When customers call your business it is always with a purpose. They could be calling with a question, with intent to make a purchase or to make a complaint. Whatever the reason, it is vital to ensure that the phone call provides complete customer satisfaction. It is the best way to build trust and encourage customer loyalty and retention. Here are four ways you can ensure customer satisfaction over the phone.
1. Short wait times
You only get one chance to make a first impression and keeping customer’s waiting is not a great way to start – that is one way to ensure a bad mark goes against you. Long hold times are a sure way to put people off and only serves to make happy customers annoyed and angry customers more frustrated. Always keep wait times to an absolute minimum.
2. A friendly greeting
The way employees answer the phone is the next step in ensuring a positive response. Greetings should always be given in a cheerful tone while offering the name of the business and the employee themselves. This way the customer knows they are through to the right department, and introduces them to the person they will be speaking to. You should also end the greeting with an offer of support, such as “how can I help you today?” If you answer the phone in an abrupt manner, the customer will automatically be on the defensive and will feel their concern is not appreciated or taken seriously.
3. Clear communication
Ensure that all information is given to the customer clearly and in a way that they can understand. For this, call centre staff will need to display excellent listening skills, to take note of the customer’s reason for calling. They will then be able to give a concise response.
4. Efficient response
Where possible resolve the issue in one phone call. This efficient response makes the process quick and easy for the customer and will leave a lasting impression. If it is going to take a little longer to sort out, always make sure the customer is well informed and kept up to date along the way.
To ensure customer satisfaction every time consider an outbound call centre. Here at Frontline we are able to offer bespoke 24/7 support provided by highly trained and professional staff who will go above and beyond to ensure excellent customer service for your business.