Best Answering Service in Mississippi

Why Mississippi Businesses Need an Answering Service

Mississippi has 266,385 small businesses that represent 99.3% of all employers in the state. Those businesses employ 432,187 people, roughly 45.5% of the private workforce. In a state of nearly 3 million people with a $158 billion economy that grew at the second-fastest rate in the country in 2024, small businesses are doing the heavy lifting. But most of them are too small for a dedicated receptionist and too busy to let calls ring through to voicemail.

The problem sharpens when you consider what Mississippi workers actually do all day. A welder at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula can't answer the phone while working on a Navy destroyer hull. A catfish farmer outside Belzoni can't take a call from a processor while feeding 30 acres of ponds at dawn. A blackjack dealer trainer at a Biloxi casino can't step off the floor to schedule a plumber. A forestry equipment operator near Laurel can't climb out of a harvester to field a parts inquiry. When $9 billion in defense spending, $9.5 billion in agricultural value, and $2.43 billion in gaming revenue all flow through a state where 68,000 people work in timber alone, unanswered calls are revenue that walked out the door.

An answering service catches those calls. The question is which one fits Mississippi's particular combination of defense contracting, agriculture, gaming, forestry, and a healthcare system under severe strain.

What Makes Mississippi's Business Environment Distinct

Mississippi's economy is more complex than its reputation suggests, with several sectors generating billions in annual output:

• Defense spending approaches $9 billion annually: Mississippi punches well above its population weight in military and defense. Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula is the state's largest manufacturing employer with 11,000 to 11,500 workers and invests $15 million per week in local payroll alone. The yard was awarded a $9.6 billion Navy contract in September 2024 and builds surface warships, Coast Guard cutters, and Marine Corps vessels. Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi trains 28,000 students annually across 400 courses and, combined with the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, contributes over $1 billion annually and approximately 25,000 direct and indirect jobs. Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg adds $800 million and 7,000 jobs as the largest state-owned military training site in the U.S. at 134,000 acres. Stennis Space Center employs 5,200 people with an $846 million direct economic impact across more than 50 federal, state, and private organizations. Columbus AFB trains nearly half of all Air Force pilots. The thousands of contractors, subcontractors, and service businesses supporting these installations need phone handling that meets military and government communication standards.
• Agriculture generates $9.5 billion in value: Mississippi produces 65% of all U.S. farm-raised catfish, double the combined output of Arkansas and Alabama, the next two largest producers. Catfish farming concentrates in the Delta region around Belzoni, Indianola, and Humphreys County, with 29,900 acres in production and $185 million in foodsize fish sales. Beyond catfish, poultry has been the top agricultural commodity for 31 consecutive years, generating $3.8 billion in value with 752 million broilers produced and 47,000 direct and ancillary jobs. Soybeans contribute $1.3 billion, cotton adds $496 million (up 34% due to acreage increases), and total field crops reach $2.64 billion. Farm operations run on schedules that don't pause for phone calls. A grain elevator in Greenville at 5am during harvest, a poultry integrator confirming a pickup from a Scott County house at 4:30am, or a cotton gin scheduling deliveries in the fall needs someone on the line.
• Forestry contributes $15.4 billion to the economy: Mississippi has 19.2 million acres of forestland, nearly 66% privately owned by non-industrial landowners. The forestry sector directly employs 68,000 people with total employment including indirect jobs reaching 123,659. Wages and salaries total $4.4 billion across four major sectors: solid wood products, pulp and paper, wood furniture, and related products. For the sawmill operators, logging companies, paper mills, and equipment suppliers spread across rural Mississippi, professional phone handling is a basic business need that the local labor market often cannot fill.
• Gaming generates $2.43 billion in revenue: Mississippi operates 26 commercial casinos, with the Gulf Coast's 13 properties capturing over 60% of statewide revenue at approximately $1.5 billion. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is the fifth-largest gaming market in the nation. Tunica in northern Mississippi, once the third-largest gaming market in the country, still operates five casinos along the Mississippi River corridor. The hospitality businesses surrounding these casinos (hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, transportation, real estate) field high volumes of calls from guests, event planners, and vendors. A property management company near Biloxi handling casino worker housing, a catering service supplying Gulf Coast resorts, or a shuttle company serving Tunica properties all need consistent phone coverage across peak and off-peak hours.
• Tourism reached $18.1 billion in economic impact: Mississippi welcomed a record 44.2 million visitors in 2024, with visitor spending reaching $11.9 billion (up 3.2% from the prior year). Tourism supports 136,094 jobs statewide, one in every 13 jobs in the state. Coastal Mississippi alone is a $2.2 billion tourism industry. Hattiesburg drew $604 million in visitor spending. The state's tourism businesses span Gulf Coast beach resorts, Delta blues trail attractions, Natchez historic homes, Oxford's literary and cultural scene, and Vicksburg's Civil War landmarks. Seasonal surges (spring break on the Gulf Coast, fall football weekends at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, hunting seasons across the Delta) create call volume spikes that permanent staff cannot absorb.
• Healthcare faces a severe access crisis: Mississippi ranks 50th nationally in practicing physicians per 100,000 people, and projections put the state at 118 active physicians per 100,000 by 2030, which is 42% below the national average. All or parts of all 82 counties are designated as medically underserved. 49% of rural hospitals are vulnerable to closure, the second-worst rate in the nation. 68% of rural hospitals have no labor and delivery unit, and 51.2% of counties are maternity care deserts. In the Mississippi Delta, patients travel an average of 75 miles to reach primary care. For the clinics, community health centers, home health agencies, and telehealth providers trying to serve this population, every missed call is a patient who may not call back. HIPAA-compliant phone handling with accurate message documentation is not optional in a state where the healthcare system is stretched this thin.
• Manufacturing employs 145,000+ workers beyond shipbuilding: Nissan's Canton plant employs 5,000 workers and has produced over 4 million vehicles since 2003. Toyota's Blue Springs facility employs 2,000 workers producing 170,000 Corollas annually. Combined Nissan and Toyota investment exceeds $5.2 billion, generating $415 million in state and local taxes. The automotive sector includes 200+ employers with 15,000+ workers. Tupelo remains the upholstery capital of the world, and Liebherr is investing $176 million in the city for construction equipment manufacturing. Mississippi ranked third nationally for jobs created by reshoring in 2025. The contractors, parts suppliers, and service businesses connected to this manufacturing network need professional phone handling that matches the standards of their OEM and corporate clients.

