Archive for the ‘Caller Experience’ Category

«
»

Using good “sense” in your On-Hold Message

October 20th, 2010 by Chester Hull

I really can’t believe I’m going to do this. I promised myself that amidst the storm of reviews, reposts, and retweets, I wouldn’t succumb to the desire to analyze the marketing value of Old Spice’s now famous “I’m On A Horse” commercial.

Then yesterday, as I was just minding my own business, this really interesting thought popped into my mind. And it was about that ad.

“If he stopped using lady-scented body wash, and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me.”

Stop.

Go back and read that again.

Watch the video if you have to, I’ll wait.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE[/youtube]

Did you catch it?

Here is what is what is so amusing to me:

You have no idea what Isaiah Mustafa smells like in that commercial!

I’m kind of surprised that this hasn’t jumped out at me sooner. Old Spice has done an excellent job of triggering one sense (your sense of smell)…without even using scent! They are ONLY using visual and aural senses to sell a smell.

Whoa! That’s some powerful engagement there! And I’ve seen that ad countless times, without realizing that was what was happening! (It also helps that I know what Old Spice body wash smells like!)

Now, what’s the point, and why would I want to make it here?

You don’t have to USE all five senses to fully engage your prospect’s five senses.

Did you know the body needs ‘just’ 100 million sensory receptors to experience the physical universe around you?

By contrast, your mental and emotional universe is so complex, that your brain requires 10,000 Billion synapses to experience the world inside your head! (You don’t have to take my word for it. Learn about the 12 languages of the mind)

We are much more prepared to experience the world of imagination and dream, then we are the physical world.

Words, sounds, images, and more are what transport us into those worlds. And you can use that same transport to take your customer there.

The caller experience that a customer has when phoning your business sets them up for how they are going to experience your product or service. Are you providing a great experience?

Here’s some complaints that business have gotten, that have caused them to talk to us lately:

“The voice just wasn’t warm and fuzzy”

“Your receptionist hung up on me in the middle of my saying goodbye!”

“I hear our receptionist saying: ‘I don’t know…that’s not my job’, rather then “I can find out and get back with you”

How your phone is answered gives people a glimpse inside your company. And just like Isaiah and Old Spice, they don’t have to see with their physical eyes to imagine with their mind’s eye!

Thinking about the possibilities? Think about this.

What does it sound like when you push that little red “Hold” button on your phone? Does your caller get dumped into a black cavern of silence, wandering around looking for daylight, sometimes for long periods of time?

Do they hear the same generic music your competitors have, with constant reminders to “please stay on the line….please! We’re begging you!”?

Or do you transport them to a magical place, where you engaged their senses in a way that was interesting, fun, and still relevant to your business?

Like we did here, for Southern States. They wanted to highlight their chicken feed, and what better way then to…well, I’ll let the chickens speak for themselves:

Chicken Feed from Southern States

You can engage their mind, and draw them into your business, or you can leave them in silence to contemplate the myriad other thoughts they’re faced with each day.

Your choice…what does your phone sound like?

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message | No Comments »


On Hold Message: Key Component of your Brand’s Sound Signature

October 1st, 2010 by Chester Hull

This TED video from Julian Treasure has a lot to teach about the use of sound in business. Have a watch/listen, and then we’ll discuss a few ideas for how to make the best of this information.

First, you may have noticed some pretty big numbers….a drop of 66% in productivity in open-plan office environments and a sales drop of up to 28% in a retail environment when inappropriate sound is present.

I especially liked his observation that we, “…move away from unpleasant sound and toward comfortable sounds.”

Telephone Sound is one of 8 types of commercial sound that Treasure talks about. If you haven’t thought about the rest of your soundscape, your phone sound signature is a good place to start. A Caller Experience expert can help craft your phone sound to be a reflection of your business goals. You can go from there into more purposeful and directed tactics for every other element of sound in the business.

If you already have a unique soundscape in your advertising, in-store experience, products and services, you’ve made that expert’s job easier, but no less urgent.

Crafting and producing an on-hold message is not good territory for Do It Yourself business marketers. As a business owner, you’re likely to only mention info that’s important to YOU, while failing to take a customer-centric view. You risk falling into instruction mode instead of taking an informative and (if appropriate) entertaining strategy.

