Archive for the ‘Phone Etiquette’ Category

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The ringing phone or the waiting customer?

June 7th, 2012 by Chester Hull

How do you decide whom to help?

How many times has this happened to you? Your front door opens, and in walks a new customer. At the same moment, the phone begins to ring. In a lot of small businesses, answering the phone and helping the walk-in customer both fall to the same person. Do you let the phone ring? Or do you hold up your hand to the customer, in the unspoken language of “wait,” and answer the phone? Which customer is more important?

 

Making both feel important

That’s right…both, and it’s your job to make both feel important. So how do you do that? First of all, have a backup plan for you phones. It doesn’t matter if it’s a customer walking in the door, or one more line ringing that you can’t answer, you need to have a backup plan for your phones. Tip: A busy signal isn’t a backup plan! If you’ve chosen to live answer every call…if that’s your effort, and you’ve determined that is the best approach, it still will be a good idea to have a well-designed Auto-Attendant as a backup plan. At some point you will need it.

The easiest thing is to let the phone ring to your backup plan while you help the walk-in customer. The live person can see your actions; the caller can’t. The caller doesn’t know whether or not you are deferring her. The walk-in customer does. So help the walk-in customer. Let the call go to your backup plan.

That doesn’t just mean letting the call go to your normal voicemail that says, “Sorry. We’re closed.” If your Auto-Attendant is a backup for a primary live answer, you can design it to help the customer. Here are some tips to include in the greeting:

  • Let the caller know your staff is busy.
  • Give the caller options to reach people or departments for which he may be calling. You may not need to handle his call at all!
  • Provide a voicemail option if the caller really would rather leave a message. But give him some kind of promised follow-up time for his message. (“We promise to call you back within the next two hours.”)
  • Ask the caller to hold (and if your system supports it, give him the option to wait in queue). If your phone system doesn’t support a caller waiting in queue, you could answer the phone and ask him to hold. But make sure you wait for the answer! The caller may just need to transfer to another person, so you can quickly handle that for him without neglecting the walk-in customer. It really is a juggling act!

 

Be confident of your backup plan

Test your backup plan. Make sure that if you’re on the phone, calls will be handled properly. Nothing is worse than “thinking” it works, when it really doesn’t. Or it sounds poor. Or it doesn’t provide the options you thought it did. Test your backup plan. It’s not a “plan” unless it’s been tested!

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


Use a consistent sound brand throughout your business

January 31st, 2011 by Chester Hull

Have you ever seen a brand book? If you haven’t, you may not realize how much thought, detail, and specifics go into deciding how a brand image looks, how it’s used, and the proper ways to display it. If you’d like a really fun few minutes, take a look at Skype’s Brand Book. Go ahead…I’ll still be here when you get back.

Pretty cool wasn’t it? I mean, they have a really fun approach that doesn’t feel like some dictator yelling at you for even *thinking* about doing something wrong.

But did you notice something? That brand book is 93 pages long. Yes…93 PAGES! Just to show you how to use the Skype logo!

Have you considered your AUDIO brand? How people experience the sounds your company produces is just as important as your visual brand elements.

What is Audio Branding?

Audio Branding describes the process of brand development and brand management by use of acoustic elements within the framework of brand communication. It is part of multi-sensory brand communication and holistic corporate design. Audio branding aims at building solidly a brand sound that represents the identity and values of a brand in a distinctive manner. The audio logo, brand music or the brand voice are characteristic elements of audio branding. (from the Audio Branding Academy)

This Audio Branding needs to be designed for any space where your customer can experience your company, it’s products or services.

  • When they walk into your business, what music do they hear? What sounds in general? Is it consistent with your business image?
  • When they call your business, what do they hear? Does your Auto-Attendant use the same voice throughout? Or is the voice of the receptionist that used to work for you but has been gone for a year?
  • When that caller is On-Hold…can they still identify that it’s the same company?

