The value of good customer service simply cannot be overstated. Customers who feel heard, and who believe they’re getting value for their money are the ones who will return. But more importantly, they’re the ones who will give your company great reviews and encourage word-of-mouth marketing. Great customer service translates into literal earnings.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said: “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
One of the first points of contact a customer will have with your brand is on the phone, which means ensuring this is the best possible experience. With the right business telephone system, such as a cloud-based VoIP or PBX phone system, then you’ll enjoy significant features to enhance customer experience.
What are the best phone features for customer service?
When discussing your new business phone system with your third-party provider, one of the big considerations is the features that are included. You can select the features that best fit your business needs, and review new features as they’re offered in future. Here are some of the best features for customer service.
1. Auto Attendant
An auto attendant for your business phone system will free up your agents by dealing with a high volume of incoming calls quickly and effectively. These automated attendants will greet incoming callers and then direct them to the relevant department by providing information on what each department offers. Customers aren’t frustrated waiting for phone calls to be answered.
2. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System
This system provides your customers with an interactive menu of options which they can choose from using their voice or keypad inputs. This will follow the auto attendant’s greeting and ensure your customers are routed to the appropriate department, reducing waiting times, and improving customer service.
3. Call Forwarding
When you receive a call on your business phone system, the call forwarding feature can automatically divert calls to any VoIP device, new or old. It can also direct calls to the appropriate agent based on criteria such as experience, availability, or priority. This keeps customers satisfied as they’re not being bounced around.
4. Callback Option
This feature allows your customers to request a callback from an agent rather than simply waiting on hold. This saves customer time, reduces frustrations, and keeps everyone happy!
5. Customer Announcements
When a caller is kept waiting, the customer announcements will greet customers who are on hold and share valuable company or brand information. This is not only less annoying than on-hold music, it’s a key time for a company to market products or specials to a captive audience.
6. Call Logs
A great phone feature for businesses is recording all customer logs as a way to monitor customer service and train employees. All customer phone call details such as the date, time, caller ID, duration, and status will be kept in-house for business use.
7. Call Analytics
Beyond merely call logs, the phone system has a feature entitled ‘Call Analytics’ which collects and manages call data in real-time. This allows your team to assess the call data and identify which employees are performing best, which are the most revenue-driving calls, and which employees need a faster turnover for better customer care.
8. Call Queues
If you have a high volume of calls, then you will need a call queue feature that informs callers of the estimated waiting time and agent availability. By managing customer expectations, you’re more likely to have happier customers at the end of the day.
9. Conference Calls
Conference calls have become a staple of modern business practice, and you will need to ensure that your business phone has a feature for this. This will supply customers or partners with a number to dial-in to join the conference, and should include video capability.
10. Voicemail Transcription
The innovative voicemail transcription feature converts voicemail messages into text format so that employees can quickly read and respond to messages without listening to the entire recording. This feature improves response times and increases customer satisfaction.
11. CRM Integration
If you have customer relationship management (CRM) software, then you must check that your business phone can integrate with the software. This lets your employees access caller information and history in real time, providing a more personalised customer experience.
12. Mobile Accessibility
Finally, you need a phone feature that enables mobile accessibility so your employees can attend to calls from their smartphones or tablets wherever they go. This supports modern remote and hybrid business models.
Give your customers the best possible service by working with ECN. As a leading supplier of business phone systems, and with great customer and aftercare support, ECN is the go-to for all business communications system needs!
Read More: Enhancing Customer Service with VoIP: Tips for Small Businesses