Top 5 Answering Services for Mississippi Businesses

We evaluated these services against Mississippi's specific demands: defense contractor communication protocols, agricultural predawn operations, Gulf Coast casino and tourism seasonality, forestry and manufacturing shift schedules, HIPAA compliance for a healthcare system in crisis, and bilingual needs for a growing 3.7% Hispanic population.

1. Zinng: Best Overall (AI-Powered)

Zinng answers every call with AI trained on your specific business. No hold times, no quality variation between a Tuesday morning in March and a Saturday night during Cruisin' the Coast, and no staffing problems when Gulf Coast tourism triples your summer call volume. For a state with 266,000 small businesses supporting $9 billion in defense contracts and 65% of the nation's farm-raised catfish, answering every call instantly and documenting it precisely is where professional operations begin.

Every call generates a complete transcript delivered by email with SMS alerts for urgent items. A defense subcontractor in Pascagoula gets documented details from a Navy procurement officer calling at 5pm about a parts specification. A catfish processor in Indianola gets the exact tonnage and delivery schedule from a distributor calling at 6am. A home health aide coordinator in Greenwood gets verbatim patient information from an after-hours call that needs morning follow-up. The transcripts replace operator notes and voicemails with an auditable record of every interaction.

• Pricing: $49/month with 100 minutes included. Additional minutes at $0.12 each. Growth plan at $99/month with 250 minutes. Business plan at $199/month with 600 minutes.
• Best for: Mississippi businesses across defense, agriculture, gaming, forestry, and healthcare that need affordable, always-on coverage with exact call documentation.
• Key features: 24/7 AI answering, full call transcripts, SMS alerts for urgent calls, HIPAA compliant, custom call routing, spam blocking, appointment scheduling, 14-day free trial with no credit card.
• Standout: A Hattiesburg HVAC company handling 250 minutes monthly pays $67 with Zinng ($49 base + $18 overage). The cheapest traditional alternative for the same volume costs $235+. Over a year, that's $2,000+ in savings. For a Mississippi small business in a state where median household income is $52,985, those savings fund a marketing campaign, a new truck payment, or the difference between hiring and not hiring summer help.

