5 BEST METHODS OF EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION


The field of business telecommunication is quickly changing to reflect our dependence on mobile devices and our demand for instant answers. In just the last few years, more companies are depending on text, chat, and email-based customer service than ever before. Customer's willingness to wait on hold for a live representative has dropped off drastically during this same period.

ADD CHAT

The inclusion of chat-based customer support has increased by nearly 26% since 2010. Customers who have used chat support report just over a 70% satisfaction rating. There can be many explanations for this, but typically, customers experience shorter wait time through chats, are not faced with the infamous language barrier that is so common across customer support call centers, and are able to communicate more clearly in writing. Transcripts of the conversation can be saved and used for reference later, and customers are better able to get a resolution.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA

In just the last two years, social media has also seen a giant spike in uses for business. Many customers are happy to relate to their favorite brands through Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites. While these sites may not be aimed at the same problem resolution funnel as call and chat centers, they do provide a positive way for customers to interact with your company when they are not having trouble with their service or product.

ONLINE ANSWERS

Many companies have also taken a proactive step toward resolving customer complaints by offering comprehensive troubleshooting and FAQ pages through their websites. This gives users the ability to search for their problem on their own time and try to reach a resolution without ever picking up the phone. In many cases, customers are relieved to see that you are aware of the problem already and that you have a quick fix.

ADVANCED PHONE SYSTEMS

Despite all of these advancements in technology, centralized phone systems remain one of the most effective ways of interacting with the customer. Using the latest version of VoIP technology allows you to link your customer account information with your phone system to reduce wait times in and out of calls. Advanced routing to free agents and the ability to automatically open the user's account based on the phone number they are calling for offer small improvements in workflow that add up over time. Incremental improvements in your business telecommunication system can drastically reduce the amount of time you are spending on the phone with each individual customer, maximizing your efficiency.

CENTRALIZED CONTROL

While you may be wondering how you can possibly manage social media, phones, and chat rooms all at one time without hiring a ton of new staff, the answer is simple. Today's technology provides a streamlined interface that combines all of these communication avenues into a single program, which also has access to your calendar for scheduling and a shared reporting system. This way, all of your agents can keep up with changes in a customer account and respond in whatever way the customer prefers without missing a beat.

Going forward, your business telecommunication strategy needs to be inclusive and built to meet your customers where they are. That's why it is so important to move to an upgraded system that can support multi-channel integration of phone calls, chat rooms, and even text-based responses that provide immediate value to the customer in real time.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

So, what is this “Unified Communications” thing, anyhow?

Outsourcing: an overview

MSPs save money And you get stuff that matters