The way your business manages call handling has a huge impact on the way your clients and suppliers view your company. In this article, we cover how good conversations are important for a positive customer experience.
Why is customer experience important?
Many businesses claim to listen to their customers, but too few have effective systems in place. The most successful and fastest-growing brands place customers at the centre of their business. Are you focusing on your expertise and internal processes, or do you see customer service as a core function?
Research has shown that 84% of businesses working on improving customer experience report increased profits, while 90% of customers want an “immediate” response to their queries. Furthermore, 42% of US customers prefer to resolve issues over the phone, ahead of digital tools (38%) and email (20%).
One way to improve customer service is to adopt call-handling best practices to ensure questions and complaints are handled efficiently. People will view your business more favourably if their first point of contact is a positive experience.
The benefits of great customer service
Every business has a competitor or two, so other firms will be fighting for your customers. To stay ahead of the rest you need a reason why people will remain loyal to your products and services.
To move the customer to the centre of your business, you need to focus on customer satisfaction, building brand loyalty and creating strong relationships with your clientele. Get it right and the majority of your customers will be happy to keep doing business with you.
As well as offering continued support, happy customers can become brilliant brand ambassadors by recommending you to family and friends.
Here at Best Reception, we help our clients to deliver a first-class call-handling customer experience. To learn more, read our page on the benefits of good customer service.
Building a customer experience strategy
The overall aim of a customer experience strategy is for every level of your business to focus on understanding and anticipating the needs of customers, while making interactions positive and seamless.
Put simply, you need to design your business and its processes around your current and potential clients. Try to mold your business to your ideal customers, rather than trying to make them fit around you.
For example, review your customer journey to try and make it as convenient and easy as possible. Listen to customers and give them what they want, not what you think they want. You should also identify trends in your industry so that you can make the most of emerging opportunities.
Can outsourcing work for you?
If you struggle to cope with demand, virtual call handling can build extra capacity into your business, so you can handle more enquiries without the hassle and expense of recruiting extra members of staff.
While chatbots and other digital customer experience tools are available, you can never underestimate the feeling of talking to a human being. A qualified and professional virtual receptionist can show empathy to fully understand what your customer needs.
Virtual receptionists have the call-handling skills to answer professionally and gather information from the customer, enabling a swift and appropriate resolution to their needs.
Ensuring your incoming calls are answered promptly can pose its own set of problems. You might not always have staff available to man the phones, which is why so many companies choose to use the UK receptionists from Best Reception.
Outsourcing is often seen as a way to cut costs, but it can improve the quality of your customer service and also the information and data you receive.
How does professional call handling work?
Call handling describes how a company manages its incoming and outgoing phone calls. Depending on the size of the business, this process can involve a few members of staff or an entire call centre.
The aim is to ensure calls are handled promptly and professionally so callers leave with a positive impression of your business.
Key performance indicators typically include the following:
- The type of calls received/made
- Where calls are directed/transferred
- The time taken to answer calls
- The information given to callers
- Duration of the call.
Call handling skills
Here are some techniques that the UK-based receptionists at Best Reception use to ensure they comply with call handling best practices.
Answer quickly
The aim is to answer calls within three rings, so customers feel valued and receive a positive experience. The first contact should reflect the service you will receive.
Correct information
Receptionists don’t just transfer calls, they should be kept updated with the latest information so they can answer customer queries and book sales appointments.
Listen to callers
Learn what the caller needs and take their contact details. The right questions can also help to reveal opportunities to sell products and services.
Avoid the hold button
Leaving a caller on hold hurts the customer experience, so should be avoided at all costs. If you are struggling to answer a query, don’t waste the caller’s time and offer to call them back.
Every caller is important
Experienced receptionists will make callers feel comfortable to get them talking about their requirements. This approach builds trust which will move them a step closer to a buying decision.
Sum up the call
Before the call ends, summarise the main points and agree a time for a follow-up call (if required). Timescales are important so the customer knows what will happen next.
Arrange a follow-up
Once a prospect enters your sales process, you need to have a follow-up plan so they are contacted quickly. Don’t finish the call with an unhappy customer, find a solution for their needs.
Call consistency
One of the key call-handling skills is to make sure everyone in the business answers the phone in the same manner. Adopt a professional and friendly approach each and every time.
Contact the experts at Best Reception
We hope you have seen how a call-handling service can be the difference between a happy and unhappy customer. By getting the first contact right, you are giving your business every chance to make the next sale.
As your business expands, virtual call handling can help you deliver outstanding customer service. Never miss a sales call with the help of the team at Best Reception who have been helping busy businesses since 2006.
Contact us today to learn about our answering service, virtual receptionist appointment booking and outsourced call centre services.
