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Monthly Subscription Makes Virtual Receptionist More Affordable
Last year, we mentioned a virtual receptionist service that can help save businesses money. By replacing the front-desk greeter with the ALICE (A Live Interactive Customer Experience) virtual receptionist, businesses can save on annual salaries and benefits for a live person without sacrificing customer service.
But the large up-front cost of ALICE made it daunting for small businesses. Sure, those businesses are saving on $20,000-plus annual salaries and monthly health insurance premiums, but many small businesses can’t afford to replace that with the large purchase of software and hardware. Recognizing that, ALICE’s founders, WinTech, have released a SaaS version of its service that will cost businesses only $299 per month. When combined with a monthly salary in the range of $2,000, that can provide significant savings.
“Small businesses often choose to leave their office lobbies unattended to avoid incurring the cost of a full-time receptionist to greet customers and visitors to their building,” said WinTech Chief Technology Officer Mike Yoder. “While small businesses can save $20,000 to $30,000 a year by doing this, they can lose credibility and the ability to leave a positive first impression when customers or visitors come into their place of business.”
Though the SaaS model, businesses can have access to the full suite of ALICE features, according to Yoder. This includes all hardware, software, and licenses, opening up ALICE to offices of all sizes. SMBs will be able to set up each employee on the directory, with the ability to set up multiple locations to use ALICE’s services.
When visitors enter an office with ALICE, they are greeted via video chat by a receptionist of your choice, who can also see the person being greeted. Your receptionist stays at his or her desk, greeting people standing in your lobby or even in the lobbies of locations in another city or state. Calls can even be forwarded to a person’s home or smartphone, allowing home-based workers to greet visitors to your location. This is especially beneficial to extremely small businesses, where the owner would like to be able to greet guests while on the road.
Receptionists aren’t the only ones who can greet customers in the lobby. Your visitors can call up the specific employee they’re visiting, with calls forwarded to those employees wherever they are. If you’re running late for a meeting, you can speak directly to your visitor and ask him or her to wait for your arrival. ALICE can also provide customized video messages for visitors after hours.
“By offering a SaaS model, businesses receive a complete Alice system including hardware, software and licenses at an affordable monthly subscription price,” Yoder says. “Now even the smallest of offices have access to the full benefits of the ALICE technology.”
To learn more about ALICE or obtain a quote specific to your business’s needs, visit the company’s website.
The post Monthly Subscription Makes Virtual Receptionist More Affordable appeared first on Small Business Technology.
Ramon Ray, Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com
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Source: http://www.smallbiztechnology.com/archive/2013/05/tni-monthly-subscription-makes-virtual-receptionist-more-affordable.html/
