We know that when you’re busy running a business, answering the phone probably isn’t your top priority. You might think that in the grand scheme of things the odd missed call is somewhat of a minor issue. However, given that 80% of all business communications take place over the phone, missing calls can actually have a much larger impact than you’d think.
What happens when your business misses a call?
There are realistically only a few things that can happen if your business is unable to answer a call.
- The phone rings until the customer or client loses interest and hangs up.
- The caller is put on hold and either put in a queue (where they are likely to lose interest and hang up depending on the length of waiting time)
- The caller gets through to voicemail where they are given the option to leave a message if they should so wish.
None of these options may seem that catastrophic. However, statistics show that roughly 85% of those whose calls are not answered will not call back. That’s a huge amount of potential business lost in the blink of an eye.
It’s also likely that if your customers don’t get an answer they will tell their friends, families and colleagues. Research shows that people will actually tell 1.6 times as many people about bad customer service than good customer service. That’s a lot of potential business lost thanks to missed calls! It’s easy to see how businesses in the United Kingdom lose an estimated £30 billion every year due to missed calls.
How can you stop your business missing calls?
Stop your business missing calls by using a virtual receptionist service such as Message Direct. You can choose round the clock coverage seven days a week so your customers are guaranteed to get an answer whenever they call. We’re actually committed to answering all calls within six seconds (that’s the fastest time in the industry) to eliminate the chance that your caller might get bored of waiting and hang up.
