What to Consider When Creating a Virtual Receptionist Script

A virtual receptionist can play an important role in providing great customer service, all without having an additional employee on site to answer the phone. However, the virtual receptionist needs to know about your business and what the expectations are for every single phone call.
This is why you need to create a script for what the virtual receptionist will say to ensure your calls are taken effectively. Here are a few tips for creating a successful script for them to reference.
Customer Base

You want a virtual receptionist to understand who your customers are since every business has a different customer base in terms of needs, preferences, and demographics. Write information about the kind of customers that will be calling your business so that the receptionist can talk to them in an appropriate manner. 
For example, a law firm may want to use a very formal tone when talking with customers regarding their legal needs. Meanwhile, an emergency plumber service may want the receptionist to take on a more caring tone to show empathy for the customer calling with a problem.
Call Scenarios

Each business is different when it comes to how they assist customers over the phone. You will want to provide some example call scenarios so that the virtual receptionist can better understand what the customers' expectations are.
Customers may want to make an appointment, place an order, or speak with someone about what the business hours are. The virtual receptionist will need to know the plan of action for each scenario. It could be as simple as taking a message for someone to call them back, redirecting them to your website, or providing basic information to frequently asked questions. 
Conversational Tone

You should provide guidance for what a virtual receptionist will say in basic scenarios. This includes how the virtual receptionist will greet the customer at the beginning of the call, say goodbye, and ask for contact information.  It is important to provide a script with a conversational tone that does not sound as if the virtual receptionist is reading from a script. Write prompts for what you would want to hear if you were calling your business as a customer. Consider short sentences that get right to the point with an active voice.
Positive language can also help your customers have a good experience interacting with your business by encouraging a positive outcome, whether they are calling with a simple question or a complaint. 
Customer Needs

Anticipating customer needs is crucial when using a virtual receptionist since you are the one that knows your business better than anyone else. It can help to provide an FAQ so that a virtual receptionist can answer those questions that customers call about most often. 
Consider providing troubleshooting tips that frequently come up with a product that you sell. You can provide a list of resources for a customer to access to help address a problem on their own. Also, provide your virtual receptionist with an FAQ to provide customers with immediate answers to their questions, which provides better overall customer service.
Message Forwarding

You want to provide a way for the virtual receptionist to forward a message to you when they have a specific need you need to address personally. The best way to do this is to list the information that you want the virtual receptionist to gather when taking a message.
While it is always a good idea to record their name, phone number, and the reason that they are calling, there will be questions that are specific to your business. 
For example, if the customer has a specific product that they need assistance with, it will help to know what that product is. There may be a specific service that the customer is inquiring about, and knowing the service can direct the call to the right department. 
Here at AnSer, we offer 24/7 virtual receptionist answering services tailored to the needs of your business. Contact  AnSer  for more information about our comprehensive virtual receptionist services.