2. Ruby Receptionists: Best Premium Live Service

Ruby, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is the premium option for Mississippi businesses that want live human receptionists with strong brand reputation and training. Ruby's receptionists are known for warm, professional call handling that works particularly well for law firms, financial advisors, and professional services companies. For the legal and financial practices in Jackson, Oxford, and the Gulf Coast that serve high-value clients in real estate, oil and gas, and corporate matters, Ruby's polish creates an impression that matches the stakes of the work.

Ruby offers 10 pricing tiers from 50 to 2,500 minutes, all with 24/7 inbound answering and bilingual English/Spanish support included. Outbound calling is available Monday through Friday, 5am to 6pm Pacific time. The service includes call routing, appointment scheduling, and a mobile app for managing calls on the go. For Mississippi attorneys handling personal injury cases from Gulf Coast incidents, property lawyers managing Natchez estate transactions, or financial advisors in Ridgeland serving clients across the Jackson metro, Ruby's live receptionists bring a level of caller experience that many businesses value.

• Pricing: Call Ruby 50 at $250/month for 50 minutes ($5.40/min overage). Call Ruby 100 at $395/month for 100 minutes ($4.50/min overage). Call Ruby 200 at $720/month for 200 minutes ($4.40/min overage). Call Ruby 500 at $1,725/month for 500 minutes ($4.00/min overage). Higher tiers available up to 2,500 minutes at $7,875/month.
• Best for: Mississippi law firms, financial advisors, and professional services businesses that want premium live receptionists and have the budget to support per-minute rates above $4.00.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering (inbound), bilingual English/Spanish, call routing, appointment scheduling, mobile app, outbound calling (M-F business hours PT).
• Drawback: Ruby is the most expensive option on this list by a wide margin. The Call Ruby 200 plan at $720/month for 200 minutes produces an effective rate of $3.60/min, which is 30 times Zinng's per-minute overage rate. A Meridian plumbing company handling 200 minutes pays $720 with Ruby versus $61 with Zinng. Over a year, that's $7,908 in additional cost. For Mississippi businesses where margins are tight and the median household income ranks lowest among all states, Ruby's premium pricing is difficult to justify unless the caller experience directly drives revenue. Outbound calling is limited to Pacific time business hours, which means a Mississippi business that needs to return calls after 6pm CT cannot use Ruby for that function.

3. PATLive: Most Established 24/7 Service

PATLive, based in Tallahassee, Florida and operating since 1990, brings over 35 years of live answering experience. Their Flex Platform offers four tiers from 75 to 600 minutes with 24/7 coverage. For Mississippi businesses in the Gulf Coast region, PATLive's proximity in the Central/Eastern time zone and their experience with Southern business culture make them a practical choice. The service handles message taking, appointment scheduling, order processing, and call transfers on every plan.

PATLive's strength is reliability and consistency across a long track record. For the defense contractors around Pascagoula and Stennis Space Center, the property management companies serving military families near Keesler and Columbus AFB, and the HVAC and electrical contractors supporting Camp Shelby operations, PATLive delivers straightforward 24/7 answering with professional operators who can handle after-hours emergencies, schedule appointments, and route calls according to custom scripts.

• Pricing: Starter at $235/month for 75 minutes ($2.25/min overage, 1 line). Standard at $415/month for 200 minutes ($2.10/min overage, 3 lines). Premium at $650/month for 350 minutes ($1.90/min overage, 5 lines). Pro at $1,050/month for 600 minutes ($1.85/min overage, 10 lines).
• Best for: Mississippi businesses that want an established, reliable 24/7 live answering service with Southern time zone alignment and a long operating history.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering, appointment scheduling, order processing, call transfers, customizable scripts, multiple line support on higher tiers.
• Drawback: Bilingual English/Spanish support costs an additional $20/month, a disadvantage in a state where the Hispanic population has grown 4.5% since 2020. The Starter plan's $235/month for just 75 minutes produces an effective rate of $3.13/min. A Gulfport property manager handling 200 minutes pays $415 with PATLive versus $61 with Zinng, a difference of $354/month or $4,248/year. PATLive's operator notes are call summaries, not verbatim transcripts. For a defense subcontractor who needs exact documentation of a procurement call specifying part numbers and compliance requirements, the summary format can miss critical details that an AI transcript captures word for word.

