For small businesses and startups, missed calls mean missed income. You might be missing out on a new customer, a vendor with better prices or a client with a large order. An auto-reply text message is your best bet against missing those business calls.

When you miss a personal call from a friend or family member, they would most likely understand that you’re busy. But a potential business associate or customer might not. That’s why more and more business owners are searching “how to auto-reply to phone calls.”

The cost of missed calls

Your reputation suffers. When you share your phone number with customers and clients, it’s implied that they will be able to reach you at any time. When you miss their call, it reflects poorly on your business.

Your business looks amateurish. You don’t have enough people to answer calls? This might imply that you don’t have enough people to solve the customer’s or client’s problems either.

You miss the context: Maybe someone wants to know more about your service or wants a problem resolved. If you get back hours later, you miss that urgency and naturally, the business potential associated with it.

You need to deal with all of them at the same time: When you’re finally free, you’ll see your phone lighting up with all those missed call notifications. It will be a headache to call or text them individually, understand their problems and offer solutions.

Your customers may complain online: If they can’t find you, they will find an online forum like Google Reviews to criticise your business. This will discourage others from doing business with you.

Two ways to fix the missed call problem

1. Call answering service

You can outsource your call answering to a specialised agency with live receptionists. They will handle calls and messages on your behalf and forward them to you as per your requirements.

The advantage of a call answering service is that your business will look professional. It will ensure that you don’t make the common mistakes people make when answering business calls. You also won’t be disturbed during meetings or when otherwise engaged.

The biggest disadvantage of a call answering service is the cost. It just simply may not be feasible for small business owners, freelancers or solo contractors. Plus, it will take you some time to set it up.

2. Second-line apps

These empower you to turn missed calls into business opportunities. Working over the internet, second-line apps come loaded with features specifically tailored for the needs of small business owners, freelancers and startups.

No more missed opportunities: By setting up an auto-reply text message, you’ll be able to respond to those missed calls. You can create your auto-reply text messages as answers to common business queries or direct them to your team members.

Voicemail-to-text feature: Your callers will be able to leave a voicemail which the app can convert as a text to be sent to you or others in your team.

In short

An auto-reply text message may seem simple but it’s one of the most effective tools for a small business or freelancer to engage with existing customers and keep the door open for potential clients. With a second line app for work, the process gets automated, leaving you to focus on what matters most to your business.