If you had to rate your business with regards to customer communication on a scale of 1 to 10, where do you think your company would fall? If you just answered with anything other than “10,” it means you have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to communicating with customers.
It also likely means that you have at least some customers who aren’t completely satisfied with your company’s customer service communication. You should learn how to communicate with customers better to ensure that you’re able to keep people happy when they reach out to your business.
This is often easier said than done. It can take some time and effort for companies to figure out how to improve communication with customers. But it is possible to do it when you make it a top priority.
Here are some tips for communicating with your customers more effectively from now on.
Make It as Simple as Possible for People to Contact Your Company
Years ago, there weren’t a whole lot of ways for people to get into contact with a company when they needed to speak with them. Their only real option was to call them up on the phone to ask a question or to voice a complaint.
But nowadays, it’s important for companies to provide people with lots of other ways to get in touch with them. They should still be able to call them when they want to. But they should also be able to:
- Send an email to them
- Reach out to them through a form on their website
- Chat with them on their website
- Touch base with them on social media
- Engage in a video call with them
The more ways that you give people to contact you, the happier they’re ultimately going to be with your customer communication efforts. It’ll show that you’re willing to speak with them in whichever way works best for them.
Provide People With a Standard Greeting When They Reach Out to Your Company
No matter how people choose to contact your company, they should always be greeted in the same general way. You should come up with some kind of standard greeting that makes your customers feel welcome when they reach out to you.
Whether your employees are picking up the phone to take calls from your customers or responding to chats from them, they should be trained to say the same things over and over again. This consistency will help to set the right tone for your customer communication.
Encourage Your Company’s Employees to Engage in Active Listening
Once your employees have greeted your customers in the right way, they should also be trained to fall back and engage in what is called active listening. Active listening is a form of listening that involves hearing what people are saying and responding to it in the right way.
In order to practice active listening, your employees need to:
- Remain neutral at all times
- Provide feedback that lets a customer know they’re listening
- Ask questions that give them more information
- Summarize what customers say to show that they’ve understood what’s been said to them
Active listening is a skill that not everyone has. It’s why you need to make it your mission to teach your employees about active listening so that they know how to use it to their advantage.
Seek to Address Concerns From Your Customers in a Timely Fashion
When customers call on you with a question or a complaint, they can’t afford to spend all day talking to you about it. In most cases, people expect to be in and out of a conversation with you in a matter of just a few minutes, if that.
With this in mind, it’s your responsibility to work hard to address your customers’ concerns as quickly as you can. As soon as your employees know what they can do to help them, they should spring into action and come to some kind of conclusion sooner than later.
By doing this, they’ll give themselves an opportunity to communicate with more customers than they would be able to otherwise. They’ll also make sure each and every customer that they talk to is satisfied with the conversation they had with your company.
Keep Your Customers Updated on Any Progress You’re Making While Communicating With Them
In the event that your employees can’t address questions or concerns from customers in a timely fashion, it’s important for them to keep in close communication with the customers about the progress that they’re making.
Let’s say, for example, that a customer calls with an in-depth question about one of your products. In a perfect world, one of your employees would be able to answer it right away.
But if they have to do some research on the question prior to answering the question, they should let the customer know that and then either place them on hold or take down their contact information and promise to call them back. They should then start doing their research and let the customer know as they inch closer towards coming up with an answer for them.
Doing this will show a customer that your company is committed to providing the right answers to people. It’ll also make the customer feel like they’re a part of the process and give them complete confidence in your company.
Consider Outsourcing Customer Communication to Another Company If Necessary
Is poor customer communication something that you feel is holding your company back? You could work harder at it to make it one of your strengths. But you could also outsource it to someone else and let them focus on it.
There are plenty of answering service companies out there that can assist you with your customer communication needs. It’ll take it off your plate while also strengthening your customer communication at the same time.
Communicating Effectively With Your Customers Is Key
Most businesses spend the bulk of their days communicating with customers in some form or fashion. It’s a big part of the reason why it’s so important for them to put good communication practices into place.
You should work as hard as you can to improve your customer communication at all times. By communicating more effectively with your customers, you’ll earn their trust and put your company in a position to succeed.
Check out our blog for more tips on how to improve communication with customers.
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