4. Smith.ai: Best AI-Human Hybrid

Smith.ai, headquartered in Los Altos, California, combines AI front-end processing with live receptionist backup. Their hybrid approach uses AI to screen, route, and handle simple calls while escalating complex interactions to human agents. For Mississippi law firms that need lead qualification and intake workflows, Smith.ai integrates with legal CRMs including Clio, Lawmatics, and PracticePanther. The service is popular with solo practitioners and small firms that need more than basic answering but cannot justify a full-time intake specialist.

Smith.ai uses per-call pricing rather than per-minute billing. The AI receptionist plan handles approximately 60 calls per month for $95, while the live receptionist plan covers 30 calls for $300. For Mississippi attorneys handling personal injury cases from Interstate 10 and Highway 49 accidents, family law practitioners in the Jackson metro, or criminal defense lawyers serving clients across the Delta, Smith.ai's intake capabilities go beyond simple message taking. The service qualifies leads, books consultations, and captures the information attorneys need to evaluate cases before returning calls.

• Pricing: AI receptionist at $95/month for approximately 60 calls ($2.40/call overage). Live receptionist at $300/month for 30 calls ($11.50/call overage). Add-ons: $1.50/call for appointment booking, $1.00/call for payment processing, $0.50/call for Teams notifications.
• Best for: Mississippi law firms and professional services businesses that need lead qualification, intake workflows, and CRM integration beyond basic answering.
• Key features: AI + live receptionist hybrid, lead qualification, new client intake, CRM integrations (Clio, Lawmatics, PracticePanther), fast answer times (4-7 seconds), appointment scheduling.
• Drawback: The per-call model can get expensive quickly. The live receptionist plan at $300/month for 30 calls works out to $10/call. A busy Jackson law firm receiving 100 calls monthly pays $300 + (70 calls x $11.50) = $1,105/month. Add-on fees for appointment booking ($1.50/call) and payment processing ($1.00/call) increase costs further. A Mississippi personal injury firm handling 80 calls monthly with appointment booking pays $300 + (50 x $11.50) + (80 x $1.50) = $995/month. Zinng covers the same call volume for a fraction of that cost with complete transcripts of every conversation. Smith.ai's hybrid model adds genuine intake value, but the per-call economics favor low-volume practices over busy offices.

5. AnswerForce: Best for Phone + Chat Bundle

AnswerForce, based in Portland, Oregon, bundles live phone answering with live chat on every plan. For Mississippi businesses that field inquiries through both channels (a Biloxi hotel getting booking requests via website chat and phone simultaneously, or a Tupelo furniture showroom handling website questions while taking phone orders), the combined offering eliminates the need for separate chat and phone services. AnswerForce's first 30 calls under 30 seconds are free each month, which reduces costs for businesses that receive many short inquiries.

AnswerForce offers six tiers from 200 to 1,000 minutes, all with 24/7 live answering, bilingual English/Spanish support, appointment scheduling, and lead capture. The Best Value plan at $359/month for 300 minutes and 100 chats waives the setup fee. For Mississippi tourism businesses on the Gulf Coast, Delta blues trail operators, and hospitality companies in Oxford and Natchez that receive a mix of phone calls and website inquiries, the bundled approach consolidates customer communications under one service.

• Pricing: Intro at $259/month for 200 minutes + 50 chats ($99 setup fee, $1.80/min overage). Best Value at $359/month for 300 minutes + 100 chats (no setup fee, $1.70/min overage). Standard at $649/month for 500 minutes + 150 chats (no setup fee, $1.70/min overage). Enterprise at $1,179/month for 1,000 minutes + 300 chats (no setup fee, $1.60/min overage).
• Best for: Mississippi businesses that need both phone answering and live website chat in a single service, especially tourism, hospitality, and retail businesses.
• Key features: 24/7 live answering, live chat included on every plan, bilingual English/Spanish, appointment scheduling, lead capture, first 30 calls under 30 seconds free each month.
• Drawback: The Intro plan's $99 setup fee adds to initial costs. At $259/month for 200 minutes, the effective rate is $1.30/min before overages. A Vicksburg tourism company handling 300 minutes pays $259 + (100 x $1.80) = $439/month on the Intro plan, or $359 on the Best Value plan. The same volume with Zinng costs $73/month ($49 + $24 overage). The chat bundling is genuine added value if your business actively uses website chat, but if phone is your primary channel, the chat minutes go unused while the base price remains higher than phone-only alternatives. AnswerForce's operator summaries also lack the verbatim detail that Zinng's AI transcripts provide for every call.

