Running a business is hard, and that’s an understatement. You have a lot on your plate, so every single day there are many reasons why you may hear the phone ring and just not be able to get to it. More often than not, businesses miss calls because they are understaffed or simply so busy that there isn’t a person available at that moment. After all, they lack the right technology to make answering calls seamless, because they simply don’t prioritize phone calls, or because they receive calls outside of normal business hours when there isn’t someone there to answer. The solution to many of these issues is to find an answering service that you can trust with your business. But before you can commit to spending money on something that many small business owners assume they can just handle themselves, you have to truly understand the cost of those missed calls.
Small business owners should not underestimate the cost of missed calls.
Missed Leads
No business can thrive or even just survive without new customers. Repeat business is valuable, but there always needs also to be an influx of new business. The telephone is still a highly important avenue to make contact with potential customers and drive the relationship towards that all-important first sale. Market research confirms the importance of phone interaction as well: in research, as much as 80% of respondents said they’d be likely to become a repeat customer after a positive phone call experience, and 60% said they’d likely spend more with the brand on a second purchase. This means that missed phone calls aren’t just missed potential first sales; they could also be missed larger second sales.
Squandered Advertising
While the internet drives a lot of business, phone calls are often the next step after an online search. In fact, research shows that over half of all internet searches are done from a mobile phone and when a page has a “click to call” button, conversion rates increase by 200%. If you don’t answer the call, you’ve wasted the advertising money that drove that customer to your website in the first place.
Decreases in Morale
When employees see that customer calls aren’t crucial to your business, they begin to internalize that message and may start to perform poorly. Customer service as a whole may slip because of the implied statement that the customer’s time isn’t as valuable as yours. Since failing to answer your phone can also lead to a poor reputation for your brand, employee morale may slip further as they lose pride in their employer.
Contact TeleRep Today!
If you are ready to install a call center service for your business, TeleRep is here to help. If you still have more questions, our trained professionals are ready to answer them. We know how important customer feedback is to you and your business, so let them know that you care with an answering service. To learn how TeleRep can help you today, visit us online or give us a call at 1-800-638-2000. To keep up with our work and to see what we have been up to, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.