If you read the title of this post, you are probably thinking through the possibilities. A missed call could mean you don’t have to deal with a problem right now. It could mean that you have a customer with a question, and they will call back later. It could mean there’s someone calling that you don’t want to talk to anyway.

These are all definitely possible, but there are lots of other possibilities too. It could be that the person that was calling was going through the list of businesses similar to you on a web search, and because they did not get an answer from you, then they are going on to a competitor that takes the job. A missed call could mean that a client gets a bad impression of your business as one that is inattentive and does not answer calls, and they leave a bad review or a tell other potential clients about your poor customer service.

There are lots of things a missed call can mean for a small business. Some are good, but many are bad. There are also many reasons that a call may go unanswered by you and the phone keeps ringing. Maybe you simply do not get to the phone in time. Perhaps you are busy with another client and cannot get to the phone. It is also likely that you have more important things to do as the owner or operator of a small business. Running a small business takes your attention in several different directions, and the last thing you need is to be tied to a desk or a phone. Constant phone calls are annoying and make you less efficient as it draws you away from work that needs to be done.

This is not to say answer phone calls are beneath you though. A small business cannot thrive without answering their phones. If you are a lawyer, you cannot expect work to fall on your desk. If you are a shipping company, you can only receive orders when people call in and request them. With all of the digital integration today, it may seem like you can simply rely on emails and other online communication, but it really is important to have contact with your customers and clients through phone too, as many of them may not be equipped to contact you through the internet.

But that still doesn’t make answering the phones your job. What you need is a receptionist or a virtual receptionist. A virtual receptionist will make sure that none of those negative scenarios that was mentioned before will happen to you or your company. Furthermore, a virtual receptionist will handle all of the other scenarios mentioned at the top too. Whether a call is wanted or not, the receptionist will be there to answer the questions and respond to the complaints, and it will take the extra work off of your desk so that you can focus on other things. If you are worried about this also being impersonal, you shouldn’t be. Virtual receptionist services, like Gabbyville, make it their priority to familiarize themselves with your business to make sure that they give the right responses and so they know when to direct the clients to you. Furthermore, services like Gabbyville are dedicated to providing great customer care so that your clients really feel welcomed and almost feel like they can see the receptionist smiling through the phone. Virtual receptionists are even better than in house receptionists in ways too because they are always working. You don’t have to worry about the receptionist being away on lunch or on vacation because the virtual receptionist will always be there to answer the calls. Instead of just having one person there answering the phones, virtual receptionists work as a team. This way, there is always someone there to make sure your calls are answered and your customers are taken care of.

If you agreed with any of the possibilities mentioned above about how missing a call can hurt your business, or maybe if you thought of your own possibility, then you definitely should consider hiring a receptionist or virtual receptionist to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.