Let’s face it, impressions matter. Whatever your industry, prospective customers are constantly sizing you up to get to the core of what you’re really about. And this isn’t exclusive to business interactions. People are constantly making assumptions about one another based on their other characteristics and behaviors. Psychologists call this Implicit Personality Theory, and simply put it means that we assume that people exhibit other traits that are commonly linked to the key characteristics we perceive. For example, if your server at a restaurant rushes you through your order without making an idle chit-chat, you might assume he’s unfriendly or doesn’t particularly enjoy his job. On the other hand, if someone displays a happy disposition you are more likely to assume that they are friendly and warm. 

So what does all of this have to do with your voicemail greeting?

Whether your business is currently using UCaaS or you’re just getting started, navigating the seemingly endless UCaaS features can be overwhelming.  From enterprise messaging to telephony, presence technology to video conferencing…which features will you use? Which ones add the most value to your company? While all businesses are different, we’ve narrowed down the top 5 UCaaS features, that can enhance any business regardless of industry. 

Auto attendants are a necessary feature for your business phone system. When optimized, your auto attendant can be highly beneficial to both your business and your customers.

Ask anyone who's ever served some time in customer service and it's a safe bet they'll have a horror story or...several...about the customers they served. Loudmouthed, abusive, lecherous...these stories run the gamut of cringe. Yet we all know that our customers are the lifeblood of any business: since the ultimate goal is to make money, we need customers to meet that goal. So how do we get our contact centers to focus on the customer? The process might be simpler than you think.

The holidays are a busy time for everyone. And that can mean your callers are spending more time on hold than usual. Adding some festive holiday cheer to your on hold messages or phone greetings is a great way to show your clients, vendors, and partners that you value them and appreciate their business. Fortunately, you don’t need to start from scratch with a new script. It can be as simple as switching to a holiday background music or adding short seasonal greetings to your existing messages. Need a little inspiration? Here’s an informative breakdown of how you can select the best holiday music and greetings for your business recordings.

The issue of artificial intelligence in the workplace is surprisingly polarizing. Not only are there some who are utterly convinced that such a strategy will make us all better employees and make our work day a breeze, but there are others who believe that such a strategy will destroy the economy itself in a matter of months. Artificial intelligence in the contact center, however, is delivering quite a bit of value already, and it's not showing a lot of damage on the job front.

There's no doubt that there are plenty of options when it comes to buying unified communications (UC) service. The sheer number of firms in the field, and the comparative similarity of many of their offerings makes it actually kind of tough to decide which to go with. What's easy, however, is jumping ship, and that makes it tough for UC providers to keep customers in the fold. Differentiation is the way to keep ground taken by great prices or testimonials, and one of the best ways to differentiate is with voice recordings.

Empathy. It's more than just a plot device on television or a throwaway term in business. Empathy is the foundation of customer service, and from there, the best in customer experience. Cultivating empathy will take a little effort, but will ultimately deliver substantial payoffs.

Customer service is vital to a company's future. A study from Forrester found that 72 percent of companies consider improving the customer experience to be their “top priority.” If that's the case, then businesses need to know what to watch out for in the customer service field ahead so they can respond accordingly. Based on the outlook of the next five years in customer service, businesses will have a lot of changes to make to get on top.