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Auto-Attendant or Real Person…Who is answering YOUR phone?

December 7th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Take control of your phone experience to elevate your company by knowing when to use an automated attendant.

Have you made the decision to use an auto attendant? What went into that decision? Your company needs an edge, and how your phone is answered is a critical area to start.

Consider this example: A company with a “live answer only” policy thinks they are pleasing their callers. But in reality, without a dedicated receptionist, a caller’s experience will be different every time. And with 4 dedicated sales people answering the call, callers only have a 25% chance of their salesperson answering the call. If they don’t, it means hold time, transferring, and maybe voicemail hell! That’s a difficult environment to make your company stand out!

Here’s where you gain an edge. This is a perfect environment to implement an auto-attendant solution. But give your callers the control over where they go. Offer your sales people’s extensions right up front, so callers can reach them by name, extension, or option. This gives them a precision experience, reaching exactly the right person 100% of the time.

A second benefit to your company is eliminating interruptions and distractions for your employees. Pugh Research says that every time a call takes your employee off task, it takes up to 10 minutes for them to recover. Once they no longer have to

handle calls for fellow employees, they will stay much more focused on the task at hand.

Your competition has made a knee-jerk reaction to how their phone is answered. Now you can get a step ahead by extending your superior showroom experience over the phone to your valuable callers.

Rock your customer’s world, while controlling the interruptions for your staff!

Live or auto-attendant? Evaluate your inside environment to make that decision with confidence.

So how does it feel to have an edge on your competition? Winning the phone war wasn’t hard, was it?

Enjoy your happy customers! (and that’s a win for everyone!)

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Auto-Attendant, Caller Experience, When to use an Auto Attendant | 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!

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

Giving callers that personal value

May 17th, 2010 by Chester Hull

The party line is dead.

It’s over.

Replaced by the sophistication of electronics. (that is, unless you live in one of the 81 cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon high above LA)

Ahhhh, the steamroller of progress. A very good thing this time.

The completely non-private service made eavesdropping opportunities abound. If another caller was on the line when you needed to call sometime…too bad…you were waiting.

But when it comes to business, have you realized that the party line is dead? No longer do multiple people share a phone call to your company.

It’s a direct, one-to-one relationship. Have you customized your On-Hold message to reflect that reality?

Talk to that one caller in his or her language.

“Well how?” you say. “How can I have a customized On-hold message? Lots of people call me!”

Right, but have you considered who those “lots of people” really are?

Mike Wittenstein, Chief Experience Officer at Storyminers, says the most important factor to delivering a great customer experience is to know your customer. Personally. That allows you to understand how your product, service, or company fits into their lives. What it is that makes them value your product.

Rather then build the Caller Experience with your ENTIRE customer list in view, pick one, and design it for them. Choose a customer you know personally, and build your message around how your product or service improved their life. Tell a story, with your customer as the star.

Sure, other callers will hear that. And when it doesn’t fit their exact situation, they’ll think “Wow, if this company is “all that” for that customer, they can probably solve my problem as well!”

Applying this to other areas of your Caller Experience is even more straightforward. Here’s a great example from DSW Shoes. (Running on the Voxify integrated speech solution)

You see, if you want to reach an individual caller, you have to talk to them like an individual, not a group.

Does your message need some focus? Our Secret Caller service might be just the thing for you.

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Caller Experience | 1 Comment »

Moving the needle on the “Who Cares” meter

April 21st, 2010 by Chester Hull

You’ve just called the Wagon Yard, a furnishings and collectibles store in Texas. You’re calling about the 54″ cherry roll-top computer desk you heard they carried. That would look great in your office! And while they transfer you to the Furniture department, you hear this:

Wagon Yard On-Hold

NOW you’re interested in more than just a roll-top desk! And why is that?

Because a compelling, relevant On-Hold message moves the “Who Cares” meter!

I’m sure you’ve heard or seen the opposite in an ad…maybe even today. “We’ve been in business since …” Really?

Who cares?

Now, you’re probably saying “But Chester, I don’t want to do business with a fresh, young, inexperienced company!” Really? Like Google? Facebook? Twitter? These are all companies that developed huge (did I say huge?) customer bases, and they weren’t built around how long they had been in business.

Let’s break this down a little more. When a company leads with how long they’ve been in business, what are they really trying to say?

