The way in which you communicate with your customers can make or break your business, but how do you make sure their experience is a positive one? says ANT Marketing
The strength of your company’s communication can result in new customers and build loyalty and trust with existing ones.
Taking steps to improve your communication is no simple feat though, and could result in having to make wholesale changes to your customer service strategy.
The telephone is still the most popular method of customer service interaction, and with that in mind, we have some advice on how to build on the practices you have in place to ensure your customers’ experience is memorable for the right reasons…
Make A Good First Impression
First impressions are not only how you begin a solid relationship with a customer, but they are lasting too. If you start badly, recovering from it becomes very difficult. It’s also very easy for a customer to switch allegiances to a competitor after a poor first impression, as brand loyalty has not yet been established.
The quickest way to ruin your chance at a good first impression is by answering the telephone in a poor manner, or not even answering it at all. Automated telephone systems also have a wide scope for ruining a first impression. One study found that 83% of people said they would avoid a company or stop giving them business after a poor experience with an automated phone system. For many businesses investing in a dedicated customer service is not possible, so working with a trusted outsourcing partner that understands the importance of a first impression is vital.
Minimise Hold Times
Being forced to wait on hold is a huge frustration for your customers, and one survey revealed that 93% of people were only prepared to wait on hold for 5 minutes.
This is a very small window of opportunity to answer your customers’ calls before they start becoming frustrated with your business.
More often than than not, your business will be receiving calls from upset or frustrated customers, and making them wait on hold can make the situation even worse.
We received over 14,000 calls for one single product recall, and ensured that 98% of them were answered immediately. Take a look at our stats when we provided an inbound customer service call handling overflow team for a world-leading food, beverage and confectionery manufacturer.
Get Personal
Make a concerted effort to improve the way you speak to your customers.
Set guidelines on the language to use, and depending on the nature of your business, consider promoting a lighter, more personal tone among your team.
Every single one of your customer service representatives needs to be briefed on how to address your customers.
While this may seem like the exact opposite of being personable and treating each caller individually, by establishing accepted terms of address and using positive language across the board, you can make your customers feel like they are being treated as individuals.
Additional Information
For additional information on ANT Marketing visit their Website
