Every business owner understands the importance of communication. Keeping tabs open between you and your employees, between your employees and their coworkers, and between your company and your clients is the best way to ensure the daily success of your company. With a plethora of tools out there to keep you in the loop, a fully integrated communication network is far from impossible.
But what happens when life gets in the way and your systems aren’t fool-proof? What impact does missing a business call have on you? While the last thing you want to do is find out, being prepared can keep you from making things worse.
Be sure you are familiar with the five stages of missing a business call so you can stay on top of the next one when it comes around.
Denial
Upon seeing the missed call, your stomach sinks and the world slows down around you. You panic and worry that there will be no way of getting in touch with them ever again. Your phone gets further and further away from you as you attempt to dial the number. Surely they will answer, right?
Wrong. In a survey done by Simply66, 59 percent of employees reported that they had missed a business call before and was never able to reach them again. While this number might seem high, managers, executives and even tech reporters are more busy than you might know. And if you are able to get in touch with them, you better make sure you have a good excuse.
Anger
Slowly, the anger seeps in. The audacity of a customer to call at such an inconvenient time is enough to put any entrepreneur on edge. They should have known you were busy tending to a fidgeting child or ordering a burger at your favorite restaurant. But they aren’t just going to abandon your interaction, right?
Wrong again. In a different survey from SwitchBoardFree, 94 percent of customers said that they move on to a different company when the phone isn’t answered. That number is high enough to make anyone start seeing red.
Bargaining
While the anger begins to fade, you start trying to find a way out of this embarrassing mistake. Maybe they were calling for someone else. Maybe they called the wrong number. Maybe it was a butt dial. The consequences of missing a business call can’t be that bad, right?
You are really good at being wrong. The same study from Simply66 states that businesses lose more than $1,000 when missing a business call. While this number may seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, the lost business combined with bad press and poor service can do a lot more damage to a company than you might think.
Depression
Being sad about a missed business call is not a productive use of your time. But with every passing minute, you get more and more bummed that you missed out on potential business. But there is nothing to be sad about. They can’t expect you to be constantly reachable because not that many people have smartphones, right?
Obviously, you’re wrong on that one. The number of cell phone subscriptions recently surpassed the amount of people on this planet. Yes, there are more than 7 billion mobile phone plans on file for people around the world (and beyond). Your depression is well warranted if “I forgot my charger” is your best excuse.
Acceptance
You missed the call. It happens. Let rationality seep back into your life and realize that it’s not the end of the world. You missing a business call might look slightly unprofessional, but what can you do? It is what it is. The world goes on, right?
Right! Customers complain too much anyway and the last thing you want to do is put someone on hold. According to the same SwitchBoardFree study, 90 percent of customers deem customer service unsatisfactory after a two minute wait on hold. So maybe, just maybe, missing that call was a good thing.
Photo: Flickr / Pabak Sarkar