency exit strategy before signing contracts, including procedures for retrieving your data and transitioning to another provider if necessary.
Establish a quarterly review schedule with your chosen provider to evaluate performance metrics and continuously refine service delivery to match your evolving business needs.
Choosing the best answering service for your business is like selecting a trusted partner—they'll represent you to customers daily and affect how smoothly your operations run. By carefully evaluating what you need, understanding your options, and checking service quality, you'll find an answering service that works now and supports your growth.
For businesses seeking both technological savvy and a personal touch, GoodCall offers customizable answering services that fit various business types. Their platform integrates with popular CRM systems and provides detailed analytics to enhance your customer communication.
The ideal answering service feels like part of your team—they speak your language, share your values, and ensure every customer interaction counts. Take your time finding the right match for a partnership that truly enhances your customer experience.
Looking to choose the best answering service for your business needs?
Visit GoodCall today to explore how their professional answering solutions can help your business never miss an important call again.
What is the best answering service?
The best answering service depends on your business size and needs. Popular, highly-rated options include Ruby, Goodcall, AnswerConnect, and Smith.ai for their reliability, 24/7 support, and live agent availability.
Why is an answering service more efficient than an answering machine?
An answering service is more efficient than an answering machine because it offers live interaction, ensuring urgent calls are addressed instantly, appointments are scheduled in real time, and messages don’t get ignored.
What is a professional answering service?
A professional answering service uses trained agents to handle calls for businesses, often providing services like message taking, call routing, appointment booking, and customer support—all under your brand tone.
What is the difference between a call center and an answering service?
The difference between a call center and an answering service is that a call center handles high volumes of both inbound and outbound calls for various functions (sales, support, tech help), while an answering service focuses mainly on receiving calls, taking messages, and basic support for smaller-scale operations.
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