Ooma Survey Finds Robocalls Cost Small Businesses $9.46 Per Call

Extended warranty scams are one source of unwanted robocalls per FTC

Posted by Alisa Valles

March 2, 2020

Ooma, Inc., a smart communications platform for businesses and consumers, today announced results of a survey on how robocalls hurt the bottom line of small businesses. The survey of 500 business owners and managers in the United States, sponsored by Ooma, found that 84 percent get robocalls every day, with 54 percent receiving five or more per day, at an average cost of $9.46 per call*. Yet 76 percent say they feel obligated to answer every time the phone rings – unlike most consumers – because they don’t want to risk missing a customer call.

To appreciate how these costs mount up, consider a small business with multiple lines that receives 50 robocalls per day: The annual impact in lost productivity is $118,000.

Robocalls are an annoyance to everyone, but – as our survey shows – the cost is especially high for small businesses that rely on the phone to maintain relationships and bring in new customers

Despite this painful burden, the survey found that fewer than 16 percent of small businesses have tools in place today to block robocalls.

The scourge of robocalling, or automatically dialed junk calls, causes a wide range of problems for small business. The top concerns of survey participants:

• 73 percent agree with the statement, “Robocalls waste time and reduce our team’s productivity because they must stop what they’re doing, answer the phone, and figure out if the call is legitimate.”

• 44 percent agree that, “Robocalls distract from authentic calls from current or potential customers and partners.”

• 20 percent agree that, “Fraudulent robocalls discredit the legitimate business-related robocalls (such as appointment reminders) we place to our customers.”

Indeed, a recent survey by Consumer Reports found that 70 percent of U.S. residents say they have “stopped answering my phone if I don’t recognize the number of if the caller’s number is anonymous.”