Five Tips for Auto-Attendant Best Practices
Simon Cowell, the famous judge from The Voice, once said, “Good is not enough. You’ve got to be great.”
Thriving businesses also understand the importance of this concept when building a superior customer-facing experience. They know that excellence in customer-brand consistency means always presenting a professional, polished image to the outside world. Moreover, they recognize how closely client loyalty is tied to initial perceptions of customer service, which often starts with the auto attendant.
Despite these facts, many businesses are still neglecting to establish a clear path to success. By failing to implement professional voice branding, personalization strategies, and updates as part of a defined communications plan, these businesses aren’t attracting or keeping clients.
Luckily, businesses can easily make changes to get back on track. Let’s explore five tips to elevate your brand influence in your auto-attendant strategy.
Tip 1: Add Panache and Personalization to Your Auto Attendant
Think professional voice-overs are expensive? Think again. Most voice-over services start around fifty dollars for a recording. Adding this simple, inexpensive touch adds panache to your external branding. After all, our modern business environment has been flipped on its head, and customers are expecting more. Your business can meet high customer expectations by developing a voice brand that is both memorable and tonally consistent across your communications platform.
Think professional voice-overs are expensive? Think again. Most voice-over services start around fifty dollars for a recording. Adding this simple, inexpensive touch adds panache to your external branding. After all, our modern business environment has been flipped on its head, and customers are expecting more. Your business can meet high customer expectations by developing a voice brand that is both memorable and tonally consistent across your communications platform.
We know what you’re thinking: Are the vocal tones that represent your business’s marketing and customer service really that important? The answer is they're more significant than you think. We all can recall a distant time when a soothing voice lulled us to dreamland. Conversely, we also can recall a moment when the speaker was shrill or harsh. We tie our emotions to what we hear and experience. In everyday interactions, vocal pitch and tone can influence our impressions of the speaker—and the content we create for our phone communication channels is no different. Buyers seldom make a purchasing decision based on logic, but on a more guttural, emotional impulse. Therefore, your virtual voice needs to match your professional niche and company brand. A good example of this is using a British voice-over accent for a financial corporation in order to give the air of sophistication and prestige.
Tip 2: Regularly Update Your Auto Attendant
Every interaction is an opportunity to make a great impression. The spoken language is unique to the human experience. We aren't just affected by what others say and how words are spoken; we need to feel valued and heard. In customer service, this notion is doubly true. According to Forbes, “Companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80 percent. Eighty-four percent of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in their revenue.” 1 The numbers do not lie. Customers are willing to part ways with a company after having a poor customer experience.
Tip 3: Apply Analytics for Better Understanding
Understand your user base at a deeper level by analyzing your call-center data. By doing so, your business can streamline and improve customer processes. A well-developed auto attendant highlights the topics clients care about. If you are a small business, start by jotting down a great script that will help solidify what you need to say to callers. Be sure to include a friendly greeting in your intro and list departments or services in order of importance. If you notice your callers are primarily looking for technical support, but your phone directory has only marketing, finance, and HR, be sure to correct your system accordingly.
Tip 4: Deliver Seasonal Updates and Promotional Mentions
When the time of year is right, optimize your phone greetings and call flows with a specific holiday message for a friendlier intro. Background holiday music or music on hold can be implemented for a pleasant atmosphere.
An easy way to cross-sell your service or product is to add a few mentions of upcoming deals. Plug your promotions to keep customers informed and increase your sales. You can also use the opportunity to showcase your highlight reel of awards and accomplishments. Perhaps you have been awarded a valuable recognition in your field of endeavor. Be sure to toot your own horn to impress potential and existing clients.
Tip 5: Update Employee Extensions
Make sure your directory is up to date with the latest changes in employee status. Often overlooked small details can make customers frustrated with you and your brand. If Brad, the accountant, was moved to the sales department, let your users know. Nothing is more frustrating to your users than not speaking to the person they need. Being routed to the wrong department and then transferred can cost more than a negative reputation. Sales are lost by not considering your customer-experience strategy as essential to growth. By gaining your customers’ trust with accurate information, you thereby earn their business.
Small businesses have a lot to consider when implementing and writing their auto-attendant strategy. Remember—your auto attendant can be turned into a great revenue asset if you know how to use it. If this seems daunting and overwhelming, we would be happy to walk you through the powerful features found in the OneCloud portal, including customizable auto-attendant voices. Or if you would simply like to learn more about how communications technology can increase your ROI, contact TelWare at 1.800.637.3148 or sales@telware.com. TelWare is a national leader in the installation of voice, video, data, and unified communications solutions.
