How Poor Phone Communication Can Cost You Clients

Customer Satisfaction is Crucial For Your Company

Customer satisfaction is crucial to the growth and success of your company. Phone communications with customers are an excellent opportunity to build this satisfaction and establish a reputation for providing quality service. On the other hand, a poor phone communication can often cause a customer to become angry and frustrated. This may result in the customer taking his business elsewhere in the future.

Poor phone communications with customers can negatively impact your company’s brand or image. In an age where it is so easy to read reviews of a company online, this negative impact on your brand can lead potential clients to consider other options during their research phase.

Communication Styles can Impact Customer Experience

Customers want to feel valued and understood. By providing quality service and assistance over the phone, you can demonstrate to your customers that you value their business and understand their needs. The communication of your employees can significantly impact the success of these phone interactions, making the difference between a happy, loyal, repeat customer and a frustrated customer who jumps to your competitor.

There are 3 basic communication styles:

1. Aggressive – Employees with aggressive communication styles are often poor listeners, struggle to see the customer’s point of view, and dominate the conversation. This type of communication tends to increase the anger and frustration in a customer, particularly if the call was made to resolve a problem. It can also make the customer feel disrespected and ignored. Having employees with aggressive conversation styles man your phones can result in negative customer relations.
2. Passive – A passive communication is characterized by speaking indirectly about a subject matter, a tendency to agree, and a hesitance to speak up or voice opinions. While this may not be ideal for employees on your sales team, it can be useful in situations where you need to calm down an angry customer.
3. Assertive – The assertive communication falls somewhere between the aggressive and passive styles. Assertive communicators are typically active listeners, communicate expectations clearly, make observations in a non-judgmental way, and are sensitive to the feelings of others. This communication is typically the most effective to use with customers, both on the phone and in person. It will help them feel valued and respected, and it is most conducive to resolving problems.

Keep in mind that when your employees are speaking to customers on the phone, they are the voice of your company. If they have the skills to maintain open, honest, respectful, and sincere communications, your customers are more likely to have a positive experience.

If they are unable to communicate in this manner, it can increase the chances your unhappy customer will think about working with someone else who can provide this level of service in the future.