Warning signs that you’ve got a bad on-hold message company:

  • They offer “canned” pre-produced, or fill-in-the-blank message.
  • They expect the business owner to write the scripts.
  • They offer little choice in voice talent, music and production.
  • Make no attempt to customize your message to match the sound signature of your business and other marketing efforts

A great on-hold message provider will:

  • Thoroughly uncover the key values of the business
  • Dig deep enough to find the important facts for the message
  • Match up the business with the appropriate voice talent and music
  • Provide turn-key support and quick response for updating messages

I liked Treasure’s first three golden rules of commercial sound:

  1. Make it congruent (with the core values and other sound elements of the business)
  2. Make it appropriate (to the intended listeners)
  3. Make it Valuable (by offering more than a caller expected to hear)

So, what’s holding you back?

If you’re abusing your customers by delivering a bad phone experience, this is one of the easiest marketing touchpoints to fix.

If you’re not sure what kind of experience you’re delivering, get it evaluated.

If you currently offer flat, dead silence, that’s the best place to start.

Dave Young is a marketing/branding consultant who works exclusively with owner-operated businesses like ProsoundUSA to help them grow. He blogs at BrandingBlog.com and teaches at OnYourMarket.com.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message, Phone Customer Service | 1 Comment »


Here’s What is Wrong With Banks Today

September 14th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Ok, so I admit…I imagine this is probably simply an address snafu…a mere slip-up of a Google Maps mashup. But it pretty much defines the feeling people have when calling your bank’s Customer Service line.

This is a screenshot from bank’s website Contact page. At the very least I’d recommend they update their address for Customer Service. I’m pretty sure that’s not the message they intend to send!

Are you going to be different?

And speaking of different…are you going to sound different? Or like most banks, will your callers hear silence while On-Hold? Do you know what they hear right now? You could check out our Caller Experience Evaluation service and know. Today.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message, Phone Customer Service | No Comments »


The Sign of a Great Caller Experience!

September 13th, 2010 by Chester Hull

A Day in the Life of a Sign 4/5: Omaha's Satellite MotelI was driving this past weekend with my family, and decided to come home without traveling on the Interstate highways.

It was a beautiful day, and as we drove through small-town USA, it struck me how a business’ presentation to passers-by was critical to it’s surviving! If they had a good sign, a clear presentation, and was the type of place I was interested in stopping, I would be a customer.
But poor signage, a bad presentation, or no clear idea of what I would find inside, and I would keep on driving (maybe to never pass that way again!).

While this may seem an obvious concept to you, there’s a parallel here for your business.
You’ve run your ads on radio, TV, Billboards, and the internet. You’ve spruced up your front entrance to make it appealing and inviting. You’ve educated your staff on how to ask the right questions of customers, without being pushy. Now you’re waiting for customers to come pouring in your door.

Have you overlooked anything? I think you’ll be surprised!

About 50% of people in the US are Introverted and about 50% are Extroverted. Which means that 50% of your customers will be more inclined to do their research, pick out the product they want, then pick up the phone and call you, to see if you have what they want at a price they want to pay.

Have you test-driven your phones lately?

Your Caller Experience is a critical link to convincing new customers they should buy from you, and reinforcing that fact to existing customers.

And just like the road signs I was watching as I traveled through small towns, you have but a few seconds to make (or break) that experience over the phone. Callers will put up with bad experiences only so long.

So what makes a bad experience?

Poor phone skills – staff that doesn’t properly answer the phone, and place an importance on handling the phone call with clarity and promptness.

Silence On-Hold (or just music) – callers don’t know if they’ve been disconnected, or simply put on “forget”. You wouldn’t have an empty showroom when they walk in…don’t have “empty” On-Hold time. Nobody likes it.

Long waits – being On-Hold at some point is a fact of life. But don’t forget about your caller On-hold. Try to get back to them as quickly as possible!

Transferred to the wrong person – make sure when you transfer a caller, you stay on the line to make sure they get to the right person or department. Your caller will really appreciate it.

Transforming your Caller Experience

Those are just a few of the things we measure with our Secret Caller service. It’s amazing how just a few small things can make a huge difference in how customers experience your business. Those few seconds over the phone are critical to whether they choose to do business with you…or go on to your competition.

What do YOUR phones say about your company?

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message, Phone Customer Service | No Comments »


How stopping the leak in your phone system first makes your Social Media stronger

September 8th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Chris Brogan writes about how companies are jumping on the Social Media bandwagon as a customer service tool, while their existing customer infrastructure is in major need of a transformation!

I’m sure you’ve seen the news stories on the phenomenal growth of Twitter and Facebook as company communication tools. If you haven’t been noticing, take 4 minutes and 26 seconds to watch this:


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng[/youtube]

So companies are going to the social media space to reach customers, and rightfully so.

But in the rush to meet customers where they’re at, those same companies are forgetting that 91% of US households have cell phones (Source: CTIA December 2009), and I have never walked into a business that didn’t have a landline of some sort.

