The holidays are coming! And it’s not that you needed your trusty MeloTel Blog to inform of that – even though our past few blogs have been excitedly holiday-themed – we just thought we’d provide you with another reminder. Maybe, it’s because we simply love the holiday season so much around here, that we’re only too excited to discuss it every chance that we get. And then again, perhaps it’s because we know how much extra business this time of year can bring you.
As a business owner, you’re always planning ahead. And there’s no doubt that when the holiday shopping season arrives, you’ve already spent a considerable amount of time considering the various ways that you’ll be promoting your brand using holiday-themed ideas. Just as importantly, you need to convey to your customers that you are prepared to meet their needs throughout the holiday season.
For the most part, people are aware that you’ll be busier. But that doesn’t mean that you should be too busy to help them when they get in touch with you. At MeloTel, we do our best to make clear that we provide round-the-clock emergency access throughout the holidays. It’s all about providing top-of-the-line customer service. In today’s blog, we’ll share five of our ideas about how you can provide the same to your clients.
1. Plan ahead. Did we mention this one already? You’ll notice that a couple of paragraphs back, we took it for granted that you have already planned for the holiday season. But if you’re a little late to the dance, don’t worry. There are several weeks left before Christmas. However, it’s time to quickly consider the various sales, discounts and specials that you’ll be offering in the coming weeks. Also, it’s important to communicate any changes in availability to your customers when they call you during the holidays.
2. Provide fast resolution times. If you provide services to your customers, you’ve just entered into the time of the year when meeting deadlines has become increasingly important. As you can imagine, people will be looking to secure possession of their orders or completion of their repairs by specific dates. After all, most people will be looking to get things “out of the way” before the big day comes.
3. Promote self-support. Last week, we blogged about the importance of having adequate “out of office messages” for your clients to hear when calling you this holiday season. In the blog, we noted that you may want to pass along alternative contact information if you can’t be reached. However, you may also want to consider offering assistance through your messages that may resolve particular issues at that first point of contact. This will go a long way in pleasing otherwise disgruntled callers.
4. Get your whole team on board. No matter how hard you try to implement best customer service practices yourself, your brand will only be as well-liked as your staff is able to make it. In other words, your whole team needs to be working together to provide shining examples of top-notch customer service through all of their interactions with your customers. Be sure to have a meeting about these best practices to make sure everyone is on the same page.
5. Smile, smile, smile! Have you ever considered that a smile can be “heard” through the phone? It’s true! When you smile, your attitude and demeanour reflects it. This is certainly true when you are working face-to-face with a customer. But it is still true when you are speaking to a customer over the phone. We know that the holidays can be a very busy, and therefore stressful time. Don’t let it get to you. It will help your brand in the long run.
As always, we’d love to exhibit MeloTel’s brand of top-notch customer service for you. Please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-MELOTEL to experience it for yourself!
