Missed Calls: Here’s Why Unanswered Calls are Harmful to Businesses

Most people are used to the concept of missed calls on their personal numbers, and usually this just means that a friend or family member has tried to get in touch and you can call them back later, no big deal.

For businesses, this is a far more serious issue, as failing to answer when customers try to get in contact can harm many aspects of your operations. Let’s look at why this matters, and what you can do to reduce the instances of missed calls in your organization.

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Sales opportunities will pass you by

In many cases, calls made to your business will be from people who have queries about the goods and services you offer, perhaps with a view to make a purchase or arrange a meeting which could lead to a long-lasting, lucrative relationship.

If you aren’t answering every call that comes in, you are potentially throwing away the chance to secure a sale, and in the long term this could cost you thousands.

There really is no excuse to miss calls in the modern age, even if your team is small and your resources are limited. 

You can easily forward calls to your smartphone, for example, so that inbound calls to your business landline number will get rerouted if you are out of the office, rather than going to voicemail.

Brand reputation will suffer

Managing the reputation of your brand involves juggling lots of different aspects of how it is perceived by outsiders, and unanswered calls are a blemish that many will hold against you.

This is doubly important as a call may be the first impression that a person forms of your company, and if it does not get picked up at your end, then it paints a problematic picture of your business that will be hard to alter in future.

In addition, you have to take into account the likelihood that it is not just new customers that will call you, but existing customers who may have a complaint to make or an issue to raise with you. 

In this case, the caller will already be in a state of frustration, which will only be exacerbated if they don’t get through to anyone.

Productivity will plummet

For many businesses, inbound calls are not just coming from prospective and current customers, but also from colleagues and partners who may be out in the field or working remotely. 

If these team members cannot get through when they call, then the projects they are working on and the roles they fulfill within the organization might grind to a halt.

In this case, it’s not just about making sure that calls are answered, but also about getting them routed to the right person at the right time. Again, modern call forwarding systems can solve this, and so even in an age of virtual meetings and instant messaging, this is still a worthwhile investment.

Wrapping up

As mentioned, missing calls is not only something you cannot afford to do as a business from a practical perspective, but is also unforgivable since there are a whole host of solutions out there that make it avoidable in organizations of all sizes.

Lastly, be sure to monitor call answering metrics so you can see when calls are being missed, identify why this might be happening and take action to prevent it.

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