People prefer speaking with other people. It’s just that simple. Yes, this is 2019. And yes, there are plenty of ways for us all to contact each other. Email, messaging apps, social media accounts and messages in a bottle (okay, maybe not that last one) are all very popular ways of keeping in touch. However, when it comes to customer service, absolutely nothing beats the live voice.
Yes, receiving customer service in person is likely touted as the best way to accomplish customer satisfaction. But, for most businesses across North America, that isn’t always possible. For businesses that have customers all over Canada and the United States, the phone is needed. And a live human voice on the other end of the line is imperative if you want to run a company that has happy customers.
You don’t have to take our word for it.
As Rimma Kats reports for eMarketer.com, a March 2018 “survey of US internet users that examined how they interact with a brand’s customer support team found that many favour doing so via more traditional channels—especially when compared with social media. Indeed, 31.9% of respondents said they prefer to chat with a customer representative over the phone, while 29.1% selected email.”
BrightLocal also conducted a survey of 500 U.S. consumers, reports Michael Guta on SmallBizTrends.com. “One of the questions was, how do you prefer to contact the business?” he explains, “More than half or 60% said they call the business over the phone followed by email with 16%, and 15% of people who visit the actual location of the business.”
Why is the phone so celebrated?
Firstly, it provides immediacy. We live in a world where most people are busy – too busy to wait in line to get what they want. It’s one of the reasons online shopping is so popular. And when it comes to customer service, anything other than “right away” is generally considered unacceptable. When you send an email, it’s possible that it may not be read and returned for a full 24 hour period. For many consumers, that’s too long to wait.
Getting a person on the phone today? That’s the way most customers would much prefer to have it. That way, they can engage in an actual dialogue. They have their questions answered and their concerns validated – all by a real human being and not some automated reply.
Your contact information needs to be up to date.
Please don’t underestimate the importance of the Contact page of your website. It’s imperative that the information contained on that page is correct and up to date. It’s vital that your phone number is displayed clearly. If it isn’t, you stand the chance of missing out on a lot of business. As we’ve been highlighting, your customers want to call you!
According to Guta, “consumers are less likely to use a business if contact information is out of date (50%), the information is poorly written (39%), and pricing information is also wrong.”
Please don’t hesitate to give MeloTel a call today at 1-888-MELOTEL and be sure to ask us about our Commercial Phone Services!