Their experience makes them the expert
You will be able to count on warranty support
You won’t be left “holding the bag” if something goes wrong
(I’m sure we could come up with a lot more things here)

Any one of those would be more compelling…more interesting to you and me as customers, than “We’ve been in business since…”

Why is that? It’s because of the difference between facts and emotion.

Facts say you’ve been in business for 50 years.

Emotions tell me that I want to buy from someone who is an expert.

Answers like “family-owned,” “superior service” and “exceptional value” don’t generate terribly helpful uncovery information. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice information. But it’s not the bottom-line food-truth about your business that is going to get your visitors salivating for what you have to offer.*

Draw me into the world of emotions, and I am more likely to find interest in your product or service. And the best way to engage the emotional side of the brain is to tell a story.

Tell me a story…make me a star

Tell your customer a story, with them as the star, and you will instantly engage their emotional power. (take a moment to go back and read the first paragraph again. Did you notice it was about you?)

When we tell stories, we engage the emotion rather then the intellect. Emotion and intellect are not connected! Intellectual ads are about inarguable facts. It’s about “New!”, (when it really IS new!)

But emotional ads are about what the customer already knows or feels. They connect with what we already believe to be real, while adding a new perspective.

We do what feels right, then use our intellectual logic to justify our emotional decision.

So the next time you’re thinking about what callers hear while On-Hold, take out the intellect, and put in the emotion. It will make a powerful difference!

Not sure what callers are hearing when they call your company? Our Secret Caller service may be just the thing you need.

*Quote from Brian Eisenberg of http://www.bryaneisenberg.com/

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Hold Message, What Caller's Hear On-Hold | 1 Comment »

Don’t put me On-Hold!

February 11th, 2010 by Chester Hull

How often have you heard “Don’t put me On-hold!”. I’ll be you’ve thought that a few times yourself!
Being On-Hold is often a frustrating experience. But let’s break it down and examine why it’s frustrating.

Taking your time

Number one, it’s taking your time. Time that could be spent doing other t things. And companies that have long hold times (we’re talking more than 5 minutes or so), really need to evaluate t their staffing or procedures for handling calls.

Silence

Ah…the dreaded silence. Have I been disconnected? Am I being transferred? Did I just get put into the phone system’s Black Hole? (most phone systems have one of those, you knew that right? Somewhere that callers go, never to be heard from again!) As a business, putting your callers On-hold to silence is one of the worst things you can do to hurt your Caller Experience. It’s like asking people to stand in line with a blindfold on. They’re just not going to stick around! But give them something relevant and interesting to listen to while they’re On-Hold, and the wait time will seem very much diminished!

It’s all about me

If you do have an On-Hold message…congratulations on “getting it”. Now what does it say? You see, callers want to hear about themselves. They want to hear how your service or products are going to make their lives better…how they are going to impact them. They don’t want to hear a message that is all about you. All about how long you’ve been in business. How great you or your products are. This comes across the phone lines as “blah, blah, blah”. But tell a story, make the caller the star, and you’ll experience a much happier customer when you pick up the phone!

Changing the message

One of the keys to having a great caller experience, is to keep the message current and up to date. So how do you do that? How do you know when to change it, how often to change it, and what to change? That depends on a number of factors. What is the profile of your caller? In other words, do they call in regularly, once a week or month or year? Or do they interact with you heavily for a week, then not at all for a couple of months? How long are they On-Hold? What are the top 3 or 4 things callers are asking about when they call in? Is there information that would really be helpful for them to hear? These are some of the questions that we discuss with you to help walk through the process of creating a complete On-Hold program.

It’s not just as simple as slapping a message on your phones, and checking that off the to-do list. If you really want a powerful Caller Experience, it takes understanding your business, understanding your caller, and understanding how people think. If you’d like help with that, we’d be glad to setup a time to talk. It won’t cost you anything.

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“For a better call experience, press 1…”

December 8th, 2009 by Chester Hull

What options are your callers looking for when they call your business?

We’re working with a new client who will be using an Automated Attendant to answer the initial call to their business. (See: When to use an Auto attendant)

Since they are implementing this for the first time, right now is a critical time to evaluate what the call experience will be.

Our initial steps are to uncover all the available options for callers from the business perspective. Every reason a caller might be calling. We will list those out, and order them in importance.

Then we’ll evaluate that from the caller’s perspective. What may be most important to the business may not be the most important option for the caller! And guess who wants to be in control in this scenario? The caller…they are the ones actively participating in the conversation.