Designing and implementing an “Audio Brand” is a critical piece of your overall Customer Experience.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjKzFw3S5Nk[/youtube]

“Concerning the effect on the emotional level and the communication of the brand image, sound is more efficient than visual elements. By using acoustic touchpoints like music on-hold, phone mailboxes, and the company’s website, it is also possible for small and medium sized companies to do audio branding in a reasonable way.” Margarita Bochmann – Audi AG

Bob McCurdy created a very compelling presentation called the Power of Sound. (www.myradiocreative.com/powerofsound). In it, Julian Treasure, author of “Sound Business”, says:

“Sight and hearing must be considered the twin major senses for two reasons. First, they can both carry specific messages: we can say exactly what we want in either vision or sound. Second, sight and hearing can both be broadcast, and they are therefore the only two mass communication senses. So far, nobody has found a way of broadcasting smells or tastes.”

In 1999, (I know, the dark ages, right?) three scientists got together to study the effect of sound influencing product sales. Over a two week period, French and German music was played on alternate days from an in-store display of French and German wines. French music led to French wines outselling German ones, whereas German music led to the opposite effect on sales.
Obviously, sound plays a critical role in the emotional connection a customer makes to your product or company.

Sound is Engineered

Did you know that Mercedes employs 12 engineers who are dedicated to fine-tuning the sound of opening and closing doors? Mercedes takes their sound seriously!

The sound a Pringles potato chip can makes when opened is engineered to make you associate the product with freshness.

“Sonic branding is about getting something that sticks in someone’s head and is not going away, even if you’re not watching or not paying attention, you hear that sound and you know it.” Alex Moulton, Creative Director at Expansion Team

Brands you know by sound

How many of these brands can you identify by their signature sound?

Signature Sound #1

Signature Sound #2

Signature Sound #3

Signature Sound #4

Signature Sound #5

Signature Sound #6

Signature Sound #7

(See the logos while you play the signature sounds.)

Audio Branding is about much more then simply having your secretary voice the new Auto-Attendant greeting Audio Branding is as important to your customer as your visual brand. How important is it to you?

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


Should you answer that ringing phone?

January 11th, 2011 by Chester Hull

How to decide who to help

How many times has this happened to you: Your front door opens, and in walks a new customer. At the same moment, the phone begins to ring. In a lot of small businesses, answering the phone, and helping that customer, fall to the same person. Do you let the phone ring? Or do you hold up your hand to the customer, in the unspoken language of “wait”, and answer the phone? Which is most important?

Making both feel important

Both. That’s right…both, and it’s your job to make both FEEL important. So how do you do that. First of all, have a backup plan for you phones. It doesn’t matter if it’s a customer walking in the door, or one more line ringing that you can’t answer, you need to have a backup plan for your phones. Tip: A busy signal isn’t a backup plan! If you’ve chosen to live answer every call…if that’s your effort, and you’ve determined that is the best approach, it still will be a good idea to have a well-designed Auto-Attendant as a backup plan. At some point you WILL need it.

The easiest thing is to let the phone ring to your backup plan, and help the customer. They can see your actions, the caller can’t. The caller doesn’t know if you are deferring them or not. The customer does. So help the customer. Let the call go to your backup plan.

That doesn’t just mean letting the call go to your normal voicemail that says “sorry, we’re closed”. If you’re Auto-Attendant is a backup for a primary live answer, you can design it to help the customer. Here are some tips to include in the greeting:

  • Let them know your staff is busy.
  • Give them options to reach people or departments for which they may be calling. You may not need to handle their call at all!
  • Provide a voicemail option if they really would rather leave a message. But give them some kind of promised follow-up time from their message. (“We promise to call you back in the next 2 hours”)
  • Ask them to hold (and if your system supports it, give them the option to wait in queue)

On this one, if your phone system doesn’t support a caller waiting in queue, you could answer the phone, and ask them to hold. But make sure you wait for the answer! They may just need to transfer to another person, and you can quickly handle that for them, without neglecting the customer. It really is a juggling act!

