Three blogs on missed business calls
This is the first of three blogs looking at the issue of missed business calls. The following blogs look at: why businesses miss calls and the commercial impact of missing calls; and, strategies adopted to by businesses to reduce missed call numbers.
Data sources
The commentary in this blog is based on data sourced via the internet. As one might suspect, there is no central government agency tracking or surveying missed business calls. Furthermore I have been unable to identify any academic research on the subject in the form of university dissertations or theses1.
Ofcom, the communications industry regulator, has published qualitative research on missed calls based on interviews. However, this research was published in 2020. References to ‘missed calls’ on the Ofgem website (ofcom.org.uk) focus, understandably, on missed call scams.
Given the above, it should be pointed out that the published research has predominantly been undertaken by commercial businesses, and it is not possible, in many circumstances, to review and critique, research methodology and sampling size. There is also the danger that research may have been influenced by a vested interest on the part of the research sponsor e.g. a telecoms systems provider would benefit if research showed that legacy systems do not provide sufficiently flexible tools to manage high call volumes effectively.
Given the above caveats, however, there is a general consistency in the headline findings of missed calls research. Furthermore, even if one applies a reducing factor of, say, 10%-20% to moderate the claims made with regards to the level of missed calls, the numbers are still shocking. It could also be argued that when research is based on surveys, i.e. without access to primary data, the reporting of missed calls will be lower than it is in reality as business leaders do not want to appear as negligent as the numbers might indicate.
Research from the United States has been referenced to allow a degree of benchmarking against UK data. In general, missed calls research in the USA indicates that missed call levels are significantly higher there than in the UK with one source reporting that 62% of calls to US mall businesses are left unanswered. This is particularly shocking because the US is often held up as an exemplar of business dynamism and customer service.
1EThOS, the searchable UK Doctoral Thesis database, is currently suspended following a cyber attack on the British Library late in 2023.
How many calls do businesses miss?
It appears that a reasonable average for missed calls across all sectors is 25%. As with all averages, however, this number masks a huge variation in missed call data between micro businesses (0-9 employees), SMEs and large businesses.
A 2017 UK survey of 300 micro-businesses, mainly tradespeople, indicated that one-third (33%) of all incoming calls were missed. A more recent 2025 study of 142 UK SMEs found that almost half (47%) of initial calls went unanswered. As other research indicates that most (85%) of potential new customers do not make a second call to a business if their initial call is missed, it implies that the use of the term ‘initial’ is somewhat unnecessary!
A 2016 survey of 10,000 businesses, including larger companies, reported missed call rates of 22%. Research from the USA indicates that larger companies, often with dedicated call centres, achieve missed call rates well below 20%, and that the higher overall average is due to the exceptionally poor performance of SMEs businesses which reportedly miss over half of their calls. This reaches an incredible 62% when the focus is on the smallest businesses i.e. almost 2 our of every 3 calls remain unanswered. Perhaps he most sobering aspect of this last figure is that 62% is an ’average’ i.e. some companies must miss far more than 62%!
Given these statistics, it is unsurprising to learn that over 20% of US businesses fail in the first year of operation, and, by year five, that figure has risen to 50% (US Bureau of Labour Statistics). Sadly, the UK survival rates for new businesses are even worse with only 40% surviving after five years in operation.
Interestingly, from the published data, missed call rates have remained consistently high through the 2010s, 2020s to today despite the changing digital communications landscape.
Interesting research reported by Invoca2, a US business that uses AI to track marketing spend and revenue generation, compared missed call rates across different sectors. The table below summarises that data provided across twelve business sectors (UK sector descriptors used):
Sector | % unanswered calls | % of calls as sales leads | % of leads converting to sales |
Car Dealerships | 21 | 37 | 33 |
Car Servicing | 20 | 39 | 51 |
Banks and Building Societies | 49 | 51 | 20 |
Travel (Cruises) | 37 | 17 | 36 |
Private Dentists | 27 | 37 | 26 |
Domestic Services | 27 | 47 | 29 |
Private Hospitals | 24 | 50 | 42 |
Insurance | 39 | 30 | 22 |
Allied Healthcare Professions3 | 28 | 26 | 39 |
Home Care for the Elderly | 20 | 29 | 30 |
Care Homes | 37 | 17 | 38 |
2https://www.invoca.com/blog/how-many-phone-calls-are-you-missing
3Allied healthcare professionals include physiotherapists, osteopaths, podiatrists etc.
One difference between the USA and the UK are the high volumes of unsolicited/spam calls in the USA. This may make it harder to identify which incoming calls are from bona fide existing customers or prospects. Even more reason to use a professional, tailored and affordable call answering service like Paperclip! More on that in the third blog in this series.
Summary
Despite reservations about data sources and accurate self-reporting, there appears little doubt that missed calls – referred to as unanswered calls in the US – average around 25%. Within this figure, micro-businesses and SME appear to be less effective at answering calls than larger businesses, some of which may be benefitting from dedicated call/response centres.
However, the 49% missed calls figure reported by Invoca for banks indicates that there is significant scope for improvement regardless of business size.
To follow...
In the second blog of our ‘missed calls’ series, we look at why businesses miss calls, and the published data on how much missed calls may be costing businesses.
You may also like:
- The true cost of a missed call
- Strategies to reduce missed business calls
- Why do UK businesses miss so many calls, and what is the commercial impact?
Hi, I’m Louise Bellwood, Director at Paperclip. I am responsible for delivering Paperclip’s customer service and growth strategies for 2024 and beyond, I am a crusader for the benefits call answering can deliver for organisations of all kinds; customer service, sales generation, customer retention and more. If you have a question about call answering – pricing, set-up, benefits – I would love to hear from you at louise@paperclip.co.uk or 01246 418 181.