Dogs are loyal. Unconditionally. Leave for two weeks, and they’ll still be waiting at the top of the stairs, wagging their tails when you walk through the front door.
Clients? Who pay you money for a service or a good? They’re a slightly more finicky breed. Without a doubt, many longstanding and lucrative relationships and partnerships can be fostered, but make no mistake – you have to earn that loyalty.
Looking for the secret sauce? A telephone answering service, believe it or not, can give you pointers on how to build customer loyalty. Better yet, they can do it for you using the following steps:
- Immediacy: In an increasingly digital world, telephone etiquette is unfortunately falling by the wayside. It’s true that more and more individuals are conducting their affairs online, but that’s all the more reason to answer business-related telephone calls promptly, instead of letting the phone ring off the hook. Four rings? Far too many. Most answering services are staffed accordingly to answer the phone by the third ring, and typically by the first. Today’s consumer is accustomed to having answers at their fingertips. An answering service will make sure those fingers don’t go walking elsewhere.
- Authenticity: Wondering how to build customer loyalty? We know we’re a telephone answering service, but here’s a tip: don’t phone it in. Customers can smell a fake a mile away. Sincerity is the name of the game. A professional answering service can help you achieve this critical quality – first, by truly listening to your customers and their concerns, and second, by engaging in conversation that doesn’t feel like it’s being churned out by a computer program.
- Consistency: Response time, enthusiasm, action, results: building customer loyalty is about setting high standards for your company, your employees, and your vendors – and meeting it repeatedly, day after day.
- Familiarity: Think about it: when you go to the local market, or beauty salon, or auto shop – doesn’t it make you feel like a thousand bucks when the cashier, or clerk, or mechanic – whoever – greets you by name and makes you feel like part of the group? There’s absolutely no question that getting to know your customers on a more intimate level gives their self-esteem a boost and can do the same for the longevity of your professional relationship. An answering service’s agents are trained to do just that.
Focus Answering Service knows how to build customer loyalty for virtually any industry. Competition is strong, but our agents are experienced. Contact us today to get a free quote!