• "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler " – Albert Einstein,

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• www.GuerillaGroup.com Lots of great ideas to enhance your marketing activities.

Since 1875, when Alexander Graham Bell made that first telephone call to his assistant, it is arguable that no other piece of technology has had such a profound impact on business.

And yet, one and a quarter centuries later, it is still abused and greatly undervalued by most businesses. This is never more apparent than by the lack of care and attention that people take when answering the phone.

"Hello". That’s it, nothing else.

"Morning". Not even a ‘good’ in front of it.

"Smith!". Translation: I’m an arrogant S.O.B. and you’re interrupting me.

"Please hold the line" CLICK. No good morning. No ‘would you mind?’.

I’m sure you have many other examples of ‘telephone rudeness".

The constant theme of these newsletters is that everything you do in business is either enhancing or diminishing your customer’s image of you. We’ve talked before about first impressions and for many businesses, the telephone is the first point of customer contact. How that first contact is handled can make or break in an instant, whether that customer will do business with you.

So let’s look at just some of the ways you can optimise the use of your telephone.

When the telephone rings, STOP whatever you are doing. If you don’t wish to take a call or the call is interrupting you, then you should have taken steps to arrange someone else to answer the telephone in the first place, or diverted calls through to an answering service or message bank.

Answer the call between the second and third ring. The reason for waiting until after the second ring is that the caller is not ready for you if you answer it immediately. Sounds strange I know considering they made the call. Six rings or later and the caller is already beginning to sow seeds of doubt as to your ability to serve them. Research reveals that the perception of time approximately doubles when people are waiting on the telephone. 20 seconds feels like 40. And when it comes to customer service, perception wins over reality every time.

SMILE! Just because the caller can’t see you, doesn’t mean they can’t ‘hear’ what mood you are in. I don’t profess to know how it works, but a smile is able to transcend a telephone wire. If you or your staff are not in a happy and helpful mood, again get someone else to answer the telephone.

Choose you words carefully. The words and sequence of words used when answering the telephone may seem of little consequence, but believe me they are of major importance.

The first words are the greeting. "Good morning; good afternoon; or good evening".

The second words are the name of the company, organisation or department. "ABC Corporation: or Sales department".

And last, and most important, your name prefaced by the words "this is".

In total "Good morning, ABC Corporation, this is Graham". That’s it.

The reason your name comes last is because people tend to remember that which they heard last. And since the object of any customer contact is to establish a relationship, the offering of your name greatly increases the likelihood of your customer providing theirs without you having to ask. Please don’t add words like "Graham speaking" or "how my I help you?" The moment you do, most callers instantly forget what your name is. The key is to Keep It Simple.

In the event that your switchboard is lit up like a Christmas tree and you have no option but to put callers on hold, please ask their permission first, "would you mind holding?" and wait for their reply before going CLICK. People generally don’t mind being placed on hold if asked first. The next step is to return to them as quickly as possible. You need to return to callers at least every 30 seconds to advise them of progress. It’s just plain courtesy.

The telephone is a vitally important component of your overall customer relationship management and marketing strategy. Please give it the attention and respect it deserves.

Until next week, many happy customer returns!

Graham Harvey APS

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