Most businesses give their customers the option to call if they have any questions or concerns. If you don’t do this, you should seriously consider doing so. After all, customers are more likely to distrust a business if they are only able to get in touch with them via email.
When conducting any type of business over the telephone, there is a unique set of challenges faced. It is easy to become disconnected when visual communication channels are absent. However, you and your team need to work hard to ensure that this is not the case and that your customers feel satisfied at the end of every phone call.
Let’s take a look at some tips that will help you to deliver a better telephone service…
Be sincere – You need to ensure that your conversations are sincere. All employees need to be genuine. There is nothing worse than sounding inauthentic or artificial, yet this can easily occur if your customer service advisors are simply reading from a script. Instead, encourage them to let their personality shine. Of course, it’s vital that the lines aren’t blurred; professionalism must always be maintained.
Don’t charge your customers a fortune – If there is one thing customers hate, it is having to pay high call charges in order to get in touch with a company. It seems almost unfair; the company charges high call rates, and you are put on hold, have to go through security questions, and so on, meaning charges simply get higher and higher. This is why it is wise to invest in a cost effective 800 number answering service. 800 numbers mean that the customer calls you, and you pick up the cost of that call, rather than them being charged.
Enunciate clearly – The ability to understand what someone is saying on the telephone is the difference between a productive conversation and one that is filled with tension. This is why you need to make sure that all employees speak clearly, using simple words and phrases. Never use complicated jargon and vocabulary. The last thing you want to do is make your customers feel inferior or confuse them. Also, avoid filler words or slang words, such as ‘um’ or ‘like’ because they will detract from the quality of the interaction. It makes it harder to attain a constructive resolution to the problem.
Adopt a positive tone – Projecting an attentive, natural, and enthusiastic tone while on the telephone can help the customer to feel comfortable throughout the conversation. Whenever you answer the phone, you should smile when you greet the person. It may sound somewhat clichéd, but a smile really can be heard through the telephone, and it will immediately make your customers feel at ease. By doing this, you generate room for a friendly and productivity exchange.
Hone your vocal qualities – It is also crucial that you understand your own vocal qualities during the call. You need to control your pitch, rate of speech, and overall timbre. The average person speaks at a pace of between 130 and 150 words every minute. Attempt to match this rate while on the phone. Of course, you shouldn’t try counting your words while speaking to a customer, but practice really does make perfect. If you speak slower than this, it will give the impression that you don’t care and you are lazy. On the other hand, if you speak too fast, it will be difficult for the customer to understand. Try timing yourself – record yourself speak on the phone and then count the words per minute. This will help you to determine whether you need to speed up or slow down, or whether you’ve got it right already.
Outsource this service – Do you really have the capacity to provide an exceptional phone service in-house? A lot of businesses struggle to provide quality customer service because they simply don’t have the time. If you feel unable to focus on the core of your company because you are constantly answering the telephone, maybe it would be better for you to look elsewhere? By employing experts in the field, not only do you lighten the load of your business, but you can be confident that your customers are benefitting from exceptional customer service in the process too. This may seem like an unnecessary expense, but the efficiencies outsourcing brings can actually save you more money in the process.
Providing an exceptional telephone service is a must if you want to keep your customers on side. Use the tips mentioned above and you can provide a better customer service while boosting your brand and loyalty levels in the process.
