Key Aspects to Elevate Customer Trust during Calls
The experience economy has already been defined and adopted by the next generation of savvy customers. It has compelled both the new and established companies to come up with new ideas to forge a relationship with their customers. However, when it comes to building customer trust over a phone call, there are few tried and tested methods that can always be used to drive better results.
Most companies are conscious of the fact that to build trust among consumers they should be able to deliver a positive and fruitful customer experience. For some reasons though, a flawless execution is always difficult. It’s because every person who calls in is different, and so is each interaction. Here are some of the essential tips that can be followed to yield positive results.
1. Maximal Call Efficiency
Not all customers enjoy long conversations. Sometimes, the more you talk to them, the more is the chance to make them feel uneasy, which could have an adverse impact on the trust factor. Hence, it is important to address the core issue of the caller quickly and efficiently. One of the ideal tips to ensure this is to cultivate superior listening skills.
i. Listening Skills: The ability to identify the primary concern of the customer irrespective of their accent and verbiage is the key to solve their problems, and listening skills are the ideal means to perform the feat consistently and on every call. When the customer service personnel can get a profound understanding of the customer’s concern, they can be more confident of providing the right solution and that too at a brisk pace.
ii. Expert Knowledge: It’s important to analyze and identify the different types of calls that are handled by the customer service team. Next, you need to categorize them and have different sets of personnel trained with specialized process knowledge to handle them accordingly. When you have dedicated specialists to handle each different category of calls, it not only improves the efficiency but also makes the job easier for all.
Furthermore, equipping the frontline agents with the background information of the customers will help them anticipate their needs and be ready with a solution right away. It will also assist the agents in delivering a more personalized experience.
iii. Specialized Tools: Routing a particular category of calls to the right group of experts requires the assistance of automation tools such as advanced IVR and VoIP networks. Also, AI based Agent Augmentation Platforms can boost the agent performance by helping them handle the smart tools as well as easy access tools such as Quick-response widgets, Macro search boxes, etc., in a better way.
2. CRM & Work Flow Integration
Progressive companies can get a significant return on their investments into developing a centralized knowledge base. It is one of the primary steps in the integration of work-flows and valuable info with enterprise CRM, which can streamline the process of providing quick solutions to FAQs. Being able to access popular answers through to-the-point snippets is one of the ways to not only help the frontline staff in handling customers, but it can also go a long way in boosting the overall customer experience.
3. Improved Feedback Mechanism
Having an effective feedback loop that operates with an aim to improve the overall process constantly is an essential step towards building customer trust. Through the feedback mechanism, enterprises can collect data on an agent’s performance and relay it back to the agent. The process has the potential to help the agents to change their practices based on the new information. The customer’s response can be shared with the agent through a Targeted channel and in Real-time.
The feedback mechanism enables the agents to view metrics on the issues they care and can control by channeling the right information to the right place. For instance, individual CSAT scores distributed to the agents as soon as they finish their call through real-time feedback process can help them optimize their performance accordingly.
4. Professional Telephone Etiquettes
Last but not the least, following the required etiquettes is an apparent step to maximize the customer trust. While it may sound like a regular practice, most agents sometimes forget to observe some of the basic rules that could potentially affect the customer’s trust factor. Few of the important etiquettes that need to be followed stringently could include the following:
i. Self-introduction at the beginning of the call
ii. Greet the customer appropriately
iii. Talk in audible tone with proper diction
iv. Avoid interrupting the customer unnecessarily
v. Avoid placing call on hold for a long time
vi. Respond appropriately to customer’s remarks
vii. Offer further help before closing the call
Mistakes are bound to happen in the heat of the conversation, which could be attributed to human error, but it essential to avoid the flaws that consequentially happen due to negligence. It can be prevented through proper and regular training, which is aimed at maximizing the skill levels of the executives.
While these are some of the ideal ways to elevate the customer trust during calls, it is by no means a comprehensive list. Building customer trust is an ongoing process, and it usually takes a considerable amount of effort from the entire team to deliver the ideal results on a regular basis.