Pricing Comparison

Here's what each service costs for a Mississippi business handling approximately 200 minutes of calls per month (or equivalent call volume for Smith.ai's per-call model).

*Zinng's $49 plan includes 100 minutes. 200 minutes = $49 + $12 overage (100 additional minutes at $0.12/min).
**Smith.ai uses per-call pricing. Estimated 50 live calls at $300/month for 30 calls + 20 overage calls at $11.50 = $530. Actual cost depends on call count, not minutes.
***AnswerForce's Intro plan includes 200 minutes + 50 chats. $99 one-time setup fee not included in monthly cost.

Why AI Answering Fits Mississippi's Economy

Mississippi's economy runs on defense contracts, agriculture, gaming, forestry, and a healthcare system under pressure. AI answering addresses each of these:

• Defense contractors need exact documentation. With $9 billion in annual defense spending flowing through Ingalls Shipbuilding, Keesler AFB, Camp Shelby, Stennis Space Center, and Columbus AFB, thousands of businesses handle calls involving specifications, compliance requirements, and procurement details. AI produces verbatim transcripts of every call. A machine parts supplier in Pascagoula gets the exact NSN part number and quantity from a Navy logistics officer calling at 4pm. A janitorial service contractor at Stennis gets documented scope-of-work details from a facilities manager calling at 6pm. For an industry where misheard specifications can delay a $9.6 billion shipbuilding contract, the difference between a verbatim transcript and an operator's summary is not a preference. It's a business requirement.
• Agriculture runs before dawn and after dark. Catfish feeding schedules, poultry house pickups, cotton gin operations, and grain elevator deliveries all generate calls outside normal business hours. A processor calling a Humphreys County catfish farm at 5am about pond harvest schedules, a Tyson truck confirming a pickup from a Scott County broiler house at 4am, or a cotton buyer calling a Delta gin at 7pm during harvest all need the same quality of handling as a midday inquiry. AI answers at 4am with identical quality and at $0.12/min. Traditional services charge the same per-minute rate at 4am, but overnight operators are more likely to miss pond numbers, house locations, or tonnage specifications that a farmer needs documented correctly.
• Gaming and tourism seasonality is manageable at flat rates. Mississippi's 26 casinos, 44.2 million annual visitors, and Gulf Coast tourism create predictable seasonal surges. A Biloxi hotel that fields 400 minutes in August pays $85 with Zinng ($49 + $36 overage). The same volume at $1.80/min with AnswerForce costs $619 ($259 + $360 overage). That's $534/month in savings during each of the four busiest months, totaling $2,136. For a hospitality business on the Gulf Coast where hurricane season can wipe out a month of revenue, every dollar saved on overhead during peak months builds the reserves needed for recovery.
• Healthcare calls in an underserved state need precise handling. With all 82 counties at least partially designated as medically underserved and 49% of rural hospitals vulnerable to closure, the clinics and community health centers that remain open cannot afford to miss patient calls. AI answers instantly at any hour and creates HIPAA-compliant transcripts that document every detail. A patient calling a Greenville community health center at 8pm about medication side effects gets their exact words recorded for the provider to review in the morning. For a state where patients in the Delta travel 75 miles to reach primary care, the phone is often the first and most accessible point of contact with the healthcare system.
• Forestry and manufacturing operate on shift schedules. With 68,000 forestry jobs, 145,000+ manufacturing workers, and operations that run around the clock from Ingalls' shipyard to Nissan's Canton plant, the businesses supporting these industries field calls at all hours. A logging equipment dealer near Laurel gets a breakdown call from a harvester operator at 3am. A parts supplier for Toyota's Blue Springs plant gets an urgent order at 11pm. AI handles these calls identically to a 10am inquiry, with the same professionalism and the same complete transcript delivered by email. No staffing gaps, no sleepy overnight operators, no dropped details on a shift change.
• Rural Mississippi faces acute staffing shortages. Finding a receptionist in Jackson or on the Gulf Coast is challenging. Finding one in Greenwood, Clarksdale, or Laurel is often impossible. Mississippi's population declined in recent years while the economy grew at the second-fastest rate nationally, creating a labor squeeze where every available worker is absorbed into production roles. AI provides professional phone coverage for the businesses in rural Mississippi that cannot compete for labor against Ingalls, Nissan, or the Gulf Coast casinos. A dental office in Starkville, a farm supply store in Indianola, or a plumbing company in Meridian gets 24/7 coverage without posting a job that may never be filled.

