When running a business, there are times when you simply aren’t able to answer the phone. It’s annoying but it’s no big deal right? Wrong. Missed calls are hurting your business. Phone calls are how businesses stay connected to current and future clients. Although there’s digital communication methods like online forms, email and texting, customers still prefer talking over the phone. In fact, 80 % of all business communications take place over the phone.
Phone calls are still the first option for handling issues quickly. When looking around, most potential customers start online and call when they are serious about using your service or buying your product. Availability and customer responsiveness are key to scoring repeat business and new prospects. Missing phone calls is also a sign of poor customer service. Businesses lose $75 billion a year from negative customer service experiences. Missed calls can cost your business in lost revenue and also damage your reputation. In this article we will outline what you can do about missed calls, while also helping you build your company’s profitability.
Why Do You Miss Calls?
Phone calls are the preferred method for customers to get in contact when they need something done fast. Customers in need of help are also likely to use the phone. Therefore, the last thing you want to do is leave a call unanswered. From the customer’s point of view, the worst thing about missed calls is that it slows down their productivity. This is detrimental to your business, especially if the issue is urgent. So the last thing you want to do is miss a call. It leaves issues unresolved, frustrates your customers, and if they don’t receive a response, likely means they will use business elsewhere.
There are many reasons as to why missed calls happen. One main cause is due to a lack of availability. Your employees may be overwhelmed with work, meaning there aren’t enough staff to handle the overload. Employees could also be focussed on other customer service matters and ignore the call. Another reason missed calls occur is because businesses focus solely on digital communications rather than phone calls. However, as stated above, most business communications still take place over the phone. Too many businesses though, rely on traditional voicemail systems to receive the message, which can often leave responses too late. Accidents can happen sometimes. Employees can be away from their desks and simply miss a call. Customers can also call after business hours, which means there is no one available to take the call. This is why it’s important for businesses to have a strong voicemail system in place.
How Missed Calls Cause Issues
Unanswered calls can lead to problems with your revenue and your reputation. In the short-term, your daily revenue is lost for those specific calls you have missed. On average, 85 % of the people whose calls you missed won’t call back. That means any potential revenue you might’ve received from that call is now lost. This adds up quickly. Just how much does it cost? Here’s a simple formula to reveal the impact missed calls have on your business revenue: Take your average deal size in dollars and multiply that by the number of missed calls you had that week. The figure you come to is a rough estimate of the revenue lost that week because of calls that were missed.
In the long term, these issues can result in a bad reputation. Almost 70% of consumers will stop using the services of a company whose customer service is poor. More than 60 % of those people will go on to do business with rival companies. Word of mouth is also an important factor for a business’ reputation. A recent study showed 95% of consumers usually tell at least one person about a bad experience, with more than half stating they will tell at least five other people. In addition to losing revenue, you could also be generating a negative impression of your business by missing a significant number of calls.
How to Fix the Issues Caused by Missed Calls
Customer service is one of the cheapest ways of promoting your business and helping build trust. Increasing your responsiveness and communicating effectively is key to resolving issues around missed calls. It’s important to analyse your call sources. What numbers are customers calling? Where are they finding your phone number? This can help you create dedicated numbers for sales, support, marketing campaigns, and so on. You should also look into the call volume and frequency. How often do calls come in? When do they come in? Determine how you want to manage the calls and what to do about missed calls. If you do miss a call, having a professional voicemail greeting is also critical, as this may be the difference between a new client and a missed opportunity.
The value of effective and personalised communication when it comes to missed calls is often overlooked. A voicemail assistant like Vxt can improve your customer service by helping you stay on top of your voice messages and the many time-consuming tasks associated with running your business. Vxt helps manage missed calls, converting voicemail to text and forwarding them to email, allowing you to detect urgent messages from potential clients and replying to them before they choose to go elsewhere. Vxt can help you set up business and after hour greetings that switch automatically. Vxt also offers contact-based greetings, which allow you to play custom greetings for different contacts. With contact-based greetings you can create a closer relationship with key people in your business and personal life. By utilising tools like Vxt, you can ensure your customers feel valued and listened to, while also spending more time on growing your business.
In summary, phone calls are opportunities for your business that you cannot afford to miss. The worst part about missed calls is that business might not even be aware they have an issue. Although you may be taking many calls and have a steady, healthy revenue each day, you might also be missing further opportunities by leaving calls unanswered. It’s a simple thing to overlook, however it’s crucial to your future business success. Poor customer service can cost you revenue, as well as damaging your reputation. You can do something about missed calls though. By following the steps outlined above, you can turn missed calls into opportunities and set up your business for future success.
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