Customer phone experience

The Importance of a Smooth Customer Phone Experience

The phone is what customers reach for when they want to place an order or ask for help. Sales and customer support are two of the most critical areas of your business in terms of winning and retaining customers, so ensuring the phone experiences are seamless is vital.

Here’s why a quality phone experience matters – and how to deliver it.

The Phone Experience is a Branding Experience

Every interaction your customers have with you shapes how they feel about your organization. You want them to think that you’re professional, trustworthy, capable, and caring. Promptly answering calls, smoothly directing customers to the correct department, and providing stellar, personalized service that meets their needs reflects well on your brand – helping to foster loyalty and word of mouth. Call quality matters as well – make sure your audio is crystal clear and that you’re monitoring to see where improvements can be made.

Effective Phone Support Means Better Retention

Customers, donors, and clients pick up the phone when they have an urgent need. A responsive and expert operator support system means that your organization will be well-placed to make a sale, handle requests, or provide help as it’s needed – when it’s needed. In contrast, long wait times, complex phone menus, and inexpert staff can result in lost business. Being there for your customers means that they’ll be there for you.

Talking to Someone is a Matter of Convenience

Support tickets, emails, and online “how-tos” work for simple questions or challenges. But customers typically call up when they have a question that falls slightly outside the typical situation. Some also prefer the phone to other higher-tech options they may be unfamiliar with. Talking to a real person can be a faster, more human way of resolving an issue – quickly giving your customers the solution they need along with assurance from a real person.

Great Phone Service Is an Upselling Device

Getting a customer or donor on the phone is a great way to build rapport, identify their needs, and see whether a higher-tier product or service would work better for them than their current choice. People inherently want to impress and please others, and creating a personal connection over the phone is a great way to leverage this desire while also showcasing the benefits and features of your offer.

So, What Makes a Smooth Phone Experience?

A great phone experience brings together several elements: quality, convenience, and a human touch. Here’s what your contact center experience should offer:

  • Quick call pickup. Long hold times are a major frustration for customers. Ensure your support team can scale up to assist customers even in times of high demand quickly.
  • Simple phone menus. Complex phone menus that request large amounts of data input confuse and frustrate customers. Keep it simple and only request the data you really need.
  • Crystal clear audio. Poor connections affect customer satisfaction – and your brand. Use high-quality VoIP solutions and agents with access to professional-quality technology to ensure quality audio.
  • Knowledgeable staff. Your customers are coming to you with a particular goal, and your job is to help them achieve it. The team should be well-versed in what you offer, common questions and challenges, and how and to whom to escalate inquiries.
  • A focus on improvement. Analytics, call metrics, and post-call surveys can help you identify gaps and issues and then improve them over time. Use this data to deliver the best phone experience you can.
  • Integrated workflows. Your engagement with your customers doesn’t end when they hang up the phone. Integrated contact center solutions let you see where you left off – and give you opportunities to follow up and stay in touch.

Talk to ACD About Creating a Smooth Customer Phone Experience

At ACD, we offer turnkey contact center solutions that can help your organization provide a smooth, customer-focused telephone experience. Our two-pronged approach combines leading SaaS technology with a distributed workforce of experienced agents to help you elevate your telephone customer experience. To ensure that your phone experience maximizes customer satisfaction – and your bottom line – talk to us today.

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