5 Ways Phone Systems Can Improve Customer Service

The interaction your customers have with your company directly impacts your bottom line. Think about it. Have you ever had a bad experience with a company, whether on the phone or in person? What did that do for your feelings towards that company? Did you stop being loyal to them? Most people do, which is why understanding the importance of customer service is paramount to your success. In today’s technological world, many companies have stopped utilizing customer service via the telephone, relying on the internet for chats, social media interaction and FAQs on their website. While these are all helpful and important, overlooking the need for a phone system can be what drives any company into the ground or at the very least, decreases their profits.

Set the Bar for Customer Service

One way that having a phone available for customer service is the level of service you provide your customers. Isn’t there something to be said about a company that is always available to answer customer questions and concerns? If you limit your customer service hours to a select few when customers are not typically available to handle business or you neglect to use an office telephone system at all, strictly relying on the internet, you could be losing a large portion of your customer base. In today’s world, customers want answers now – they do not want to wait. Which means, they want you on the phone; they do not want to wait for an email response or to see you in person. Having that option for them to call in is crucial, no matter how technologically advanced our world may get.

Show your Flexibility

Even if you are a company that is always on the go, with employees spanning the globe and sales people only seen in the office once in a great while, you can have a phone system that is flexible enough for them. The modern business phone system allows you to forward calls to any phone, including cell phones. This means that your employees basically have their office with them while they travel. Now your customers can get a hold of your company whenever they need to – once again increasing the bar for the level of customer service that you provide. The more flexible you are, the more loyal your customers become.

Show your Interest

Customers want to know that you are interested in more than their money; they want to know that you care about them. This is only done with a live person. No matter how exciting, colorful, or engaging you make your website or email responses, they do not make up for personal conversations on the phone. Some customers need that “real” person interaction. On the phone you are able to portray real feelings and let the customer know that they really are important to your company, something that cannot be portrayed any other way.

Get the Leg up on the Competition

Competition is fierce no matter where you look and what industry you operate in, but that does not mean that you must give into it. If you want to stand apart from the crowd and make your target audience pick you over any others, opt for phone customer service. The investment in an office telephone system will pay off tenfold when potential clients realize the ease of which they can get a hold of you as compared to others in the industry that might not have phone systems, forcing customers to succumb to the waiting game of email or worse yet – being subjected to finding their answer strictly through an “elaborate” FAQ that the company promises will answer any questions they may have.

Make your Office more Efficient

No one likes to be passed off from employee to employee while sitting on the phone waiting for their question or concern to be answered. This is when an auto attendant comes into play. When you are able to efficiently route customers to the appropriate party the first time, they will get the answer they need much faster. This includes the offices that utilize VoIP phone service, enabling employees to be anywhere, not just in the office, in order to take work phone calls. When your office runs more efficiently, your customers will be happier and your bottom line will be higher.

Don’t make the mistake of forgoing the phone system in your office just yet. Just as computers, tablets, and Smartphones increase in capability and technology, so do the phone systems available for the office. Form the digital phone to auto attendants and everything in between – you need the technology that phone systems can provide your business.

Do you use a phone system in your office? Let us know in the comments below on its important role in your company.