Hands down, customer loyalty is the best way you can outdo your competition. It’s no longer about who has the lowest price, but the best service that will keep them coming back. This is especially pertinent for phone service, as about 70% will hang up and never think twice about your business again if they have a bad experience while on the line.
You can use your phone system to help, not hurt, your customers’ collective satisfaction and build a loyal gathering. It’s all about asking for appropriate feedback and having beliefs that align with your callers.
WHAT BUILDS CUSTOMER LOYALTY?
Answering this question is similar to how you build any other friendship or relationship in your life – it’s all about being able to connect on something that matters.
What’s your company’s bigger overarching purpose? What initiatives are you taking to better the world around you, and how can you get others involved and passionate? This can be made known with your branding, and also with your phone system.
- With Message On Hold, while your callers are waiting to hear from someone, you can answer most frequently asked questions, inform them on what things they should have prepared so you can help assist them quicker, notify them of the latest messages, events and promotions you have, as well as how customers can get involved (if applicable). This means you can keep them informed while not just having music tracks play in their ear. Don’t have it loop too soon, though – as hearing the same repetitive voice can be off-putting and impersonal.
- Let your callers know they’re appreciated on voice prompts (an action message for the caller) – this can be accomplished by making the association that they’re a part of your brand’s “family” or group. Doing so builds identity and self-esteem for a strong bond with your customers, and it’s the very reason you see Apple evangelists combating Android users at every turn. Being a part of something bigger makes it more meaningful.
- Have a concise phone menu, so customers can get where they need to go quickly. There’s a reason Disney purports world-class quality – it’s because no matter what touch points you have with their company (phone included), they always go above and beyond for their customers. You can do this simply by empowering your employees to provide +1 amenities such as free shipping, or taking the time to make a personal call if a caller was unsatisfied. It shows you’re invested in their happiness beyond a corporate level of “buy this, get what you paid for,” mentality.
- Ask for feedback! After a call, have a prompt ask them about their service, or direct it to another representative who can listen to their experience. Most will be open to providing any gaps between how a good experience could’ve been an awesome one. Use that feedback! With it, you can measure the level of customer loyalty, how willing they’d be to recommend services to a friend, etc. … the power’s right at your fingertips with the right phone system!
These are a few examples of how you can utilize your phone system to reinforce a superb customer experience, and build customer loyalty. It’s not a difficult concept – but it is hard to maintain and have an actionable system to improve.
It all starts with having the right phone system prompts and recordings. To learn more, check out some of our samples!
