Your company has a lot on its plate already, and hiring somebody to man the phones outside of normal office hours is an added expense that many businesses cannot afford. Customers absolutely hate talking to a voicemail, and if you miss that first phone call, a potential client may never call back.

Professional phone answering services give you the ability to accommodate everybody who calls your business without alienating people who work odd hours and can’t call during the day. It enables clients to speak with a real person and is a huge factor in customer retention. Here are just a few of the many reasons that you should be considering phone answering services for your company:

Clients do not like leaving voicemails. There’s nothing more frustrating than calling a business with a pressing question, only to be greeted with an automated message. 80% of people will hang up on a business if they hear a voicemail, and for good reason. A voicemail can’t get the full scope of your customer’s question or issue, and it makes it seem like your company doesn’t care about its customers. Phone answering services can adapt to your specific needs, so whether you need a real person on the phones all day or just for one particular day a week, they have you covered.

Poor customer service hurts more than you may think. While you may dismiss a missed phone call as “just one sale,” failing to meet the standards of your potential customers can really add up over time. U.S. companies are losing about $41 billion each year due to poor customer service, and much of that can be attributed to directing calls to voicemail or simply not answering them at all.

24 hour communication. Few companies have the internal resources to take phone calls all through the night, which is why a 24 hour answering service is so beneficial. Many people have odd work schedules and can only call your business outside of normal operating hours. You lose valuable long-term equity with customers when you aren’t able to accommodate their schedule, in addition to revenue from the initial sale itself. Great phone answering services are intended to be available whenever your customers need them to retain clients and grow your company.