If you run a small or mid-sized business, it’s probable you’ve never even considered a live telephone answering service, assuming it’s unnecessary or prohibitively expensive. But in reality, whether you’re a medical practice needing a 24 hour answering service or simply a small tech company, a business answering service can be the best choice for both your customers and your business. Here’s what you can expect when working with such a company:

Better Customer Service

With a limited office staff, does it ever take you a minute to get to the phone? If everyone is on lunch or the office has just closed, do calls simply go unanswered? If so, you’re missing opportunities to grow your business. One study showed that 72% of clients who don’t reach a live person when they call won’t bother to leave a voicemail — those are lost clients or callers who won’t become clients.

And once you do pick up the phone, it’s imperative that customers be taken care of promptly and courteously. One study of more than 2,500 consumers found that about 60% of callers believe a minute of hold time is too long, and proper telephone etiquette directly corresponds to caller satisfaction. An office answering service uses professional operators with extensive customer service experience so these aren’t problems.

Better Productivity

It’s common for staff members to be engrossed in a project and moving along, only to have a phone call derail the entire group. It’s one thing if that call is an important one. But often, it’s just someone asking about business hours or directions.

A call answering service will take care of quite a few issues directly — answering simple questions, relaying business policies, sometimes even scheduling appointments — so that your employees can focus on their real duties without interruption. If the call does need to be addressed by an in-house employee, an answering service can forward that call to any type of phone (landline or mobile) or pass along a message by voicemail, text, email or fax.

Better Bottom Line

Many small or mid-sized businesses try to keep everything in-house, minimizing outsourcing in order to keep costs low. But contracting out certain services can actually save money without a drop in quality. Savings incurred by hiring an answering service increase the more hours you need that service; a 24 hour answering service can save your company quite a bit compared to what you’d need to pay overnight employees in your own offices.

Would you consider a part-time or 24 hour answering service? What kind of business do you run?