1 minute read
63. Be friendly
by iKnow
63
BE FRIENDLY
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One great way to build a relationship between your brand and your customers is to show that you really are who you say you are, and have real people answer the phone. The trend is towards automated systems, making it more and more diffi cult to reach a real person. This might save money, but the jury’s out on how many customers it annoys and loses along the way.
As customers, we all want to be heard and helped out. Even if the organisation can’t solve a problem, marketing research has shown that giving people the opportunity to air their views, and to get an answer, helps to keep your customers, rather than encouraging them to look somewhere else for better service.
The idea First Direct is a UK bank that started as a telephone only service, a branch of the Midland (now HSBC). They made a promise that there would always be a person to answer the phone. Occasionally there’s a short wait but that is the rare exception. You can have a person tell you what’s happening with your account every hour of the day, every day of the year, including high days and holidays.
They were also quick to set up online banking, rightly predicting that people who wanted to do their personal banking at the exact moment they chose would also want the same service and more online.
But unlike some companies who used to switch to online support to discourage customers from calling them, First Direct have kept the service, keeping their reputation as a friendly, personal service despite being part of a massive multinational bank.
In practice • When customers call they have a reason, a question to be answered. The faster you solve their problems, the faster they will return to being satisfi ed customers. • Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. If your service doesn’t come up to the standard you would expect, then you are damaging your brand. Employ good people and give your brand a friendly and personable face. • Publish your phone number and answer it when it rings. A quick conversation can sort out issues faster than a series of letters or emails.
