“For a better call experience, press 1…”

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.

Posted in "Hold It!", Presenting Options. Permalink for this post: permalink.