Making Hold Time Worth the Wait: Business Brew Work-From-Home #3

On August 6th, Staci Clary joined Business Brew to talk about the importance of the customer experience as it relates to phone greetings, on-hold messaging, voicemail best practices, and how to handle online chat. 

Here are some of the highlights from the chat. 

When recording a voicemail message for your cell phone whether personal or business:

  • Don’t be scary
  • Be yourself
  • Don’t be rushed
  • Keep the message short
  • Get to the point 
  • Be clear and kind

Tips for cell phones and employees:

  • When handing out phones, also hand out the expectations for use including customer experience
    • Consider writing a paragraph that accompanies the phone
  • Offer a script they can use when recording a voicemail message

General voicemail tips:

  • Practice what you’re going to say
  • Deleting your voicemail and trying again is ok

Tips for businesses using auto-attendants (phone systems):

  • In an ideal world, live answering is best
  • Consider having a company representative answer the phone when possible
  • If you have a hold system or auto-attendant, the music and message should sound like your business
  • Allow three rings before the auto-attendant answers
  • The most important person in your business is the person who answers the phone, whether it’s live or recorded
  • Keep the options in the auto-attendant menu to three or four
  • Always give “press zero to talk to a person” as an option
  • While on hold, silence is not polite; it’s hard to know you are still on hold if it’s silent
  • Consistency is important

Online Chat tips:

  • Same with auto-attendant, it’s best that this is operated by a real person
  • If it’s not a real person, make sure the auto-responses indicate that

Other tips and memorable lines from Staci:

  • Any music playing in your business should suit you and the business well
  • “Help me matter to you”; receiving a phone call from a customer is the reward for good marketing and advertising, make it count by making your customers feel special
  • Your phone is an employee, treat it is as such
  • Update your voicemail and auto-attendant two to three times per year
  • Review all the touchpoints customers can have with your business!
  • Little things matter and make a big difference

The Business Brew Podcast – Leading with Emotional Intelligence Part II The Business Brew Podcast

Toward the end of 2020, Whitworth Professor David Sloan joined Business Brew to talk about Leading with Emotional Intelligence. The information David presented was so impactful, Business Brew fans asked for David to come back and continue the conversation. So, on January 7th, 2021, David returned to Business Brew to continue the conversation about Emotional Intelligence.
  1. The Business Brew Podcast – Leading with Emotional Intelligence Part II
  2. The Business Brew Podcast – The Benefits of Being a Purpose-driven Business
  3. The Business Brew Podcast – Leading with Emotional Intelligence Part I
  4. The Business Brew Podcast – Elevating Your Brand Image with Storytelling Photos that Sell
  5. The Business Brew Podcast – Small Business Tips Learned During a Pandemic

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