Human answering services retain value for Mississippi businesses needing empathetic patient interactions, complex legal intake, or the premium caller experience that some professional services demand. But for the majority of calls (scheduling, inquiries, routing, documentation), AI delivers faster response, exact transcripts, and a cost structure that works for a Gulf Coast hotel operator and a Delta catfish farmer alike.

Choosing the Right Service for Your Mississippi Business

• Defense, agriculture, gaming, or any growing business? Zinng's $49/month plan with per-minute billing gives you 24/7 coverage with verbatim call transcripts. HIPAA compliant. No contracts. The 14-day free trial costs nothing to evaluate against your actual call patterns.
• Premium law firm or financial advisory practice? Ruby's live receptionists deliver caller experience that matches high-value client expectations. At $250+/month, it's a significant investment, but for Jackson and Gulf Coast firms where first impressions drive case acquisition, Ruby's polish is genuine. Budget $720/month for 200 minutes of coverage.
• Need established, reliable 24/7 live answering? PATLive's 35+ years of operation and Southern time zone alignment make them a practical choice for Mississippi businesses that want proven human receptionists. The Standard plan at $415/month for 200 minutes is the most cost-effective tier for moderate volume.
• Law firm needing lead qualification and intake? Smith.ai's hybrid AI-human model with CRM integrations goes beyond basic answering for legal practices. The AI plan at $95/month handles routine calls, while the live plan at $300/month adds human intake for complex cases. Best for practices receiving under 50 calls monthly.
• Need both phone and website chat? AnswerForce bundles live chat with phone answering on every plan. If your business actively receives website inquiries alongside phone calls, the combined offering at $259+/month eliminates the need for a separate chat service. Tourism, hospitality, and retail businesses benefit most.
• Serving Mississippi's Hispanic communities? Zinng and AnswerForce include bilingual support at no extra charge. Ruby includes bilingual inbound support. PATLive adds bilingual for $20/month. Smith.ai includes bilingual handling in their plans. With 3.7% Hispanic population and continued growth, bilingual capability matters for healthcare, legal, and service businesses across the state.

Final Verdict

Zinng is the best answering service for Mississippi businesses. At $61/month for 200 minutes of 24/7 coverage, it costs a fraction of every traditional alternative while delivering complete call transcripts, HIPAA compliance, and unlimited simultaneous call capacity. Whether you're documenting a defense procurement call in Pascagoula or booking a fishing charter on the Gulf Coast, the service operates identically at every hour and every volume level.

Ruby Receptionists delivers the premium live answering experience for Mississippi's professional services firms. The warm, trained receptionists create caller impressions that matter in legal and financial contexts. At $720/month for 200 minutes, it's a premium that only makes sense for practices where the caller experience directly generates revenue.

PATLive earns its position through 35 years of reliable 24/7 answering and a straightforward pricing model. For Mississippi businesses that want proven human operators without the premium pricing of Ruby, PATLive delivers competent live answering at mid-range costs. The Southern time zone proximity is a minor but practical advantage.

Smith.ai fills a specific niche for Mississippi law firms and professional practices that need lead qualification and intake workflows beyond basic message taking. The hybrid AI-human model and CRM integrations add genuine value for legal practices. Per-call pricing favors lower-volume offices over busy firms receiving 100+ calls monthly.

And AnswerForce provides the best combined phone and chat solution for Mississippi businesses that actively use both channels. The bundled approach eliminates the complexity of managing separate services. For Gulf Coast tourism operators, Natchez bed-and-breakfasts, and Oxford retail shops that field website and phone inquiries simultaneously, the integration has real operational value.

Mississippi built the ships that defend the nation, feeds America's appetite for catfish and poultry, hosts millions at Gulf Coast casinos and Delta blues landmarks, and grows timber across 19 million acres of forest. The state's economy is expanding faster than all but one other state in the country. From the shipyards of Pascagoula to the catfish ponds of the Delta to the training grounds of Camp Shelby, the phone is where Mississippi business gets done. The right answering service ensures that when Mississippi calls, someone always picks up.