Mobile Phone vs Landline

It is becoming increasingly popular to just use a mobile phone for all calls, when running a small business. At first appearance this seems like a perfect solution: the owner always has their mobile with them, so they won't miss a call and only have one set of charges to pay for. However, this is a false economy. What happens when they are:

• Driving?
• Meeting with a client?
• In a bad signal area?
• In a noisy environment?
• Taking a holiday?

Usually in these situations, calls go through to voicemail, which is exactly what the person was trying to stop in the first place.

People don't like leaving messages on an answering machine or voicemail. They don't know if their message will get listened to and, even if it does, when they will get a response. In fact three out of four prospective customers will simply hang up and ring a competitor!

Another problem with a mobile number is the “image” it projects. Many people see businesses that only advertise a mobile as more risky, than a similar firm with a landline. There is a belief, no matter how incorrect, that the business with only a mobile could be “fly by night”, “here today, gone tomorrow”, “simply not trustworthy”. No small business wants that sort of reputation!

Many people still think that phoning a mobile number is expensive. They will phone a landline before they will phone a mobile number, and many will never phone a mobile.

As a call answering service we have two perfect examples:

• An online retailer only had a mobile number displayed on their site. When they started to use our service, we provided them with a geographic (landline) number. In the first month they went from 0 calls to 30, and it has steadily risen to averaging 50 a month.
• Despite us giving out our clients “direct line” mobile number to certain callers, they ring they still phone the landline (diverted to us) each time they call because they don't want to have to ring an “expensive mobile”.

So, if you are starting a business (or already run one) and you plan to only use a mobile number, think carefully about the image you are giving out and whether you will lose calls.

Of course if you use a service like BananaOffice then all the above is negated. A call answering service may seem an “expensive luxury” but when you consider how many sales you maybe losing by not using one, then if a business wants to grow and be a success, then a service like ours is a necessity.