These days, 91% of the American population have their mobile device within their reach at every hour of every day. They are constantly connected, and they expect everyone they do business with to be connected, too. That’s why your business needs an after hours telephone answering service.

• Telephone service is what your customers want. Nearly all consumers–97%–prefer to interact by phone rather than use any other option when discussing something with a business they’re patronizing. Research done by Forrester shows that telephone customer service offers the highest rate of satisfaction at 69%. This is higher than you can achieve through any online channel.
• Your customer service on the phone has to be stellar. Maybe you wonder if it’s actually necessary to get an answering service. Surely your own people can answer the phones, right? Maybe, but are you sure? Do you have personnel specifically tasked to provide excellent service over the phone, or are you dependent upon whichever employee happens to be near the phone and free when it rings? Two-thirds of customers say they would be willing to spend more money with a brand if they’ve had a great customer service experience. Forbes reports that in 2016, businesses lost $62 billion due to bad customer service. The professionals who work at an after hours telephone answering service will also provide a call answering service for working hours, too, and you can be sure that they know how to provide your customers with a great experience over the phone.
• Your customers really don’t want to be put on hold. When you call a place and are immediately asked, “Can you hold?” most people will simply reply in the affirmative and wait. After all, what can you do? The reality is that most people don’t want to hold, and 75% of customers would rather get a call back than wait on the line for an available representative to talk to them. Letting things go to voicemail isn’t an option, either, because research shows that 80% of people will just hang up if they reach voicemail. Fix these problems with an answering service.
• You can’t be available every hour of the day. An after hours telephone answering service lets your customers reach a knowledgeable and helpful person no matter what time of the day or night they call. This is especially helpful if you need a medical answering service or a live answering service for a doctor’s office or essential service, such as plumbing.
• You’ll save money with an after hours telephone answering service. It might not seem as if you would, but think about it. Your employees’ productivity suffers if you make them responsible to answer phones as well as work in your place of business or satisfy customers who have arrived in person. You might also lose customers who call but can’t get through while your employee has someone else on hold while also giving service to an in-store customer. It costs a lot of money to pay someone to just manage the phones, and you’ll also have to pay for extra lines and for extra desks, phones, and computers to support the people answering the phones.

There are a lot of good reasons you should consider getting an after hours telephone answering service. Let professional telephone answering services ensure that your customers get good service and that you never miss an important call.