Next, we analyze the words used to describe the various functions. Are they using “standard” words like “Sales Department”, “Accounting”, and similar “non-action” words?

From a caller’s perspective, those words are sometimes hazy…not easily spelling out what you want them to do.

We suggest using options like “To make a purchase, or inquire about products”, “To pay a bill, or request a payment”…. options that clearly state what you want the caller to find behind that option. And don’t be afraid to make it a call to action…as in: “Request a consultation”

Next time we’ll talk about the order you choose for your options, and how you can make it easy for your caller to remember the option they want to choose.

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Presenting Options | No Comments »

What are they thinking?

December 2nd, 2009 by Chester Hull

Your advertisements are tweaked to achieve maximum response. You’ve analyzed the colors, words, and images until you know there’s nothing else you can do. It’s your message to your market, and you’re ready to let it fly.

So what will happen with those potential customers call you? Have you thought about HOW they buy? Have you considered their buying preferences?

Research from Dr. Carl Jung, Dr. Marston, and others, there are four basic preferences in how people perceive the world, and make decisions. We’ll call those Competitive, Spontaneous, Humanist, and Methodical.

People like to hear things in their own language…the way things make sense to them. If you’re talking in the fast paced, make-it-happen-now, pull-the-trigger-and-ride-the-bullet world of a Spontaneous, you might lose the Humanist, because they need a deeply personal connection in order to do business with you.
On the other hand, outlining all the facts, timelines, and responsibilites for the Methodical can cause the Competitive, and especillay the Spontaneous, to be bored, and not pay attention.

Just like we like to communicate in the “language” of our personality type, we also tend to write and speak in that same language.

So what do you do? How can you keep from isolating a large percentage of your callers?

You should make a consciense effort to include words from each of the four personality types.

Methodicals focus on language that answers the question “How?”. How does this work? How do the details fit together. How can I plan ahead with this?

Spontaneous personalities live in the moment, focusing on phrases like “Why do you think you can getme what I need quickly? Why is your service superior?

Humanistic personalities have a personal, relationship-oriented focus. They want to hear phrases like “Who uses your products? Who is on your staff, and let me see the bios. Who can tell me how your product or service will make me feel?

Competitive personalities focus on answering the “What” question. They’ll often ask “What are your competitive advantages? What makes you a superior choice? And What can you do to help me be more productive.

Wow! That’s a lot to keep up with! So how does it all work together? Here’s an example of four different ads, each written for a mythical cruise line. Each based on the same DEMOgraphics, but written specifically for each of the four personalities. See if you can tell which ad is targeted to which demographic?

1. 8 decks of fun. 21 meals prepared by top chefs in the world. 42 hours to sit by the pool. Planned activities everyday. Bring your swimsuit and evening gown, because we cover both extremes. We guarantee you’ll relax, or your money back.

2. Congratulations, you’re cruising on the best rated Cruise Line ever. Custom toiletries in every cabin, and VIP tours and activities are available. Meet new friends, and show off a little while you relax. And never be out of touch with your friends and followers, with onboard internet access (included in your Premium pass).

3. You’ll never have another chance to live today, so enjoy it as much as you can with a cruise on Women’s Escape Cruislines. Book it now for a special bonus offer of an “I Escaped with W.E.C!” windbreaker. Because this might be your first cruise, but it won’t be your last. Make your own schedule, because on this cruise, we’re open around the clock!

4. “Cruising was the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever taken”…Cristy – Cruised to Barbados . “Knowing that Women’s Escape Cruislines was tailored specifically for what I as a woman like, made it an easy choice. And spending the week with 3 old friends made it feel like we were back in middle school”. Helen – Cruised to Jamaica. Women’s Escape Cruislines has the most return friends cruising. In fact, 40% of our cruisers are second or 3^rd time cruisers.

So how did you do? 1 is for the Methodical, with all details included, nothing left to chance, and prepared for anything. 2 is for the Competitive, with VIP tours, best ratings, and premium upgrades. 3 is for the Spontaneous, with a “book it now” bonus offer, a free gift, and the ability to have fun when and where you want. And 4 is for the Humanistic, with a personal connection, a reccomendation from someone else, and a knowledge that they are making the right choice.

By writing your On-Hold and Auto Attendant messages with these things in mind, you’ll be able to craft your specific message in ways that will strike a chord with all personalities!

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How long until I hear my message…?

November 25th, 2009 by Chester Hull

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is “How long until our On-Hold message is setup?” Or in the case of existing clients “How long will it take until my update is ready?”

