Never Forget the Value of Human Communication Over Electronic

Electronic communication has increasingly become the norm in modern society. Text messages and emails are sent in the billions every day, and phone calls are becoming less and less the communication standard. Despite that, when someone has a legitimate concern or inquiry, they still often prefer to speak to a real, live human being rather then entering some soulless characters onto a tiny screen they carry around in their pocket. Having measures in place to ensure that your clients can speak to a real person when they want to is valuable and worthwhile.

Electronic communication certainly has its place. When speed is important, nothing can beat the flexibility of text messages and emails. Also, when dealing with standard requests, using a tool like an IVR phone menu to handle simple customer requests for information can let your employees focus on tasks that need the human touch. However, when unusual, urgent, or complex customer requests arise, there is no substitute for having a real person on the case.

This is where an answering service can be of huge value to your company. By having a way for customers to reach human beings 24/7, you ensure a level of customer service that companies reliant on electronic communication simply can’t match. A human being is able to interpret the complexities of a customer issue, while also offering them something that electronic communication rarely can: reassurance that they are going to be looked after.

The bottom line is that customers take their business where they feel they are going to receive the best customer service. Often, this is a factor that takes priority over the brand, or even the product itself. To this end, try to inject as much human personality as possible into all of your communications, even if they are electronic. Use friendly, conversational language when writing emails or composing web forms, and make sure any messages on your phone lines are recorded in a clear and friendly tone of voice.

Above all else though, make sure that there is a way for a customer to get through to a real person if they need to. If a customer feels that they need speak to someone and can’t, they are quickly going to become frustrated, and more than likely take their business somewhere where they can. If you don’t have the staff or the technology to provide this yourself, recruit an answering service to take on the overflow for you.