To your callers, the person who answers the phone IS your company, whether that person is sitting at the reception desk, out in the field or working at a call center that handles your phone traffic. Every time your customer calls, their experience on the phone influences their opinions about your business. This is the place where the “front line”—the person (or computer) that answers your phone calls—affects the bottom line. Paying attention to that interaction can definitely pay off.
A phone call has several tangible parts:
- The greeting
- Gathering information from the caller
- Responding to the caller’s needs
- The closing
In addition to these more tangible parts of a call, there are subtle aspects of communication woven into each conversation:
- Respect (or lack thereof)
- Temper (anger, frustration, pride, defensiveness, boredom, indifference, good cheer, patience, compassion, etc.)
- Engagement (is the caller rushed? is the operator listening? are the operator’s answers relevant and appropriate to the call? etc.)
- Impressions (the “not-in-so-many-words” information that a caller gets about your company—not what is said, but how it is said)
Every one of these parts of a call contributes, positively or negatively, to the caller’s impression. The tangible parts may be the most critical in terms of conveying information, but it’s often the intangibles that make the caller “like” or “dislike” your company.
The tangibles are typically managed by means of an “if-then” process—a script or flow chart. If the caller says A, then the operator does/says A1; if the caller says B, then the operator does/says B1, and so on. Since the caller’s words or attitude may be “off the chart,” an effect script or flow chart provides the operator with a variety of responses.
This is the place where the operator needs to know more than just how to put the call through or take a message. Putting useful information at the operator’s fingertips is particularly helpful. The operator needs an understanding of the types of work your company does and the variety of calls that can be expected. An operator who has immediate access to CRM data can more effectively route calls and convey critical information, even if the caller is difficult to understand.
The tangible process of managing each call should be reviewed on a regular basis. Is it time to refresh your greeting or closing message? Is your operator routing calls efficiently and providing accurate information? Review and training on the intangibles is also essential. If you’re concerned with the impression your company is making on the phone, AAMCOM’s trained operators and customer service professionals can deliver your message, route your calls and assure that every customer is treated with respect.
When you put your best voice forward, your customers notice.
