What is it that your customers value? Is it a live person answering their call? Being able to get information from your web site or in email? Find out why focusing on your customer’s preferences is the surest path to a thriving business.
Smart companies today are connecting better with their customers. Rather than focusing on how to cut costs they are focusing on giving their customers a better experience. When you do this you’ll increase customer loyalty which should lead to higher revenue, more profits and a healthier company. (Cutting costs can never do this.)
And you can only do this by connecting better with customers. So successful companies are finding ways to reach out to their customers better. And they’re learning how to make it easy and convenient for their customers to reach out to them.
One way to do this is to go retro: answer the phone.
Pull the auto attendant and have a real live, friendly person answer the phone. But this only makes sense if this is what your customers value. And it only works if you do it well. Customers do not want to wait on hold forever. And they don’t want to talk to 17 different people everyone of whom asks them for the same information (name, account number, question, or problem).
But, before you decide to make a major change, find out what your customers really want. Then design your company to do that well. Don’t assume your customers want a real person on the phone just because you hear a lot of buzz about it from the media. Confirm it by talking to your customers.
Then make sure you are able to help your customers in a way that is both effective and friendly. Your employees need to care about your customers and be able to help them quickly and successfully.
Healthy, thriving companies are putting real people back on the phone when it serves their customers better. They are also using social media, if that’s where their customers are. You want to have more loyal customers? Meet your customers where they are, not where you want them to be.
