Email is a great communication tool - it’s quick, convenient and gets the job done. But are email, live-chats and other forms of messaging really the next stage in business communications?
There are certainly benefits - you don’t have to carve out time for an email and can respond at your convenience, with an easy record of what’s been said in the past. Yet, when you look at the websites for Ireland’s biggest companies like Apple, Ryanair and Penneys - there’s no email address to be seen.
So, why do the most successful enterprises make their customers call while investing in better phone service? Here are three reasons they do and why you should too...
1) Voice is still best for Customer Service & Sales
For 1-to-1 conversations, calling is overwhelmingly the most effective way to communicate with customers, make sales, or troubleshoot problems. HubSpot says phone calls are the best medium for “answering multiple questions and follow-ups, explaining technical details and processes, discussing personal information, or making things right with your customers.”
These are all tasks that are difficult or impossible to do over email, Twitter or a live chat - they require personalised, timely responses to make your customers, partners and employees feel comfortable and cared for.
2) It’s what your Customers Really Want
Your customer’s first impulse might be to seek out the convenience of email service, but in the end, you’ll be able to serve them better over the phone and give them a better experience because of it.
This year, a survey of western consumers showed that over 9 out of 10 consumers will give up on a company after just three bad service experiences. What constituted a bad experience for these customers? Receiving impersonal answers, such as generic or automated responses; having to repeat themselves and share the same details or questions with multiple representatives; and having to wait unknown periods of time to receive an answer. If these issues sound familiar, perhaps it’s because they’re all common complaints about email, chatbots, and other online customer service systems.
Treat your customers and colleagues like real people by making sure they know there’s a real, attentive person on the other end of the line.
3) It’s not going away
Email is relatively new, and it’s far from the newest way to message your customers or keep up-to-date with employees. Yet despite every new piece of technology, calling has still stayed at the top for business communications.
It’s true, investing in a new phone system is a big investment - especially when new phones and products come out every couple of months. However, future-proofed phone systems like VoIP from IP Telecom will leave you prepared and able to add on every new feature your business needs without having to replace or overhaul your entire system ever again.
VoIP Calling From IP Telecom
Staying prepared for the future isn’t the only benefit of VoIP from IP Telecom. Our business VoIP systems give you the tools to communicate even better than traditional voice calling, with built-in call-recording, a cloud-based network that lets you forward calls to anyone in your organisation regardless of their location, and fully integrated video calling.
When a call doesn’t feel necessary, or you need to share details that can’t be passed over the phone, IP Telecom has a solution available for that too, with built-in instant messaging, file sharing and email in the same application through the MS Teams integration.
Your telephony is worth the investment, and with VoIP from IP Telecom, that investment starts at as little as €3-per-user/month.
Communicate Better with VoIP from IP Telecom