How do I work out what missed calls cost my business?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
To work out what missed calls cost a service business, multiply three of your own numbers: calls missed in a week, the share of those that were new customers who would have booked, and what a new customer is worth. That gives a weekly figure. Nobody else's numbers will do, because every business's phone and prices differ.
Which numbers do you need?
You need four numbers, and all of them are already somewhere in your business. Your phone system or phone bill shows unanswered calls. Your front desk knows how many callers are new and how many of those book. Your books show what a new customer brings in.
Rough numbers are fine. The point is not accounting. It is finding out whether the unanswered phone is a small leak in your business or the biggest one you have.
How do you do the sum?
Do it in this order, with a pen, for one ordinary week. Don't pick your busiest week or your quietest, because either one will give you an answer you can't trust.
- Count the calls that went unanswered last week, including evenings and the weekend.
- Set aside the ones that were existing customers, suppliers or sales calls, and keep the new enquiries.
- Estimate how many of those new callers would have booked, using how many book when you do answer.
- Multiply that by what a new customer is worth to you on a first job or visit.
- Multiply by the weeks in a year to see what the unanswered phone costs annually.
What does the sum leave out?
It leaves out everything after the first visit. A new patient who stays for years, a homeowner who calls you for every repair, a client who refers a friend: none of that is in a first-job figure. So the true cost is higher than the sum shows, not lower.
It also leaves out callers who rang off before your phone system counted them as a call at all. Treat the answer as a floor, not a ceiling.
How does Margin work this out with you?
Margin does this sum with you on the free 30-minute audit. On the call, the biggest leak is costed from your own numbers, and you keep the plan whether or not you hire anyone.
If Mia then answers your phones, the portal lists every call with its transcript, so the missed-call count stops being an estimate. Bookings land on the portal calendar and the office is told.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Your portal: every call, text and booking
- A monthly report and strategy call
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
Related questions
What counts as a missed call?
Any call to a service business that no person or system answered: rang out, went to voicemail, or was abandoned on hold. A caller who left a voicemail still counts until somebody has called them back and reached them.
What if I don't know how many calls my business misses?
Ask your phone provider for a report of unanswered calls, or check your phone system's call log. If neither exists, a service business owner can call their own line at lunch, at closing and on Saturday to see what happens.
What is a new customer worth to a service business?
Only you can say. Start with what the first job or visit brings in, which is the cautious figure. If your customers come back, the real worth to your service business is that first figure plus every visit after it.