How do you take your customer service? Some IT tips for client communication.
Just like there are lots of ways to take your coffee, there seems to be an endless stream of ways to communicate with your customers today. Phone, email, web forms, FAQ sections, Facebook messages, online chats – with so many options – what works best?
Well, it depends on who you’re talking to. If you’re talking to Gen Y, you might want to consider texting or using social networks, because that’s how they communicate in general. On the other end of the spectrum, there are still lots of folks in the marketplace who simply won’t trust you unless you’re face-to-face.
So, how do you balance all of this out and make everyone happy? It all comes down to options.
Phone: Make sure your company phone number is easy to find on all of your business collateral, including your website. And just as important is the person on the other end of the phone; if you don’t have a sharp first-point-of-contact (we are lucky we do in Gretchen Axelson) you are better off directing callers to a friendly voicemail that will get picked up pronto.
Email: Those slightly older than the Generation Y group love email. In fact, they might even get annoyed if you call before you shoot them a quick email to let them know you’ll be calling. It probably goes without saying, but the email contact on your website should go to a real person (not “info@companyxyz.com”), and that real person should be diligent about answering his or her emails promptly.
Web Forms: These are great for collecting a little information, but don’t expect many people to fill them out. In our business, when people are having an IT pain they want relief now, not after they answer a bunch of questions and wait for a follow up. That being said, web forms are often appropriate during the discovery process, when both the client and the business want to do a little fact-finding.
Social Media Messaging: This works well when you have a big fan base, and you want to push out a message that has broad appeal. Probably not the best tactic for troubleshooting a problem, unless your subject is 25 years old and checks Facebook by the minute.
Texting: Handy if you have an established relationship with your customer and you (or they) want to communicate something quickly. In our world, a text to a client saying we are on our way to a meeting works well, if the client likes to text, that is.
Online chat: You expect it from your phone company (they take forever to answer the phone anyway…isn’t that ironic?), but this is a newer form of customer communication for many SMBs. It’s a modern way to help you make a great impression and connect in real time with your online customers. We recently implemented a chat feature and it’s very helpful for our clients to get instant support.
