Five Ways To Avoid Scaring Your Customers When They Call

By Susan Berkley

1. MAKE SURE THE INITIAL GREETING IS WARM AND FRIENDLY

If the first message your callers hear doesn't generate "good vibes" it can take 7 additional positive impressions to undo the damage done. By the way, the same goes for your personal outgoing voice mail greeting. Stand up and smile when you record it to sound upbeat and enthusiastic.

2. DONT SWITCH VOICES MID STREAM

Ever hear an IVR where the speakers voice suddenly ages 20 years from one prompt to the next? Or worse yet, where a female voice suddenly morphs into a man? Scary! To avoid having an IVR that sounds like it's possessed, choose a voice vendor who can guarantee that your original voice will be available for last minute updates.

3. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT, FAST

Study your call logs to determine the most requested options and put them up front. For example, if most of your callers want their bank balance, don't make them drill down three or four levels to get it.

4. GIVE THEM A WAY TO TALK TO A HUMAN BEING

I know. Live operator calls are expensive. But burying the "opt-out" option can lead to frustrated, unhappy customers. I experienced this recently after someone stole my identity and didn’t pay the bill for cell phone accounts that they opened in my name. When I called customer service to straighten things out, I found myself listening to MY OWN VOICE in voice mail jail with no way of talking to a live person who could help me.

5. KEEP YOUR SCRIPTING SHORT, SWEET AND TO THE POINT

Your callers want to get their business done and get off the phone. Adding superfluous words like "please" before every option ("please press one, please press two, etc.) may sound polite, but it can annoy busy callers.

To contact The Great Voice Company, please call 201-541-8595 ext 229 or email at sales@greatvoice.com