How to be confident of your backup plan

Test your backup plan. Make sure that if you’re on the phone, calls will be handled properly. Nothing worse than “thinking” it worked, when it really didn’t. Or it sounded poor. Or it didn’t provide the options you thought it did. Test your backup plan. It’s not a “plan” unless it’s been tested!

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Phone Customer Service, Phone Etiquette | No Comments »


What to say when you answer the phone

January 7th, 2011 by Chester Hull

What to SayNumber one thing to consider when you are crafting how your phone will be answered: Never…never, don’t ever…require your staff to speak your entire sales spiel, USP, or company mission statement when answering the phone. Don’t do it. Most people know who they’ve called, and they just need confirmation that they’ve reached the right place.

Remember talking about Ben Franklin the Plumber a few weeks ago?

When it’s time to decide how to answer your phone, they can be an example for good…and for bad. You need to have scripts for your front line people. How they answer the phone is critical to how people perceive your business and you don’t want to leave that up to chance. But don’t put your entire sales spiel into that script…no matter how tempting that may be! Your frontline phone people will be dealing with a large number of calls, and it is more customer-friendly to limit the greeting. Sure, if you’ve got some major promotion that will affect a lot of people, then let them know. But keep it brief…no more than a few words.

Confirm the company name, and provide your first name

Here’s an example: “Charter Insurance, this is Julie”. (apologies to any Julies that work at any company named Charter Insurance!) This confirms that they reached the right company (you’d be surprised!) and gives your name as an invitation to use it to springboard into their conversation. You have now become the “voice” of the company. And with that power comes a responsibility to provide a great customer experience

Ask how you may direct their call, unless you can answer their question

This is one thing that a lot of companies do that frustrates callers: asking “how may I help you?” when really what they mean is “how may I direct your call?”. Those greetings give two entirely different meanings to the caller. The first says: “I’ve reached someone who can bridge between myself and this company, probably looking into any records the company has about me or my purchase, and can probably make a decision regarding my concern.” If that’s truly the case with whomever answers the phone at your business, then including “how may I help you?” in your script is great. However, more often then not we hear that, when really all the person is authorized to do is transfer your call to someone else who does in fact have the ability to find you in their computer. Do you see the difference?

When you hear someone answer with “How may I direct your call?” you instantly know that this person won’t be the one helping you solve your problem, or answer your question, but they very likely will be a big help in getting you to the right person. The more obscure your question, the more you need their help and knowledge of the inner workings of the company in order to transfer you to the right person.

The first greeting, if spoken by someone who really just wants to transfer you will cause customer frustration. After taking the time to explain the details of their situation, the receptionist says “please hold while I transfer you to Customer Service” where you get to start your story all over again! Heaven forbid you were transferred to the wrong place, or that Customer Service isn’t the right place for you to be! So pay attention to these minor word differences…they can make a big impact on the service you deliver over the phone.

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Phone Customer Service, Phone Etiquette | No Comments »


Please leave a message…Voicemail etiquette for your outgoing message

January 3rd, 2011 by Chester Hull

Speak Clearly

The greeting you record on your own voicemail box can be critical to how callers connect with you. Number 1 on the list of things to remember is to Speak Clearly. I’ve heard dozens of mumbly greetings, garbled recordings, speaking too fast. This is not a great way to start a relationship! Your greeting should be an invitation for people to connect with you. Speak clearly and distinctly. This doesn’t mean overly slow or robotic, but you want people to be able to understand you.

Use your name

“Hi, leave a message” Hmmm, have I reached the right voicemail? Was that really their voice I heard? I don’t want to leave this message for the wrong person and look like an idiot. Maybe I just won’t leave a message at all. Use your name. It provides confirmation that callers have reached you, and they’re not on some accidental mis-dial adventure that sends them off into Generic Voicemail Land.

Use your voice

Second to using your name, your voice most closely identifies your mailbox. Use it. Record your own greeting. Don’t leave it up to the phone installer, your secretary, or some person you find on the sidewalk. It’s your voicemail, record it in your voice! And customize it beyond the default standard of “You have reached the voicemail of……please leave a message after the tone.”
Think of your voicemail not as a hassle, or a pain, but as a way to multiply your effectiveness. It allows you to be in two places at once. One, answering calls at your desk, and two, out where you want or need to be. So use your voice when you record your voicemail greeting.

