First, let’s state the obvious. The COVID-19 pandemic has made an indelible mark on the business world. Every organization, large and small, has had to adapt its processes. Small-medium enterprises have been particularly hard hit. And while every SME has reacted differently to the covid pandemic, social distancing restrictions have posed some common challenges to businesses of all sizes.

In light of this, we wanted to understand how businesses were responding to the challenges caused by covid-19.
The resulting study — conducted by the international research institute Arlington Research — gathered responses from 200 US and 200 UK companies, including 201 SMEs. The findings lay bare the impact of COVID-19 and social distancing measures on businesses.

But they also reveal something deeper, an enduring reverence for the basic tools that drive business. The shift to remote work might have increased our dependence on digital communication channels, but the telephone remains an invaluable asset. That’s why 93% of SMEs say the telephone has real value to their business.

First, the bad news…

Professionals recognize the importance of the telephone to their business. But they’re struggling to maintain effective support in the face of social distancing restrictions. 63% of SMEs say the phone is their best sales tool. And yet, SMEs miss 18% of calls to their business.

That’s hardly surprising. With offices closed, staff are struggling to answer calls. And with more of us working from home, consumers are seeking instant answers to their queries. In fact, 83% of consumers said they’d make messaging their primary means of contacting customer support if they could be ​guaranteed an immediate response. 69% of US SMEs say the number of customer and prospective customer calls to their organization has increased since the outbreak of COVID-19 (since March 2020).

But SMEs are struggling to maintain support in the face of social distancing measures. 44% of SMEs say they don’t have enough dedicated staff to answer telephone calls.

Even when they can answer calls, many SMEs recognize their capacity is limited, and callers bear the burden of short-staffing. 42% of respondents said it was common for customers to face a wait/hold time of more than 5 minutes before speaking with someone. 58% agree “Many customers hang up if their call cannot be answered by someone in my organization within 5 minutes.”

The true cost of a missed call

On average, SMEs said they missed 18% of calls to their business every day, equating to approx $1,099,538.93 missed revenue, every year.1

Of course, not every call to their business would lead to a sale. Inbound sales calls have a 30-50% conversion rate​. It’s also worth noting that many inbound calls will be from existing customers, while others could simply be from prospective customers wanting to enquire about services or products.

But each and every call still represents a missed opportunity. The loss of trust incurred by a missed call can have long-term, indirect repercussions for a brand.

How to make the most of the telephone in 2021

Automation, IVR and AI

Many businesses have chosen to automate their call answering process. Callers can interact with AI chatbots, providing their information and even resolving some common issues, or simply leave a message through voicemail. But ​80% of callers hang up when they reach voicemail​.

As an alternative, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) offers callers a somewhat reciprocal experience. Businesses can choose to offer automated responses through touch-tone keypad leveraging DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency), or through spoken language using AI-driven Voice Recognition software.

The automated approach comes with some advantages.

• You don’t need to dedicate staff to man your phones, saving on costs
• With your phones covered, your team can spend their time focusing on other tasks
• IVR can be scaled according to need, allowing businesses to add new options according
  to need

The technology driving these solutions is also improving. A ​2019 CapGemini survey​ found, “76% of respondents said they’d realized measurable benefits from voice and chat assistants, including a customer wait reduction time of more than 5 minutes, and more than 20% increase in first call resolution.”

But IVR and AI answering bots also come with their fair share of disadvantages.

• 86% of consumers prefer to talk with a real person rather than ​an AI bot​
• 75% of people say their ​biggest gripe​ in phone service is being unable to speak to a real
  person on the phone
• Purchase rates decline by ​more than 79.7%​ when a chatbot identifies itself as
  non-human

So what can businesses do to avoid the impersonal, AI-route?

The Stopgap Approach

Reliable support means being available to respond whenever a lead or customer reaches out. But for many SMEs, that level of support simply isn’t viable. Some businesses have opted to update their telephony to direct calls to employees’ personal phones.

That method can solve the issue of being unable to access the office telephony system. But that approach also comes with its own challenges. Who decides who answers which call? Are employees expected to answer out-of-hours calls? What happens when they need to elevate a call to someone else in the company?

Thankfully there are solutions:

Route your calls through a VoIP

Many businesses have chosen to drop the landline and route their calls through the internet, in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP solves the problem of routing calls through your teams’ personal mobiles. It’s also a cheap, reliable way to connect with prospects and customers.

But it also creates plenty of issues too. Who answers when your team is offline? Of course, you could move some of your team to different hours. But how do you decide who gets the night shift? Do you alternate between different teams? How exactly would that work? And, let’s be honest, who really wants to have a week where they start at 9 am, then follow it with a week of starting at 9 pm?

Outsource your customer support

Those questions have led many businesses to outsource their customer support. Hiring a team of virtual receptionists comes with several benefits, including:

• Business owners and employees can maintain support even without office access
• Employees can spend their time working without the distraction of regular phone calls
• With calls directed to an external receptionist, employees can keep work and personal life separate
• Every caller receives a professional response from a friendly human

The appeal of outsourced customer support varies by company size. Smaller companies tend to look less favorably on the idea.

60% of organizations with 1–49 employees say a 24/7 virtual telephone answering service would benefit their organization. That number rises to 83% for organizations with 50–99 employees, and a whopping 97% for organizations with 100–249 employees.

Conclusion

Whatever comes in 2021, businesses will face further challenges to their business continuity. It will take an honest and detailed appraisal of your business needs and capacity. But with adversity comes opportunity. Those SMEs who can adapt their sales and support processes.

Perhaps it’s no wonder that 73% of SMEs say the telephone will continue to be an important customer service tool for their organization in 5 years’ time. But to weather the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to operate 5 years from now, they need solutions to strengthen their sales and support processes now.

1 – ​Based on an average annual turnover of $15,265,189 and an average customer spend of $16,315.57 in a single transaction.

About the author

Ben Graham is a content marketer, freelance journalist, and copywriter based in Edinburgh, Scotland. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a BA in journalism, Ben spent several years working as a freelance journalist before moving to marketing. In his capacity as a marketer, he’s been published in Business2Community, Lightspeed HQ, and Forbes. Ben currently works as the Content Manager for AnswerConnect.