How to Improve Customer Retention

Customer retention is just as important (if not more important) than customer acquisition, and it comes down to how efficient your business process is - especially in sales. If doing business with you isn't straightforward, fast, effective and worthwhile, your customers will go elsewhere. Similarly, if your customers encounter a problem and you are not able to adequately handle the situation, they'll leave with a negative view of your company. 

Improving customer retention needn't mean massive changes to your business - most of the tips you'll find below are basic common sense but will ensure your customers are encouraged to stay a loyal member of your business community and keep coming back to you.

• Use enticing and positive vocabulary that promise good value, exclusivity and novelty. Free gifts, special deals, new ranges, instant service - all these suggest a great deal and encourage customers to make that purchase.
• When dealing with reluctant customers or conservative spenders, reassuring words may help with your sales approach. Re-frame your speech to appeal to thrifty customers and show them how they will be saving money by choosing certain options.
• Always answer the phone with a smile and maintain a polite and professional demeanour throughout your call. Our Zoom call handlers are experts in the art of the business phone call and offer great customer service whenever they pick up the phone.
• Reciprocate and go above and beyond for your customers to show that you are committed to them. If loyal customers are rewarded, they'll continue to give you repeat business. Giving back to customers doesn't need to be costly - small gestures and little personal touches can be more effective than a large deal if you make your customer feel as if this deal is purely for them.
• Personalised service really goes a long way. Collect information on your customers whenever you do business with them and show them that you are keeping track of your business relationship and aren't simply just another name on a list.
• Make sure your service runs smoothly, your processes are quick and trouble free, and your calls are always directed to the right person as quickly as possible. Fast and efficient business does wonders for your customer retention!
• Make it easy for customers to find support when they need it. A dedicated support team is just as essential as your sales team. When customers feel frustrated and ignored, their experience will taint their entire business transaction.

For help providing your customers with top quality service, let the Zoom team help you with your phone management services and watch your customer service retention increase!

Never miss a business call again...

Did you know that seven out of ten people will hang up the phone when they reach an answer machine? How many missed calls does your business receive per day? How many customers are you losing from not having an adequate call answering team?

With Zoom Assistants from our professional call answering service you can rest assured that your company will never miss a call ever again. Call answering services can come in handy whenever you can't guarantee that one of your staff will be able to answer your phones, for example:

• during meetings
• at busy times
• during staff absences or holidays
• when the phone is engaged

Zoom Answer Call's answering assistants provide a personal service for your company, answering calls, diverting calls, taking messages, booking appointments, sending out brochures and providing information and a friendly response to all your clients.

Our multi-line, high speed call answering service allows your customers to receive the service they are after without even knowing that you have diverted their call. This means no busy signal, no answerphone, no multi-choice touch tone menu, just real people who answer the phone with a smile every time...

Give us a try with our 7 day free trial to see how Zoom Answer Call can help your business.

Improving Your Customer Service - Part 2

Does your company's customer service need a boost? At Zoom Answer Call, customer service is our first priority and we strive to improve the customer experience for every business we work with. If you need a few pointers on how to raise your reputation and polish your customer service skills, you'll find some tips below. You can also read part 1 of our customer service series here.

1. The moment you pick up the phone or are approached by a customer on the shop floor, give them your undivided attention. Distraction and preoccupation are the enemies of good customer service! Your customers need to feel as though they are genuinely being listened do, and you need to pay attention so that you are clear about their enquiry or problem and can help them appropriately and effectively. If you are unable to set aside time for this kind of focus, consider employing a phone answering service to do it for you. 
2. Anticipate potential problems or additional needs. Communicate with your customers during and after sales to find out if there's anything else they would have liked from their interaction with you, or if there are any follow-ups you should be carrying out. Anticipating what your customers want from the overall experience with your business helps you to provide a better service, boost your reputation and reduce complaints.
3. Treat customers as individuals. Ask for their name and use it. Always make a note of any information they give you so that you can refer to it later and show them that you have been listening and taking in what they're saying. One size does not fit all in customer service - what one customer is happy with, another may find insultingly lacking. Determine how best to resolve an issue on an individual basis and tailor your customer services to each customer you deal with.
4. Be sincere. There's nothing worse than knowing that someone who is supposedly trying to help you is being fake. Customers value sincerity and a genuine effort to make them happy. Even if you can't fix their problem, approaching it from a sincere and apologetic starting point can pave the way for a positive interaction. Our Zoomettes are trained to answer each call with a smile and handle every enquiry with professionalism and genuine care.
5. Say "thank you". Remember that your customers are what keep you in business! Thank them for their time, their business and their enquiries. Customers remember bad customer service and they remember excellent customer service - make sure you're on the right side of that coin!

For more tips and tricks to boost your customer services, keep watching our blog for part 3 - coming soon. For customer service management and call answering services, Zoom Answer Call can help you to ensure your customer services is always of the highest quality and professionalism. 

Improving Your Customer Service - Part 1

As a professional call answering company, we know the importance of good customer service - it's built into everything we do, every call we take, every customer we speak to. Whatever your industry, customer service is a necessary and integral part of your day to day business. Whether you work B2B or B2C, your customer services sets you apart from competitors, strengthens your reputation, and assists with new customer acquisition as news of your good deeds spreads via word of mouth. So long as your reputation is positive, of course...

If you need to improve your company's customer services, the following tips might help. In the first of a 3 part series, we're looking at some simple ways to revamp your approach to customer services:

1. Dedicate time and effort to your customer service department, no matter how small. Relegating customer services as a secondary responsibility means you will never stay on top of your enquiries or complaints. If you genuinely don't have the time or manpower to prioritise customer services, think about employing a call answering service to do it for you! Having a service like Zoom Answer Call means you never have to worry about a missed call or a forgotten enquiry. We have services to suit every style and size of business, and we offer a great range of additional benefits to help the day to day running of your company.
2. Know what your customers want. Invest in market research and tailor your products and services to really suit your customers' needs. The better you adapt your company to the specifics of your target audience, the better service you will provide. In turn, it will be easier for your customer services to respond to customers' requirements.
3. The customer is always right, and customer services are always polite. Remember that mantra, especially when dealing with a difficult customer! Even the most negative complaint or problem can be rectified with swift and reasonable customer services. The most important thing is to stay polite, stay calm and stay objective - if a customer is angry or irritated, don't take it personally. Try to see it from their point of view and imagine what you'd like to hear as a response. At Zoom Answer Call, our Zoomettes are professionally trained to handle all sorts of difficult calls and enquiries, and can help you to smooth problems and resolve issues in your customer service department.
4. Make yourself available 24/7. High on the list of customer service bugbears is not being able to get through to a representative, or getting stuck in a never ending labyrinth of automated responses. If you can't provide comprehensive customer services for your company, a call answering service can allow you to offer round-the-clock customer service to your clients and give you assurance that your business will always accessible.
5. Listen to your customers! Whenever you receive a customer call or enquiry, make sure you clearly understand what they are telling you. Identify their tone of voice and respond appropriately. Make a note of any information you are given so that you can easily refer to it later if necessary. Try not to make assumptions about what they want - instead, repeat back the core of what they've said to you to ensure you've got the message right. Good listening is the first step to genuine and effective customer service. After all, if customers don't feel like you've listened and understood them, they're going to end up frustrated and irritated.

For more tips on improving your customer services, stay tuned to our blog and we'll post part 2 and part 3 in this handy series soon.