Microsoft research shows that one third of customers find it frustrating to not be able to contact a real person.
Sales and customer service are affected by every interaction with the client, even phone calls.
There is no excuse to miss out on communication with customers. Live chats, telephone answering services and other technologies are available to help fill in the gaps.
Your brand’s image can be improved or damaged by every contact with your customers. When a customer calls to ask for help with an issue, they can share their bad experience.
Missing customer calls can cost you a lot
Google reviews and social networks are two ways that customers can affect your reputation with other customers.
The worst thing you can do is miss a phone call, especially if it’s a potential customer with questions or on the verge of making a sale. Live chat fills the gap for many buyers, but a third prefer to call and speak with a real person.
According to BT Business, a single missed call costs a company £1,200.
Even if you don’t understand the reason behind the call, it can still cost your company money and damage your reputation.
You Can Catch Every Call With These Tips
There are a few options available to a business that is constantly missing calls. Andy MacGregor, the Managing director of outsourced telephone answering service Face For Business explains the options for businesses to deal with missed calls.
1 – Install multiple employee extensions
A central number is essential for every business. This allows customers to easily reach you without worrying about which number they should call. A single number is useful, but can be problematic if you only allow one person to contact you.
A good solution is to create a single number with multiple extensions that customers can use to directly reach the person – or at least the department – within your business they want to achieve.
Multiple extensions can also save callers time compared to going through a central switchboard.
If your team is dispersed, you can use multiple extension lines.
2 – Use an automatic call forwarding service
Installing automatic forwarding can be a solution if you don’t own an office. For example, if your employees work from home or you are a sole proprietor. It will also keep your employees’ personal numbers from being given to customers.
It is a good idea to use automatic call-forwarding because it can be turned off outside of business hours. This will save you from having to deal with out-of-hours calls.
However, ideally, you’ll want to avoid leaving customers with a voice machine that – the research suggests – they’re not likely to use.
However, a lot of administration comes with setting up and managing call forwarding (particularly if you have to add or disconnect phone numbers from the system – like when employees go on holiday or leave, for example).
The system can also be hampered if the call is sent to the wrong recipient. A customer cannot connect with the correct recipient unless they return the call.
3 – Invest in call queuing
Call Queueing can be used if you are hesitant to use voicemails and don’t wish to take the risk of forwarding calls.
Most customers will be familiar with queuing – it’s used in most doctor surgeries and customer service departments.
It is possible to leave a client in line for too long, and they may hang up. You also run the risk of creating a bad situation if you make a customer wait for too long to get information that they have been trying to find.
NewVoice conducted a study on the subject. a quarter of customers will give up contacting a business If they think they have been on hold too long, they may decide to not try again.
4 – Use a digital phone system
The digital phone system is gaining in popularity. Some providers are no longer offering traditional ISDN services, and the lines will be totally switched off by 2025.
Digital phone systems, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), move your phone system onto the Internet rather than using a fixed line that runs into one location.
Calls can be managed via the internet and answered by any mobile or landline phone connected to the system. A digital phone system is a great solution for remote workingIt is also a great tool for employees, who can answer the central business number of a company from anywhere on any device.
A digital telephone system can also centralize all of a company’s calls, messages and video calls on one platform.
VoIP phones can require a significant initial investment, which may not be worthwhile for smaller businesses.
5 – Recruit a receptionist
The most traditional way to manage phone calls in an office is to simply hire a full-time receptionist – or at least a staff member to exclusively handle phone calls.
The receptionist is a great resource that can answer your calls, take messages, direct calls to the correct people, or even answer basic questions from customers.
However, it may not be a perfect solution due to the cost of hiring a receptionist – smaller businesses are just not in a position to do it.
You’re looking at a minimum of £20,000 a year in base salary, plus tax and holiday and national insurance payments for a good receptionist. A single receptionist is not enough to cover all the calls.
6 – Invest in an outsourced telephone answering service
A telephone answering service offers a combination of flexibility and cost-effectiveness that fits any business size.
As with some of our other options, you can keep a single number for your business to make it simple for your clients to contact you.
Instead of hiring just one receptionist, you can hire a team to handle all your calls. They will also cover each other’s absences. You can rest assured that all of your calls will always be answered.
Plus, you’ll save money by not hiring an employee.
It may be the ideal solution to avoid missed calls. 🙂
Summary
Ignoring missed business calls could cost you sales and hurt your reputation. It is positive to invest in improving your company’s call answering process. Live chat on your website or upgrading your phone system are two options.
