Communication is always tricky. How many companies have had their reputations suffer because of an ad campaign that was taken out of context? How many ad campaigns have succeeded but for different reasons?
Take Power Daddy’s 2015 campaign, for example. The Ireland-based bookmaker sent a lorry from Dover to Calais in France with the slogan: “Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)” Next to the slogan were pictures of English athletes born outside the U.K., like Jamaica-born Raheem Sterling and Samoa-born Manu Tuilagi, among others.
A combination of poor word choice and bad timing ruined the campaign. That year, Calais was in the midst of a migrant crisis, part of a Europe-wide situation that saw mass emigrations from war-torn nations like Syria and Afghanistan. Reactions were mixed; some were disgusted, while others said people just misunderstood the slogan.
Good communication requires that the sender and receiver hear the same message. As one analysis wrote, if a sender insists that he hasn’t broken any rules, the receiver might get the impression that he can do anything he wants as long as it doesn’t break the rules. Apart from the addition of a few words, the contexts of these messages could differ vastly.
Now, let’s set the stage. You’re running a business in an era where everything you say and do will be prone to misinterpretation. You have various media at your disposal, from the humble telephone to social media. Your clients lack the time and energy for a prolonged conversation—and you only have one chance to get the call right.
Failing to account for one of these factors can lead to messy results. And depending on the severity of that failure, a business might not even recover from it.
Fortunately, technology tends to move forward by addressing limitations. While it’s still up to the message itself, good communication can benefit from developments such as the ringless voicemail. It works by sending a pre-recorded audio messages to the recipient’s voicemail inbox. It will simply sit there until the recipient decides to receive it, saving them the trouble of unwanted interruptions throughout the day.
How a piece of technology performs is only as good as the user behind it. Here are several tips on how to use ringless voicemail to your business’s advantage.
Respect The Client
Respect is the cornerstone of customer service. Many customers prefer to reach out to a business and talk to a representative at their own time. This is the advantage of ringless voicemails because the customer would never be interrupted by your calls. Aside from that, they can choose to listen to the voicemail at their most convenient time. This is a good way of showing that your business respects every client’s time.
Showing a modicum of respect extends beyond the typical transaction. Respecting a customer’s wishes, when it comes to their preferred option of communication, is just as crucial. If they choose not to receive calls and voicemails from your business, you have to respect that decision. They’ll call you when they want to make an inquiry or make an official purchase.
If they agree to accept your calls at any time, don’t waste that privilege. As much as possible, make the call or record the message personally to make them feel important. Deliver the information that your clients need straight away; don’t beat around the bush. End a call or leave messages on a good note with phrases like: “Hope to hear from you soon.”
Looking up contacts on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) can help. Like the U.S. National Do Not Call Registry, the TPS lists personal and business contact numbers that opt-out of receiving sales or marketing calls. While the service doesn’t restrict recorded messages (and no legislation restricting them currently exists), it pays to be attentive and responsible. After all, your reputation as a business is still on the line if you neglect digital privacy. If a user opts out from receiving random sales calls, and you still went ahead and sent a voicemail, this would just leave a bad impression for your company.
If you do receive calls or voicemails from customers, try to answer them on the same business day. Customers will appreciate it more if your business has a call-back mechanism in place. You can’t just leave a voicemail and then leave the customer hanging. If you want to build trust and rapport among your customers, you need to be available and responsive.
Use A Toll-Free Number
As the term implies, a toll-free number allows people to contact it without incurring charges from their service providers. Businesses incur the cost of every toll-free call made to them. And while it may be costly, the benefits from these numbers are truly worth it.
Toll-free numbers are configurable to suit a company’s image, making them more memorable than generic ones. That’s why you frequently see commercials with contacts such as 1-800-CALLNOW or 1-855-PLUMBER.
Even science sees the importance of toll-free numbers. Daniel Schacter, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, said that it’s not enough for people to repeat a number over and over, which he calls a phonological loop. It has to make associations and turn them into something meaningful, which is more retainable in the long-term.
The setup for a toll-free number depends on the location of your target market. In the U.K, where it’s also known as a “freephone” number, the choice of a four-digit number can have a bearing on your business number. The two leading toll-free prefixes, 0800 and 0808, can accept six and seven phone digits, respectively.
In the U.S., seven toll-free prefixes are in use—800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833—with more combinations reserved for future use. The 800 number, which has been in use since 1966, is the most memorable one for many users. Selecting a prefix should be given serious thought, especially if a company relies on phone advertising and sales.
Whatever toll-free number you choose, the most important thing is to make sure that it is connected to your voicemail numbers. Services such as 855 Area Code can set up the toll-free number to forward incoming calls to the numbers that your office usually uses. This way, you can go back and forth with customers and leads more quickly.
Finally, a business with a toll-free number will appear more credible to customers. And since it is free of charge, potential customers are more inclined to get back to you after hearing your voicemail.
Deliver, Deliver, Deliver
You may have a state-of-the-art ringless voicemail system in place, but it won’t matter if you can’t deliver. The most critical advantage you have in business is to hold your end of the bargain.
Any call or voicemail that a business sends or receives must be followed up with quick, decisive action. Is the client asking for a quote for your product or service? Send them one through email or mobile. Does the client want to schedule a meeting for a project? Call back and set up a date and time. Is a client complaining about a lack of service? Apologize and iron out the kinks with them.
Don’t fall short on your promise, but don’t overcompensate as well. Focus on the customer’s needs and work your way from there together. See criticisms as points of improvement for your business. Towards the end, be grateful that the customer gave you a call, even if it went nowhere.
Reneging on your promise never ends well. This will highly discourage customers. Not to mention, poor reviews can be easily shared online. Thus, this would eventually hurt your company’s reputation too.
Top-performing businesses usually manage to deliver on their promises. Circumstances beyond your control may sometimes prevent you from fulfilling every promise you make. Still, customers value companies that do everything to make things work. Simple things like doing a follow-up could go a long way.
Conclusion
The advantages of technology that made ringless voicemails possible can help get a business reach new heights. When combined with best business practices, it can reach even greater heights in less time. Sometimes, it pays for a company to sit and think back on its vision and mission. What does it want to achieve? What are its plans for the future?
Whatever they are, good communication will be a requirement for achieving them. Clear messages get across faster and are less prone to misunderstandings in the long term. Values like respect and honesty, while a more challenging route to take, are appreciated by customers more than ever.
Be what your customers want you to be, and that could start with a non-intrusive phone call. Just like many people, your customers are more likely busy with work and errands for the most part of their days. Getting cold-called is definitely the last thing that they want at any point of the day. Respecting your customers’ time can go a long way. Leaving a voicemail will allow them to stay connected with your business—but only at their most convenient time.
