Doing business over the phone is a major part of each MeloTel work day. Practically every member of our team spends a significant amount of time on the phone speaking with clients on a daily basis. The same is likely true for your company. No matter how powerful social media continue to be, the telephone will never go out of style as a way for people to get into direct contact with one another.
But it’s important to use the telephone the right way. How hard could it be, right? You dial a number, you wait for a person to pick up and begin speaking. Sure, it may sound easy. But there’s a lot more to it than that. Especially if you’re looking to represent your brand in the most professional way possible, there are some very important steps to take in order to always give off the best of impressions.
Here are five things not to do with your business phone number:
1. Make it hard to locate. Before we can even begin discussing professional telephone etiquette, it’s important to discuss the ways in which you disseminate your business phone number. It should be readily available to your target audience via all of your company’s correspondence. Letterheads, business cards, your website and social media profiles should all clearly display your business phone number.
2. Make it hard to get a live representative when it’s called. There’s nothing wrong with an outgoing messaging system that prompts callers to press specific numbers in order to locate the appropriate representative. But you also don’t want to keep a customer waiting in the queue for too long. People like speaking to live representatives shortly after their calls have been placed. Be sure to get someone on the line that can help your caller in a quick amount of time.
3. Have no voicemail options. Understandably, there are going to be times when callers cannot get live representatives on the phone. Not every business in the world is a 24/7 operation. That being said, you’ll want to set up a clear and professional outgoing voice message for callers who contact you after hours. Simply having your business phone number ring out with no answering service is bound to give the impression that your company may not even exist!
4. Use it for personal use. It’s a good idea to keep your business phone number and your personal phone number separate and specifically used for different purposes. Don’t make the mistake of accidentally answering calls in a personal way – such as just saying “hello” – when an important client is calling you. When your business number is used, the caller expects professionalism on the other line at all times.
5. Have people waiting on hold for too long. We mentioned earlier that people like getting live representatives on the line quickly when they call during business hours. To reiterate, most customers like their issues to be handled expeditiously. And to be fair, this can’t always be the case. You may need some extra time to address the issue your caller has contacted you about. Be sure to let your callers know how long you may need them to hold. Long wait times often generate frustration. Try to avoid them.
At MeloTel, we proudly provide the solution to the above mentioned problems. We offer incredible VoIP-based Commercial Phone Services that provide all of the fascinating features necessary to help your business provide the best customer service possible over the phone. For more information, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-MELOTEL. You may also get a live representative to help you using our “Live Sales Chat”. Simply scroll to the upper right corner of our site!
