If you’re a small business owner, then you’re probably wearing several dozen hats on any given day. You’re the person in charge, the manager of your employees (including your managers), the problem solver in chief, and if you’re particularly involved in day-to-day operations, you might even be taking customer service calls. You can be overworked, under immense pressure, and feel like you’re juggling everything.

The Solution
You don’t have to do everything yourself. You can easily pass one of those responsibilities to a professional, freeing up your valuable time to focus on your other work. We’re talking about a professional call answering service, an industry that’s come a long way thanks to the digital revolution.

The Benefits
Answering service companies come in many shapes and sizes, and they offer a variety of services and benefits for their customers. Most importantly, they understand that the overwhelming majority of customers prefer to contact a customer service representative over the phone. That’s true whether you’re running a doctor’s office, an eCommerce company, or a contracting firm.

If you think a voicemail box is a potential solution, then you’re making a dangerous assumption about your customers. Most consumers won’t even bother to leave a voicemail. According to a 2014 report from CRM Magazine, an incredible 80% of customers will hang up rather than leave a message.

The reason?

They don’t think anybody is going to listen.

After Hours Services
When looking for a small business answering service, be certain that they also provide after hours phone servicesfor those important customers that you just can’t have waiting on the phone. When your biggest supplier or a key purchaser calls, do you want them talking to a voicemail message?

That’s the key benefit of a live answering service; you never have to worry about important clients or partners slipping through the cracks, and those important callers will think all the more highly of you for it. At the same time, you won’t have to be on call for your business 24/7. Just as importantly, these services are also cheaper than hiring an employee and training them to handle these calls.

What This Means For You
You can finally breathe easy knowing that at least one of your jobs has been delegated to qualified professionals with a lot of experience in dealing with customer calls. They’re trained to deal with your customers, and so they will be able to assist the callers, solve problems, and take messages as needed.

Your time is important, and that’s why it should be protected. Being a great business owner shouldn’t have to require being on call all day and all night. To get the customer service coverage that you deserve, reach out to an after hours phone service. Remember, there is A Better Answer.