The BV Blog

There are many no-cost or low-cost steps you can take to encourage repeat business, build your brand equity, and create a positive and memorable customer experience. One of the most basic is to train or remind everyone on your staff to be a pleasant, helpful human being when using your company’s telephones.

We all know that customers are more likely to buy from people and companies they like and feel good about, yet, every day, bad impressions are cemented and potential business is lost when:

a) Employees answer the telephone with an unprofessional attitude or a complete lack of enthusiasm (the “Is it Friday yet?” mentality).

b) Receptionists speak so quickly or incoherently that prospective customers question if they’ve called the right number.

c) Operators treat customers as if their calls are interruptions, rather than the reasons for their jobs.

Now ask yourself if your company’s callers are being treated with the level of care and attention they deserve?

Customers are more likely to come back to you again and again - and spread good word-of-mouth about you - when they feel genuinely welcomed, when they feel valued and respected, and when they feel that you identify with their needs. So, it’s very important to create those positive feelings right away, the very first time customers call.

If your staff’s phone skills and manners are not playing an active and positive role in your marketing, adopt these five simple rules as quickly as possible.

Rule 1: Apply the Golden Rule to every caller. In other words, treat them the same way you’d like to be treated as a paying customer.

Rule 2: Answer the phone with a smile. Yes, actually smile! It’ll give you a more positive attitude, and callers will “hear the friendliness” in your voice. Remember, you’re trying to make a positive impression, whether the person on the line is a first-time caller or one of your most loyal customers.

Rule 3: Whenever possible, refer to your callers by name. Most people like the sound of their own name, and hearing you say it tells them that they’re important to you and your company.

Rule 4: Speak slowly and clearly. If you hurry or slur your way through your initial greeting or when providing information that needs to be written down, you’ll only frustrate your callers and force them to ask you to repeat yourself.

Rule 5: Be friendly, but use courteous, respectful language. You never know how the caller may be judging you and, by extension, your company. Replace the words “yep” and “yeah” with “yes ma’am” and “yes sir.” And the words “please” and “thank you” are just as important on the phone as they are in any face-to-face social situation.

These rules may seem basic, but how many companies are living by them? If your competitors aren’t placing enough importance on the caller experience, your mastery of telephone skills and etiquette will further distinguish your company.

And remember, successful companies are often built on the basics, like a customer-centric attitude and an understanding that every phone call is an opportunity to build customer share and create brand evangelists.

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I saw a commercial the other morning that really made me laugh. It’s a Titan Tire commercial, which if you you would like to have a hearty chuckle, you can view here. Just click on the “kimono” link.

It was funny to me because of the recent state America’s relationship to all things foreign. Funnier still was seeing rugged cowboy types accessorizing a lasso with a beret and pairing a pitchfork with a silky kimono.

I thought it expertly and humorously isolated what’s different about American manufactured products.

But it wasn’t particularly funny to an editor at Indiana State University’s student newspaper, The Statesman. Her reaction to the commerical was markedly different than mine. Read her editorial here.

This editorial offended a member of the the Terre Haute community, so much so that he responded with a letter to the editor defending the family that was attacked in the Opinions column and highlighting the lack of journalistic integrity on the part of the editor.

My point is two-fold. Firstly, what’s funny to some people may not be funny to other people; so un-funny that, as in this case, it is received as offensive and malignant. The lesson? Be cautious in your advertising, but don’t be afraid to push the envelope. If you’re too cautious, people may not have a negative reaction to your efforts, but they may not react at all.

Secondly, I came across this information only because I was searching the Internet high and low for a way to share this commercial with you. In the course of my search, I came across the editorial. Then I came across the response to it. Only then did I locate the commercial. The lesson? You can find almost anything on the Internet. Be smart about what you put out there, and about how you handle criticisms about what you put out there.

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Everyone in marketing knows that “word of mouth” is the best way to generate maximum awareness for a product, service or campaign. What most of us don’t realize is that we have a veritable cornucopia of opportunity for this kind of viral marketing– our customers. Happy customers are the biggest champions of your business. If you wow them, they will tell others. And just as their words are a powerful marketing tool, so are their success stories.

Case studies not only help your business learn what works, but when published, they let everyone know you figured it out.

Companies get lost in the glitz and gloss of traditional marketing efforts like television and print ad campaigns. The truth is those mediums are very expensive and oversaturated. Case studies are a much more reliable representation of the successes of your company and your clients.

Perform case studies regularly and submit them to the trade publications of relevant industries. You’ll be amazed at the response you get.

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