Although they don’t get a lot of attention, live telephone answering services are actually an important component of the business and customer service worlds, leading to better customer experiences and higher productivity for workers. Small businesses, in particular, tend to overlook the improvements hiring an answering service can make in their business models — and overestimate the cost of such a move. To give you an idea of how answering services can work, here are examples of four very different kinds of businesses that might all benefit from an answering service:

1. A Doctor’s or Psychologist’s Office

Medical answering services are among the best-known kinds because it’s nearly impossible for doctor’s offices to get by without them. It’s important that when patients have emergencies after hours, their calls are answered; the trained agent on the other end of the line can then direct the patient to an emergency practitioner or forward the call through to the doctor in question. If you’re considering a medical answering service, it’s important that you choose one that’s HIPAA compliant and experienced in handling medical calls.

2. A Small Neighborhood Storefront

This is a far less obvious example, but even a neighborhood store might benefit from an answering service. This is because small stores often don’t have the staffing to have one person in the office answering phones full-time, instead of being on the floor or at the register. Customers often call about simple questions such as store hours, directions or return policies, and an answering service can take care of those questions directly, meaning you wouldn’t need to deal with the interruption. It’s good for the customer too, since they’re less likely to wait as the phone rings and rings; remember, business etiquette dictates that a phone should never ring more than three times before being answered.

3. A Software Development Company

Any company that creates and sells products can benefit from the customer service provided by an answering company. Not only can it save you from interruptions (which lower productivity), but better customer service can defuse the tense situations that seem to arise with dissatisfied customers no matter how well your product is made. Tone is actually the most important skill in phone etiquette, and having a trained customer service agent dealing with buyers can help you keep business.

4. A Web-Based Small Business

More and more people are starting their own businesses, but these often are based on the web, with the founder or founders running operations from home. This is a great way to save on overhead costs, but can present privacy and credibility issues; your customers may be hesitant to invest significant sums of money in a company that doesn’t have a single office phone number, and you probably don’t want your home number or private mobile number floating around publicly anyway. An answering service can solve both problems. When you work with an answering service, you’ll be assigned a dedicated number that you can give to clients. When they call, they’ll be courteously and professionally forwarded to your private number.

Would your business benefit from a medical answering service, a separate 24 hour answering service or a more general answering service? Discuss the needs of your business in the comments.