So to help answer those questions, I’m going to break down the process into steps, so you can see exactly how an On-Hold message is produced. Think of it as pulling back the curtain, and giving you a glimpse into my world. Ready? Here we go!

If you are a new client, we’ve probably had a phone call or face to face meeting to find out how our service can help you…what some of your pain points are.

This is followed up by us preparing a custom proposal that addresses the topics we discussed, and presents several options for you. That usually happens one day after our initial conversation.

Once you approve the agreement, we schedule a time to do a more thorough “uncovery” of your business. We delve into understanding your customer, your caller profile, and how customers interact with your business. Don’t worry if you don’t know all that stuff…we’ll help you walk through it. That takes an hour or two, and can be done on the phone.

We then go to work crafting an initial script, based on our uncovery. This takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days, after which, we send the initial script to you for your approval.

Next we reccomend voices and music styles to you, and begin producing the On-Hold message. This process takes 3-5 days to complete. We send the completed production to you for review, and after receiving your approval, we schedule a time to install the On-Hold player, and load the message.

Plugging in the player is quite simple, and in fact, we are able to walk you through that over the phone most of the time!
Once the player is connected properly, it automatically downloads your new message right away, and begins playing in to your callers!

Overall, the entire process takes 10 to 14 days, depending on how quickly we hear back from you at the differant approval steps.

If you are an existing client, the paperwork on the front end, and the installation on the back end don’t apply, but the rest of the process is exactly the same. So about 10 to 14 days for your update to be loaded.

If you like to see things visually, here is a complete timeline, including what parts of the process you are involved in, and what things are our responsibility. (View the timeline full size in a new window)

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!" | 1 Comment »

Update your message…update your caller

November 23rd, 2009 by Chester Hull

How often to update the messages your callers hear On-Hold.

One of the most frequent questions I hear is “how often should I change my On-Hold message?” This is usually coming from a business owner who is already juggling more hats than a hat-stand!

Ultimately, the value of your On-Hold message is measured by the value it brings to your callers. Are your messages relevant? Are you talking to your customer in their language, using the words they want to hear?

So when do you update your On-Hold message?

Here are the factors that should go into that decision;

What is the caller profile?

Which means, is one caller calling once a week, for 2 months? Or are they calling once a day for a week? Once per quarter? Once per year?

How many phone calls do you get in a day?

Understanding your caller profile is the first step towards understanding how to craft your message to be relevant to them.

How long will they hear it?

Consider how long your caller will be listening to your message. (This also determines the length and structure of your On-Hold message, but that will have to be for a different post!)
Are they hearing thirty seconds or five minutes?

A caller that hears five minutes of your On-hold message is going to quickly tire of what they hear. You’ll need to change that quite often to make their call experience a good one.

Be Specific

The more specific you can be in your On-Hold message, the more impact it will have on your caller. Usually the more specific you are, the more you will need to keep your message current, in order to remain connected with your caller.

Tie it into other marketing

Your new print ad was just published. You’re crossing your fingers, and hoping your dollars were well spent. And how the phone rings. What your caller hears while their On-Hold can have a huge impact on reinforcing the advertising you do, or sounding disconnected from other marketing efforts.

Do you update your On-Hold message whenever you change your ad or publish a new one? If you don’t, you’re not serving your customers well. Have you ever clicked a link in an email, expecting to be taken to a spefici product page, or to learn more about something, and instead you land on the home page of the company? You’re left searching for the product or information that you want.

The same thing happens to your caller when your On-Hold message isn’t coordinated with your marketing. Don’t make them hunt for information…they may just start hunting with your competition!

Surprise them!

One of the best ways to keep them tuned in to your message is to surprise them with new information.

Recently I was working through an “uncovery” with a new client that provides mailing services, and they mentioned that a lot of their customers weren’t aware that they also provided document storage, archiving, and shredding.

What a terrific opportunity to connect with people that you are already doing business with, to let them show them how you can help solve other pain points in their life!

Common update times

You will find some fairly common update recommendations from On-Hold providers. These include:

· Daily

· Monthly

· Quarterly

· Semi-Annually

After reviewing your caller profile, your other marketing, specific products or services you want to promote, and you’ve thought about ways to surprise your caller, you’ll have a much better understanding of how often you should have your On-Hold message updated.

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Two ways your phone is killing your sales

November 19th, 2009 by Chester Hull