Surprising Effects of Proper Business Phone Etiquette
Call anxiety is escalating in America, with an increasing number of customers avoiding calls to businesses for inquiries and concerns. This trend is concerning because, rather than seeking help for their issues, customers are turning to competitors.
When and why did call anxiety begin?
Previously, the ability to directly contact a business was a groundbreaking innovation. However, attitudes towards making calls have drastically changed. Over time, some businesses abused the inherent trust consumers placed in phone calls.
These businesses neglected proper phone etiquette, treating callers poorly. As a result, consumers’ trust in the call process eroded, damaging business-consumer relationships. It’s crucial to discuss the importance of business phone etiquette and how your business can implement it effectively.
What Is Proper Business Phone Etiquette?
Proper business phone etiquette, what exactly is it? Before we jump into a concrete list of traits that proper business phone etiquette should have, we should instead make mention of what the end result of business phone etiquette is.
When a call is handled with proper business phone etiquette, your caller should feel three things in the end:
- Your caller should feel listened to
- They should feel respected
- And they should feel as if they received a definitive answer to what was troubling them
Proper call-handling skills and techniques always leave the caller feeling the same way. We will get into why it’s so important that your caller feels a certain way and the crux of why business phone etiquette is needed in the next section.
Business Phone Etiquette Traits
However, for now, let’s discuss what proper business phone etiquette is.
Proper business phone etiquette is comprised of the following traits:
- Clear Communication: Use concise and articulate language, speaking clearly and at an appropriate pace to ensure understanding.
- Active Listening: Listen attentively to the caller’s needs or inquiries without interrupting, demonstrating empathy and understanding.
- Respectful Tone: Maintain a respectful and courteous tone throughout the conversation, even in challenging situations.
- Confirmation and Clarification: Repeat important details back to the caller for confirmation and offer clarification when needed to avoid misunderstandings.
- Professional Closing: End the call with a professional closing, expressing gratitude for the caller’s time and offering assistance if needed.
Proper business phone etiquette is a lot of work and it may seem impossible to pull off every call you answer, especially when you still have to complete your daily work tasks but fortunately, there is a tool that you can employ that’ll automate the entire process!
Why Is Business Phone Etiquette Needed?
Business phone etiquette is crucial for maintaining positive interactions with customers and fostering a professional image for your company.
When employees adhere to proper phone etiquette, it creates a positive experience for customers by ensuring that their inquiries are handled efficiently and courteously. This contributes to customer satisfaction and loyalty, as they feel valued and respected during their interactions with your business.
Effective customer-centric phone etiquette can enhance communication clarity and minimize misunderstandings. Clear communication ensures that customers receive accurate information and assistance, leading to a smoother resolution of their queries or concerns.
Lasting Impressions
Polite and respectful interactions often create memorable experiences for customers, prompting them to endorse your business to others, which may result in higher sales and more referrals.
Your company’s reputation and professionalism shine through with business phone etiquette. It increases the likelihood that customers will trust and interact with a business known for its professional communication.
Businesses that emphasize phone etiquette can stand out from the competition and position themselves as dependable, customer-centric entities. In essence, adopting proper phone etiquette is vital for fostering positive customer relationships and driving business growth.
Effects of Business Phone Etiquette
Aside from the lasting impressions that business phone etiquette has on your customers, there are positive benefits to your business as a whole. Proper business phone etiquette is conducive to good communication. In turn, good communication is the best way to get important and crucial information.
This information can be used to improve your business or change the way certain matters are handled. In addition to that, good communication and customer service make your business more efficient as a whole.
Efficiency of Good Communication
Effective communication is the cornerstone of operational efficiency in any business. By fostering clear and open lines of communication, employees can exchange information seamlessly, reducing misunderstandings and errors.
This clarity enables teams to collaborate more effectively, streamlining processes and improving productivity.
In addition to what’s been mentioned, good communication promotes a sense of unity and shared purpose among team members, enhancing morale and motivation. As a result, tasks are completed more efficiently, deadlines are met consistently, and resources are utilized optimally.
Ultimately, prioritizing good communication practices within your business leads to greater efficiency, effectiveness, and overall success.
Affordable Business Phone Etiquette With My Receptionist
You don’t need an expensive in-person receptionist or on-the-job training for your existing employees to incorporate business phone etiquette into your business. After all, both of those options are costly and time-consuming. Instead, all you should do is come into contact with My Receptionist.
My Receptionist is the leading virtual receptionist service on the market. The service is composed of trained live agents that are both friendly and professional. In addition to that, My Receptionist can offer your business a core of three features:
- Scheduling platform: For a small additional fee, My Receptionist can empower you with a robust scheduling platform that you and your employees can use to keep track of important dates.
- Automated appointment reminders: Whether you provide My Receptionist with your own scheduling platform or use the one they offer, My Receptionist’s live agents will send appointment reminders to your clients.
- Secure messaging system: All information gathered from each call or interaction will be compiled and sent straight to you. This information is encrypted and secured.
For a more in-depth run-through of what My Receptionist offers, you can check out their relevant features page.
Keep in mind that My Receptionist’s strongest quality is their pricing system. Instead of having you guess how much your bill will come in at the end of each month, My Receptionist breaks down their pricing system into three simple plans or tiers.
The same can be said for My Receptionist’s companion service, which is known as Always Answer.
More Than Business Phone Etiquette with Always Answer
If My Receptionist is the best way to integrate business phone etiquette into your enterprise, then why is Always Answer needed? Well, Always Answer serves as more of an expansion service than just a virtual receptionist. You see, Always Answer offers your regular small business live answering service features but it also has more robust customer outreach features.
These customer outreach features come in the form of a survey service, employee screening services, and much more. Through these features, your business can become a more proactive organization instead of a reactive one.
Maintaining excellent business phone etiquette is crucial, but it’s equally important to proactively manage customer interactions. The great news is that Always Answer will collaborate with you to integrate any previously mentioned features.
You have the autonomy to determine the questions posed to your callers, establish criteria for screening employees, and decide which services to activate and their timing. This flexibility ensures that Always Answer is not only a comprehensive answering service but also a tailored solution. For more details about the service, please refer to the provided links.
Integrating Business Phone Etiquette Into Your Business
While it’s evident that proper business phone etiquette offers numerous advantages, and services like My Receptionist and Always Answer can revolutionize your business operations overnight, you might be concerned about the complexity of the integration process.
However, integrating My Receptionist is a breeze! All you have to do is contact us. Within 24 hours of submission, you can expect a reply. An agent will then provide you with a new contact number for your customers to use, and that’s all there is to it!
The process is straightforward, but check this out if you want to know how it works.