How Can Missing Calls Affect Your Business?

You are sitting in your office, going through important files, following up on a client, in a deep concentration state. Suddenly the phone rings, it’s a potential new customer who needs you. You have two options: a quick answer without paying much attention to that new business possibility or putting down the thing you are working on and providing your full attention to the customer – and probably closing a new deal.

The struggle is real. 

When you are working towards growing your business, a missed call is truly a missed business opportunity.

Why Do Businesses Fail to Answer Phone Calls? 

Many small businesses suffer from poor customer service not because they want to, but because they don’t have a choice. A lot of business owners are often overburdened and overwhelmed with the work they have to do, and answering phone calls is often last on their to-do list.

The lack of resources also makes it difficult for small businesses to hire additional help to answer inbound calls. Plus, the challenge of providing customer support after regular business hours is a task that even big companies often struggle with.

Unfortunately, consistently missing phone calls can cost your business a lot of money. If a potential client can’t get in touch with you, your competition will be more than happy to take that business instead. This is how a missed call can lead to a missed business opportunity for your organization.

Impact of Missed Calls on Your Business

Even though companies have multiple channels for business communications, the phone is still one of the most preferred methods of contact. A recent study found that people still prefer personal interactions over the phone (62%), email (46%), and chat (37%) to self-service (14%) or bots (13%) when it comes to customer support.

In addition, an online survey shows that 8 out of 10 people would switch to a different company after just one instance of not being able to reach the business by phone. The opportunity costs of missed phone calls are enormous, which is why you must always answer calls from potential customers as soon as possible. Additionally, you should always be sure to have proper business phone etiquette when answering phone calls from potential customers

For us to have a better understanding of how missed business calls are directly related to a missed business opportunity, let’s have a look at the numbers.

There are 2 important business terms that you must be familiar with profit potential and profit revenue. The former means that if you are a lawyer or a doctor and you can see 4-5 clients per day, the total amount earned from these visits minus the expenses will be your daily profit potential. If you multiply this by the days of the week or month you operate, you will find out your profit revenue.

For example: 

• A lawyer can see 4 clients per day with an average hourly rate of $250.
• This means that the attorney has a profit potential of $1,000 per day.
• The profit potential is $5,000 per week and $20,000 per month.
• Subtract 40% for operating costs and we’ll get a profit revenue of $12,000 per month.

Another example: 

• An HVAC company can do an average of 5 service calls per day, and let’s say that every service call can range up to $350.
• The profit potential is $1,750 per day.
• This means a profit potential of $8,750 per week and $35,000 per month.
• Let’s take away a similar estimate of around 45% for operating costs and we get a profit revenue of $19,250.

According to Hubspot.com, of all the phone calls that come in, 60% of them become leads and 1 will become a paying client. Just getting an extra client per day would increase your income by around 20-25%. Imagine that.

Why Should Your Business Never Miss a Call?

Regardless of your business call volume, it’s never a good idea to miss a single phone call because a lost lead could potentially become your next big client. Here are a few reasons why you should always answer the phone and never experience a missed business opportunity:

1. Give a positive first impression.

If a new lead or potential client calls and meets an automated voicemail or a dial tone in the middle of the day, they’ll think you’re not able to manage their business. Having a phone answering service 24/7/365 makes potential customers feel taken care of, giving a positive first impression that your business is reliable and trustworthy.

2. Increased customer satisfaction.

Having a professional answering service for your small business means that you can provide excellent customer service. Answering calls within a minute or under has been proven to increase customer satisfaction. People feel that their business is valued when they get an immediate response from your company.

3. Make the most of your marketing efforts.

When you have spent so much time and money to market your business, it would be a shame not to answer the phone calls that come in as a result of those efforts. When someone takes the initiative to call you, they’re almost always showing interest in your product or service, which is why you should never miss your chance.

How Can You Keep Up with High Call Volume and Avoid Missing Phone Calls?

By outsourcing your call-handling responsibilities to a virtual answering service like AnswerHero, you can focus on your growing business while having peace of mind knowing that your company keeps answering incoming calls from potential customers. 

Plus, our rates are some of the best in the business so you don’t need to worry about our service potentially affecting your bottom line.

Never Miss A Business Opportunity with AnswerHero

At Answer Hero, you’ll no longer have to worry about missing important calls. We offer the best answering service solutions available in the market, using a cutting-edge system that’s able to keep up with the demands of your business without losing the personal touch that your customers deserve. You will never have a missed business opportunity because of a failure to answer the phone when working with Answer Hero

Give us a call today to discuss how our answering services can help you get one step closer to growing your business. We promise we won’t miss it!