Until recently small businesses have avoided adding auto-attendants and queues to their telephone system, mainly because of the prohibitive cost but also because they felt it put callers off.
Now with changes in consumer behavior and the growth in cloud telephone systems this is no longer the case. Callers to a business now expect to be answered by an automated system and if the voice is succinct and professional their initial perception of that company is enhanced. As long as they are transferred at the next step to a human being they will often view the company as more organised, more professional and bigger than perhaps they actually are.
With cloud voice every individual gets their own direct phone number and for callers that don’t know who they want to talk to (like sales enquiries) they are handled professionally and directed immediately to someone that can help them. Even in very small companies where everyone mucks-in with incoming calls, employees can see on the screen what the call is about before they answer it.