The telephone as a tool to connect to customers may be the most overlooked “social media” tool there is.

We talk to companies almost every day who have no idea what their customer hears when they call. Companies that have spent thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars on marketing and advertising, without considering how the Caller Experience they provide will impact that potential sale.

So while on one hand, the Social Media is working hard to deliver customer satisfaction, at the same time, the Caller Experience is fighting against their efforts!

I’m all for Social Media. It’s certainly a very valid, and current way to reach customers. But it would be a much more effective tool if customers weren’t turning to it as a last resort, out of frustration from the Caller Experience!

Fix the leak in your cup before filling it up. Your customers will thank you.

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Phone Customer Service | No Comments »


Why waiting On-Hold feels so long!

August 19th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Passing TimeAdam Alter writes an interesting article about the quirks in time perception that we all share. Why does the first hour of a long flight seem SOOO long, while the last several hours all cram together in your mind.

I’ll be you’ve had a similar experience in micro…the last time you called a company and were put On-Hold.  With so many things that need to be done in our busy lives, no one wants to wait, and who could blame us?

Have you been in Best Buy and had to wait in line to checkout? What do you do while you wait? You probably skim the end caps, but I’ll bet you spend most of the wait watching the Best Buy TV program on one of the many screens they have positioned in site. Why do they put those there?
Because when your mind is engaged, it doesn’t think about the amount of time you’ve been waiting. It feels like only a few seconds, when really they’ve been able to play four 1 minute promos for you!

Now back to the On-Hold. If your business is putting people On-Hold, and just having them listen to silence, you’re actually extending the perceived wait time.  How would you like it if Best Buy required you to put on a blindfold while you stood in line? Every second would feel like an hour until you could take that blindfold off!

But if you choose to engage your caller during those inevitable times they have to wait On-Hold, the amount of time they perceive they are waiting will be quite a bit less. Custom On-Hold messaging that is engaging and relevant is just like hanging those screens near the checkout line of Best Buy.

From Adam’s article:

There’s still plenty we don’t understand about how humans perceive time, but one fact is clear: we don’t perceive time the way clocks portray time, one second at a time, with each second passing just as quickly as its earlier and later counterparts.

Sure, nobody likes to wait, but what kind of experience is your company providing for those customers who call in? Is your caller experience a good one? Are you speeding up their clock, or slowing it down?

“…I want to know right now how long you expect me to wait…”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpyrgHvZe_I[/youtube]

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message | No Comments »


On-Hold…more annoying than spam and dog poop – Consumer Reports

August 10th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Illustration by Jason Ford

In a study released in January 2010, Consumer Reports revealed that waiting to talk to a live human when calling a company ranked as the second most annoying thing that you and I deal with daily. (the first? Hidden fees).

There’s no doubt why. We’re all busy. We want to accomplish our goals while taking the least amount of time possible. And waiting while listening to silence is more annoying than being stuck in a traffic jam! (only #14 on the list)

In fact, respondents said they would rather scoop dog poop than wait On-Hold! (Don’t believe me? Check out the results at Consumer Reports)

As a business, what can you do about this? There’s always the first thing that comes to mind…”Hire more people!”

That’s what most people suggest. And mostly that suggestion probably comes from someone who has never owned their own business. There can never be a one-t0-one ratio of employees to customers. It simply is not feasible.

But most helpful folk don’t stop to consider that. They just want you to handle their issue right now.

One approach we’re encouraging businesses in is to take that On-Hold time seriously. As serious as a customer walking in your front door. What are the things you do to make your customer’s first impression a great one? Do you hire an interior decorator? Do you keep the customer-visible areas neat and clean? Do you have information for customers to take with them when they walk out the door?

You can do the same thing for customers that call in to your business.

Make a great first impression by having more than silence On-Hold. An On-Hold message will grab your caller’s ear when they first hear it.

You’ve got my ear…now what?

Now you’ve got about 2.86 seconds to keep them listening. Is it going to be interesting? Or is it going to be about how long you’ve been in business?

Are you going to tell the caller a story…and make them the star? Or are you going to keep all the stardom to yourself, and try to make your business the most important thing in the message. (hint: customers like to imagine themselves using your product or service to make their life better. They don’t really care that you’ve been in business since 1942)

If you want an On-Hold message that will turn angry customers into laughing ones, tell callers about products or services they didn’t know you offered, or flat-out sell more product, you better be paying attention to the phone. Listen to these On-Hold samples to get some ideas that could transform your Caller Experience.

