Barbara was thrilled. She finally got a brand new automated phone system for her business. She purchased the system to give her employees more time for their work. It seemed to her that too much of their time was taken up transferring calls to the “right” person and repeatedly giving out information about their hours or location. The automated system would allow them to become truly productive.



Sounds great, doesn't it? Wrong. It was a nightmare. Her customers, who were used to speaking to a human, now had to maneuver a difficult, confusing and sometimes truly impossible system. Some of her customers dealt with the new system, but silently hated it. Some of them complained. Others just gave up and went elsewhere. The real problem was that Barbara lost track of what really mattered. She forgot that her customers were not in the way of her business—they were her business. In her effort to make work easier for her employees, she inadvertently made it more difficult for her customers to do business with her.

In a marketplace with so many choices, it is essential for you to do everything possible to make it easy for your customers to do business with you, any difficulty or obstacle that hinders or frustrates them may make them run away from you without you ever having a chance to “make things right.” So what can you do to encourage your customers to remain your customers and not drive them to your competitor?

Let's start with the basics. Make it easy for your customers to reach you by phone— sounds pretty obvious, doesn't it? But if you start looking at some of the ways companies make this difficult, you'll see that it must not be as obvious as it might seem. In order for you to truly determine how easy it is for your customers to reach you, ask yourself these questions:

Is it easy to contact you?

Problem:

A customer has heard about your business but has no idea how to reach you.

Solution:

Have your phone number clearly displayed on all printed and electronic media. Include your phone number on receipts. Your email signature line should have your business phone, fax and even cell phone number. If appropriate, place your number on magnets, notepads and other small trinkets that your customers may keep. List your phone information in online directories, yellow pages, etc.

Problem:

Customers have to pay long-distance fees to call your business.

Solution:

A toll free number makes it affordable for your customers to contact you at any time. Remember however, toll free numbers may only work within your country. If you want to be available to people in other countries make sure that you also have a number that can be used globally. Remember to include the country code.

Problem:

You use phone words (i.e., 1-800-BUY- HERE) that may be difficult to translate into numerals. This is particularly tough for people with impaired vision and for people using cell phones. The other major problem is that your phone word may have an alternative spelling (i.e., here/ hear) which could cause your customer to call a wrong number.

Solution:

Phone words can be a clever marketing idea. Having your company's name in the number adds another level of name recognition. Just make sure that all your printed and electronic material has both the “spelling” of your number and its numerical equivalents.

Is it easy to talk to a human?

Problem:

Your brand spanking new (or old) phone system has more prompts than there are numbers in Pi. You tell your customers, in order to provide them with “better service”, they need to go through a series of prompts to reach the appropriate person. This series of prompts was NOT created to serve your customer—and your customers know it!

Solution:

Reduce the number of prompts in your system. One set of prompts is the limit for most people's patience and goodwill.

Don't make your customers search for a method to talk to a living, breathing person. If you absolutely, positively must have more than one set of prompts, make sure to offer your customers the option of speaking to an operator in the first and subsequent series of prompts.

Is it easy for your customer to talk to the person they need?

Problem:

Your customer gets to a wrong number within your company's phone system. They now must fend for themselves, sometimes having to start over, fighting their way through your phone maze.

Solution:

Make sure your employees take ownership of every call. If they can answer a question without transferring, have them go ahead and answer. If the caller needs to talk to someone else in the company, have the person who has answered the call tell the customer that they are going to be transferred, making sure they have given the caller the correct number in the event the caller gets disconnected or “lost” in the system. If at all possible, try to get a system that allows your employees to stay on the phone with the customer until the transfer is made.

As in any other business situation, have the employee introduce the caller to the person they are being transferred to. The employee should provide a brief recap of the customer's needs and or questions before politely saying goodbye to the customer.

Is it EASY to be on hold?

Problem: Your customer has to stay on hold for more than 30 seconds without someone checking in on them.

Solution:

30 seconds doesn't sound so bad, does it? Phone time is different than regular time. When you are waiting for someone to help you, 30 seconds can seem like an eternity. If your people have to place a caller on hold, make sure that they check back every 30 seconds to update the customer and/or give them the option of being called back. You will notice that I said being “called back” instead of “calling back.” Why is it important for you to be the party who calls back? Calling back your customer is a way of acknowledging that you know their time is important and you appreciate their patience. Furthermore, a frustrated customer may not call you back. Remember, your goal is to make it EASY for your customers. Plain and simple, it is EASIER for your customer to have you call back, unless they say they would prefer to call you back. The choice should be theirs.

Problem:

Your customer is placed on hold and they are listening to silence or, perhaps worse, they are listening to annoying canned music.

Solution:

To be honest, it is better to have some sound rather than silence. A silent phone line can make the customer concerned that they have been disconnected. If you decide to play music, have it be consistent with the image of your business. A better idea is to play information tapes that tell your customer about your business or give them some ideas to improve their life or business.

Is it EASY to have a voice mail returned?

Problem:

Your customer leaves a voice mail message. They do not have their message promptly returned, because the person they called is busy or out of the office.

Solution:

Have your employees change their voice mail message each day. If they need to be out of the office, or if they are unable to return messages that day, their message should not only indicate that, but should also have the number or extension of a person who could be contacted immediately.

Sometimes (often) we are unaware of just how difficult and frustrating it can be to talk to a human at our own business. If you think you have an easy system, try it out yourself. Have friends and family members try it. Ask your employees to give it a try. Have them tell you what the easiest part of their experience was, as well as which parts were frustrating. Then fix the problems immediately. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to do business with you.

If you are an employee of a company that is not easy to phone…send your boss this article!