Why missed calls can often mean missed business
When did your Business last miss a call? Unfortunately, it can be easy to underestimate the potentially deleterious effect of Missed calls on a business. This could be especially the case if you have built up a body of supposedly loyal customers. That missed caller will call back, right?
Truthfully, it would be risky for you to rest on this assumption. Here are various rather eye-opening reasons why even just the occasional missed call could fritter away valuable money.
Don’t risk disillusionment in your customers
This includes repeat, regular and indeed, prospective customers. This warning is particularly important if you work in a sector where customers often need products or services urgently. Job occupations applicable here include hairdresser, plumber and mechanic.
With any of these occupations, a customer could easily feel frustrated if they attempt to call you, only to be met with constant ringing or a dreaded “please leave a message after the beep”. That frustration could lead them to quickly call a rival company.
The worrying numbers can start adding up
The occasional missed call does not necessarily leave only occasional missed business; the effect could continue to erode your firm’s financial health for long afterwards. Even if a missed caller is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, the numbers don’t look too encouraging…
BT has conducted research revealing that the average cost of a missed call for a UK SME is £1,200. The average loss increased to £9,000 for an SME that still could not be reached for a further 24 hours; in fact, the expense here could even touch £20,000, Computer Weekly has revealed.
How many calls your own business misses monthly could depend on various factors, including its number of employees. Furthermore, with BT’s research having found that 77% of SMEs permit flexible working and 45% allow hot-desking, there is clearly disconcertingly large scope for calls to continue to be missed – perhaps in increasingly large quantity.
Potential remedies for the missed call conundrum
Ultimately, a customer who calls your company simply wants to reach the right person quickly. Fortunately, by implementing call routing from Planet Numbers, you can ensure the customer is granted this wish. Our call routing plans allow you to receive business calls on your phone after office hours or even have all of your company’s phones ring simultaneously in response to the same call.
Of course, it’s not always possible to answer every call your business receives, and this is where Planet Numbers can help further with our professional telephone answering service. Try our service free for 14 days.
When you buy a corporate phone number from Planet Numbers, you can also – at no extra charge – benefit from missed call alerts. With this service, you will be notified by email whenever a call is missed. You could then call back and, for the customer’s benefit, take on the expense of the call.
The word ‘expense’ there may worry you if you want to call someone overseas. However, you should keep in mind that we also allow you to make cheap international calls, where the per-minute charge can be as low as a penny. This is great for minimising the expensive implications of Missed Calls.
