Zoom Office, one of Reading's popular live [phone answering service](http://www.zoomoffice.co), has reported common issues small businesses face in customer call handling and ways to overcome with 5 easy pointers.

The company based close to Thames Valley Business Park, headed by successful business man Jerry Butt says "there are 5.4 million small businesses in the UK and many more joining the small business club, since the austerity measures and job losses since the downturn in the UK economy in 2008, people have taken it upon themselves to make a living and not rely on the job market."

Zoom Office's report centres around some key areas small businesses need to focus on. One of the areas small business tend to overlook they say is human voice on the end of phone call from a potential customer or existing customer, the report quotes some alarming statistics. Their report shows an astonishing 75% of people do not leave a voice message and prefer to speak to a real person on the other end, and some 45% calls go unanswered for small businesses. The report also highlights that small businesses can save money and gain more customers by utilising the services of a call answering service, this is good news for any small business looking to survive in tough UK economy.

Owner of Zoom Office when asked where these stats are from he said "The report is based on a survey with current and potential customers, focus on call handling and what factors would improve customer service and increase in sales. Customers come from a variety of backgrounds, from medical centres, law firms, charities, accountants, webdesign, estate agents, these small businesses are comprised of solopreneur's to office's with dozens of staff."

A more detailed report can be found on [Zoom Office's blog](http://www.zoomoffice.co/blog/), it covers 5 ways a phone answering service can help small businesses benefit from using a virtual receptionist.

Jerry Butt further adds "making use of a phone answering service or Virtual Receptionist, as they are also known, a small business can really help capitalise on marketing campaigns by capturing sales leads and create a seamless extension to their business, and keep customers satisfied by providing an instant response every time they reach out."

"Having managed a number businesses which required a constant presence of a receptionist, that there was a demand for a call answering and virtual assistant service that focused on small businesses who did not always require full time member of staff." "Since starting the virtual receptionist service, the business has steadily grown to provide an invaluable service to customers not just in the Thames Valley area, but across the UK."

"One example of a typical customer is an Estate Agent, who has a small team but does not need a full time secretary, he said "Zoom Office help take messages and screen calls very efficiently and email messages within seconds of receiving them, so I never miss a client call when all my lines or staff are busy."

More details on how small businesses can utilise a virtual receptionist and call answering services can be found at http://www.zoomoffice.co