Great Customer Relations start with a Great Phone System

It seems like over the last few years when small business owners start their business they start with location. It’s based on the old real estate joke about how to be successful in business…..”What are the three things you need to start a business? Location, Location, Location.”  Well, I have seen a number of businesses that have struggled even having the “right” location. But what they did not have was organization, or to put it another way, communications.

Business communications is more than just being able to call a client, or have them call you.  The way you structure your telephone communication system tells a lot about the organization. Like what are your values? Is your telephone system just tin cans on a string? Or was it built with the customer’s needs in mind?
My feeling is that not enough thought is given to what the customer’s expectations are when they try to contact you.

Let’s ask some questions:
• Does your business telephone system allow you to have multiple party conversations?
• Do you have a business telephone system with “speakerphone” capability?
• Can your business telephone system record conversations?
• Does your business telephone system have the ability to offer 7 different greetings for callers?
• Can your business telephone system “give directions” to a caller?
• Can your business telephone system call or page you when you receive a voice mail message?
• Can your business telephone system automatically go to your email so that you can listen to them in a “.wav” file format?
• Does your business telephone system store missed calls so you won’t miss any customer satisfaction opportunities?
The list goes on, but you get the idea.  If you could not answer yes to all the points, then you’re losing opportunities, and customers.

Despite Your Best Efforts

We have often met with small business owners that despite their best efforts, are not getting the telephone system equipment functionality and service they need, and expect. Considering how fast the market is changing, both with the equipment and customer expectations, it not hard to see why. After time, even the "state of the art" equipment needs to be upgraded.

Telephone system consultants can play a key part in a small business success story. Although small and mid-sized business leaders should stay focused on the sales cycle, there is not always the time to understand the customer persona or leverage technology to drive loyalty and customer satisfaction. This is where the telephone system consultants come into play. Telephone system consultants can help clients to stay informed and current with phone system technology and customer expectations.

Unfortunately, many owners and office managers still rely heavily on the "old school" approach of selecting, installing, and implementing a new telephone system. Most telephone system consultants have a greater understanding of how customers expect to be engaged, and how employees need to be trained.  By understanding this, a telephone system consultant can  reduce your operating cost, improve customer satisfaction,  and improve sales opportunities.

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Ok, so it’s not football, but its close....

Getting ready for the Super Bowl got me thinking about how similar football is to customer service in the Telephone Communications Systems business. In short, game satisfaction and service satisfaction. If the favorite team is not putting points on the board they lose fans (customers). No tickets being sold, no shirts being worn, and worse yet, no positive “discussions” being held at the “Goal Post Bar and Grill”.  The same is true if your systems service team is not completing the plays, or doing the basic blocking and tackling. You lose customers (fans). No repeat business, or leads for other business. 

A truism in both football and customer service, it’s easier to get out in front and stay in front than come from behind.  One of my favorite quotes from Vince Lombardi: “The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” To paraphrase, “The quality of a company is in direct proportion to its commitment to excellence, regardless of their product or services”.

So, thinking about the game coming up, I am going to be asking myself what my team will do when there are 30 seconds left on the clock and I am in the “Red Zone”.

Jim