The Importance of Good Telephone Etiquette Within Business

A phone call in the business world is completely different to an ordinary phone call between friends and family.

When a customer calls your business, they’ll expect a certain level of service.  People are impatient, your customers don’t want to be kept waiting and they’ll also want their queries to be dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.

To a customer, first impressions are everything. If you answer your calls professionally, kindly and manage to solve the customer’s query efficiently you will be more likely to earn repeated business and referrals too.

If you don’t give your customers a good first impression it’s more than likely that they will look to take their business elsewhere to receive the level of service that they expect.

Here are some ways in which you can create the perfect first impression:

Answer with a smile – Make sure you’re smiling when you answer the phone. Smiling will set the tone of your voice, making you sound friendlier and happier to callers. This will create a comfortable environment for your caller straight off the bat.

Pick up the phone within 3 rings– Nobody likes to be kept waiting, especially when looking for help. If you leave your customers too long they’ll assume you’re not taking their call seriously, and again will look to take their business elsewhere.

Answer with your name and the company name– This step simply cannot be skipped, the customer will need to know your company name to ensure they’ve dialled the correct number. Letting the customer know your name at the start of the call will reassure them that a real person is dealing with their query rather than a robot. It also informs customers there’s somebody to ask for should they require assistance in the future.

Focus on the conversation – It’s easy to get distracted during a phone conversation, especially in large office where there can be plenty of background noise. It’s essential that you focus on your conversation with the customer as the slightest lapse in concentration could severely affect the level of customer service that you provide.  As mentioned previously if the customer is not left satisfied after a conversation then it’s more than likely that they will seek assistance elsewhere.

Solve the issue– It’s extremely important that the customer feels satisfied after their call; the main way of guaranteeing customer satisfaction is ensuring that their initial query is solved. If you resolve the customer’s issue politely and efficiently, it’s highly likely that they’ll return in the future.

Don’t let voicemail make the first impression –Arguably the worst thing that could happen for a new caller is for them to be greeted by a voicemail message, especially if they have an urgent query that needs dealing with. Now we know that it’s sometimes impossible to be available for every single business call. The best way to combat this would be to implement a call answering service.  A call answering service is designed to answer any of the business calls that you’re unable to take. Using a call answering service will ensure that your customers will never hear a voicemail message and that there will always be someone on hand to deal with their query.

Customers have so much choice these days, it’s important that you give them a reason to choose you. If you’re constantly demonstrating the highest levels of customer service then this will be more than enough of a reason for your customers to come back in the future as well as mention to friends and family how great you are to deal with.