Provide another way to reach you

If another way of reaching you is preferred, your want to give people the option, it’s a great way to let people know how to reach you. Leave your email address or cell phone. More than one or two alternate options is probably too many, but it might be easier to reminder people about your email address, than to play phone tag with them only to find out they wanted you to attach a file and email it to them! Remember, 51 percent of people are extroverted and would prefer to pick up the phone and call you, even when an email would be more efficient!

Change it every day

Changing your voicemail daily might sound like a chore right now, but what a difference in makes in the connection you’re able to provide by updating them about your daily plans. Are you in the office today, and temporarily tied up? Are you out of the office all day, and they shouldn’t expect a call back today? Will you be out in the morning, but back in this afternoon? Or are you on permanent vacation? (in which case, maybe voicemail isn’t applicable to you! Send me your secret so I can join you!)
I’ve often appreciated reaching people who have updated their voicemail daily. Most phone system will let you set a one-button speed dial to connect with your voicemail to change the greeting. Very quick and easy. 
One caveat: Don’t forget to change it back after a holiday, vacation, or being away. That’s easily solved if you do it everyday, but if you forget, it’s a little embarrassing that your summer vacation greeting is what callers hear in November!

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in "Hold It!", Caller Experience, Phone Etiquette | No Comments »


Know thine own On-Hold Message

July 22nd, 2010 by Chester Hull

Know before you go”…”Look before you leap”…that’s what they say.Good quotes and all. Handy for telling your friends AFTER they’ve done something that wasn’t too smart. Now they’re suffering the consequences, and you’re coming up with brainy quotes. Helpful of you.

I was in a meeting of store managers recently, and asked “who knows what you’re callers are hearing On-Hold right now? Because right now, a customer or prospect has called your store, and is waiting On-Hold. What are they hearing?”

I was met by silence and blank stares.

Until it was broken by one brave manager: “I have no idea.”

This is so often the case. Top level managers, business owners, and especially employees, have no idea what happens when they push that Hold button. It’s just something they’re supposed to do.
1. Answer call
2. Speak to customer
3. Push Hold button
4. Retrieve call by lifting receiver
5. Speak to customer

Except that if you don’t know what that customer or prospect is hearing while they’re On-Hold, they might not be there for step 5. They may have vanished. Oh, they’re still around. As a person. But they’ve vanished from your business…and you’ve become invisible to them. While your competition has become they’re latest love.

Think about it the next time you push that Hold button. What ideas are you putting in your customer’s head?

If you do use an On-Hold message, to you play it for your employees? If they knew what your caller just heard, right before they picked them back up, could they help reinforce that message? Of course it would!
(Side note: Do you involve employees in your On-Hold updates? You should! They’re on the front lines of your business!)

And do me a favor, will you?
Pick up your cell phone, call your company right now, and ask whoever answers the phone to put you On-Hold.

Does your Caller Experience need some help?

“Know before you go!”

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


Ten Mistakes You’re Making with your Voicemail messages

March 9th, 2010 by Chester Hull

Today’s post comes from Dan O’ Day, the highly opinionated radio advertising guru and radio talent/morning show coach. He talks about the 10 mistakes you’re making every time you leave a voicemail.

See, great Caller Experiences start before your customer or prospect even calls your business. After all, something has to get them to call in and experience your company. Whether it’s a cold call or a warm lead follow-up, the message you leave on that prospect’s voicemail will have the biggest impact on whether they decide to call you back or not.

Are you surprised by having to leave a voicemail?

Do you know exactly what you’re going to say before you pick up the phone?

Are you measuring the wrong numbers?

Read Dan’s excellent commentary on how to leave an effective voicemail. (hint: he defines “effective” as “getting people to call you back”. Isn’t that the point?)

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Posted by Chester Hull Posted in Caller Experience, Phone Etiquette | 1 Comment »


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