Then let’s work on a solution for Tailgaters…that’s the next thing on the list!

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Caller Experience, Hold Message, What Caller's Hear On-Hold | No Comments »


On-Hold news worth hearing

August 2nd, 2010 by Chester Hull

It helps you wake up in the morning.

You watch it while you’re eating breakfast.

It’s on your car radio at the top of every hour (and the bottom of some!)

News. It’s all around us…and we all love it. We like it because we want to be “in the know”. We want to have the latest information…the current story.

We all like to be the one at the party that has all the details to tell everyone else. Oh, not in a self important, smug way, but just a subtle “I’m with it” kind of way.

That’s why we’re really excited to be bringing News, Sports, and Entertainment to your On-Hold message!

Starting in September 2010, you’ll be able to choose our Daily News package add-on, which includes news, sports, and entertainment…(always filtered for positive, upbeat news, of course!), updated daily. It integrates with your current On-Hold message, so you still continue to spread the word about your company, while also providing a fresh alternative to boring On-Hold time.

I’ve attached some recent clips of what each of those insertions would sound like:

NEWS On-Hold

SPORTS On-Hold

ENTERTAINMENT On-Hold

For one dollar per day, you get fresh, daily content integrated with your own custom messaging.

Imagine sounding relevant to your caller!

Just give us a call, and we’ll add News, Sports, and Entertainment to your On-Hold message!

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Hold Message, News | No Comments »


Bringing “local” to your callers

July 12th, 2010 by Chester Hull

There’s an interesting story last week about how the City of Portland is replacing boring hold music with local bands’ songs.

Sure, no one likes to wait, but since it’s a fact of life, we figured we ought to make your time on hold as interesting and entertaining as we can. (Portland’s Mayor, Sam Adams)

Hmmm, now THERE’S a new idea! Making things interesting and entertaining, during the inevitable times in life that we have to wait. And it’s not the first…similar programs have been previously launched in Seattle and Austin.

So what is your business doing to make things fun and exciting for your callers? Are there local talents you can highlight? What about right in your own company…maybe not for music, but what about for product tips, service ideas, or ways to use your products?

There is no law that says On-Hold time has to be boring! What will YOU do to make your next customer’s Caller Experience a great one?

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience | No Comments »


How to think like a customer

July 7th, 2010 by Chester Hull

It’s hard to read the label from inside the bottle. “Huh?” you say?

See what you think is your “inside reality”…the customer experience inside your doors, is only what your customer says it is. Nothing more. And thankfully, nothing less.

That means you have the opportunity to surprise and delight your customer with the unexpected service.

Recently I ended up owning two identical 32gb 3G model iPads. At a time when iPads were more scarce than a hippy at a classical music concert. You just couldn’t walk into an Apple store and walk out with an iPad!

Well, when I found out I wouldn’t have to pay a restocking fee to Apple to return one of them, I decided to send one back. It was only AFTER I decided to do that, when I found out that Apple not only would not charge a restocking fee, but they would send me a prepaid return shipping label, and the return wouldn’t cost me a thing. As in free. I was delighted.

And the reason I was delighted (aside from saving the money, or course!) is because it was unexpected. Nowhere does Apple advertise “Free return shipping…you can send it back, and not pay a dime!” It’s just something they do, that makes me like doing business with them.

So what do you do to delight your customers? What are the little…or big…things that you could do to surprise and delight your existing customers. Strengthening the bond with your existing customer base is one of the best ways to increase your revenue.

So why is it that it often goes the other way? You woo a customer in with fantastic ads, and heartfelt promises, then once they’re “in the fold” they are no longer on the “To Be Delighted” list?

So here’s a way to have some fun, and maybe discover some ways to delight more customers.

1. Get out of the office…business…or whatever work environment you are in. That’s right, go ahead.

2. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and contemplate your business category.

  • Are there any preconceived notions or misconceptions that prevent more people from coming to your business, or buying what you sell?
  • What mistakes do some competitors make? That is, how could they create a more fulfilling customer experience?

3. Now, call your business, and ask for directions to your store. Pay attention to the what it sounds like…how the phone is answered…what you hear as a customer.

4. Walk into your business, and buy something. Was it easy? Did you enjoy the experience? What was the environment like?

Sometimes it takes getting out of the familiar to see things through another perspective. And even then it’s hard!

Comment below on ways you can surprise and delight your customer!

If you need some help, give our Caller Experience Evaluation service a try. You might be surprised at the view from outside the bottle!

permalink | trackback

Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Phone Customer Service | 2 Comments »


«
»
« Previous Page — Next Page »