The Ultimate Guide: Virtual Assistants Vs Virtual Receptionists

You’re in the right place if you’ve ever been confused about the key differences between a virtual receptionist and a virtual assistant. After reading this guide compiled by virtual receptionist nyc experts, you’ll be able to choose which one is right for your business by understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and overlap.

What’s the difference between a virtual receptionist and a virtual assistant?

The main difference between virtual assistants and receptionists is the type of support they provide and who they provide it to.

virtual receptionist will speak with your customers over the phone and through live chat, while a virtual assistant will provide more direct support to you and your colleagues.

A virtual receptionist is usually the first point of contact for a caller, who will reach out to your company. In contrast, virtual assistants seldom interact with customers.

What tasks do virtual assistants and virtual receptionists do?

Virtual receptionists typically:

  • Answer calls on behalf of your business
  • Answer live chat messages from website visitors
  • Assist leads in placing orders and booking appointments with your sales team

Virtual assistants play a key role in managing internal processes, and they typically handle tasks such as:

  • Booking appointments for team members
  • Making outbound phone calls
  • Booking travel arrangements
  • Managing email accounts.

Where do they work?

Although both virtual assistants and virtual receptionists can technically work from anywhere, they typically either work from home or in a office/co-working space. The latter is more common for virtual receptionists since they need access to secure infrastructure and privacy that public areas with WIFI often lack.

What hours do virtual assistants and virtual receptionists typically work?

Although virtual assistants typically don’t work the exact same hours as your employees, their hours usually only vary slightly. They also tend to stay within the same time zone so that they are available during regular business hours. This allows them to provide assistance to your team as needed throughout the day.

Virtual receptionists, on the other hand, operate in shifts. Virtual receptionist services necessitate the use of numerous receptionists to cover every call since your clients might try to contact you at any time of day.

How do virtual receptionists answer calls?

Virtual receptionists use a system to answer calls for your business. The log and manage calls through a Switchboard system set up when you first sign up to the service. The virtual network is connected to your business phone number provided by your regular telephone service provider.

Virtual assistants are assigned their own company number, and they have access to the phone lines of anyone in the company whom they assist.

What can a virtual assistant do in an hour?

In an hour, a virtual assistant can complete numerous tasks. They can make appointments for you, arrange travel for your staff, and contact consumers and vendors all in a little amount of time.

On the other hand, sales receptionists are likely to spend most of their time taking calls. The number of calls they respond depends very much on your company’s size and industry. Calls can differ depending on so many factors that it’s hard to say how many a virtual receptionist could take in an hour.

How do I decide if I need a virtual receptionist or a virtual assistant?

It all depends on your company’s demands. If you’re searching for a solution to handle internal administration, you’ll want a virtual assistant. However, if you need access to incoming calls and chats from external sources, such as leads, customers, and suppliers, you’ll need a virtual receptionist service.

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