There are likely to be many reasons and scenarios as to why you miss calls. Perhaps you have insufficient staff but can’t justify recruiting anyone else or much of your day is spent in meetings. You don’t have back up during peak holiday times or when an employee is off sick. Maybe there is a problem with the phone line itself.
Whatever it is, have you considered what image this may be portraying to the outside world? How your prospects and customer may feel when they can’t reach you and how this could have a very negative impact on your business?
Your customers shoes…
When a call is missed, there will be one of three things that your caller is experiencing…whilst reading through these it’s worth thinking about a time when you needed to reach someone you wanted to do business with.
1. They call, the call rings out before they hang up 2. They call, the line is engaged, or they are put on hold for a long period of time before hanging up 3. They get your voicemail option
Regardless of the scenario that your customer is faced with, it’s frustrating. In most cases, they are calling you to either find out more about your product/service or to discuss a purchase they have already made.
Calling for the first time
When someone is calling you for the first time and is unable to get through, it just looks like their call is unimportant to you and that, should they eventually place their order and there is a problem, they will have issues getting this resolved.
Existing customers
If they are an existing customer wanting to discuss their purchase, missing their call will leave them feeling neglected and a little helpless particularly if their call is already relating to an issue that they need to get resolved.
It’s worth remembering at this point that people will shout a lot more about a bad experience than they will a good one. Social media and our impulsive review culture is fantastic for generating sales but can also be your biggest enemy.
First impressions count…
Using a call answering service such as Pocket Receptionist will significantly improve your reputation almost overnight and even if your caller’s issue can’t be resolved on that first call, they have been acknowledged – that makes a massive difference and shows that you value them!