Here is a thought leadership article from Moneypenny

In a post-pandemic, digital world, how do customers want to interact with you? This fascinating new research piece, based on 1,000 UK consumers’ views, reveals a host of powerful insights to help you reimagine the contact methods your business offers: for happier customers, a better reputation - and a healthier bottom line.

What’s inside the report?

• Our top gripes when making a call
• The fallout of bad customer experience (35% of people would take their business elsewhere!)
• The psychology behind choosing a contact method
• How and when digital channels should be used

In this report, we’ll deep-dive into the state of global business communication trends from customers’ perspectives, and the important lessons for customer-centric businesses committed to improving service.

Amid ongoing technological change and the global upheaval brought about by Covid, one tool has proven itself to be a stalwart in the world of communications – the phone. According to our latest research, when it comes to consumers contacting businesses, the phone remains king – with 35% of people naming it as their preferred method of communication.

We want real conversations with real people and aside from face-to-face meetings or video calls – which people are quickly tiring of post-lockdown – only the phone will do. What’s more, when people do make the effort to pick up the phone, they expect 5* service – it’s an opportunity for businesses to stand out and prove they care.

In fact, more than three quarters of consumers say that a great call experience is a powerful customer service differentiator. Despite this, calls still ring out, messages aren’t passed on, auto attendant tools divert callers to the wrong people and annoying hold music continues to drive consumers round the bend.

This report explores the motivation behind calls to businesses and offers practical advice to those looking to transform their customer experience. For consumers, the number of communication methods available to contact businesses has grown rapidly over the years.

We all have our preferred methods - different situations call for different approaches but still, regardless of the global growing reliance on digital, the phone remains king.

Our channel preferences

35% of people prefer to call when contacting a business, with email the second most popular method at 25%. Despite the popularity for phone calls, there’s a lack of understanding around the motivation behind customer calls that is plaguing all sectors – a widespread ignorance that’s fraying tempers and testing patience. The businesses that succeed in supporting customers and solving problems over the phone will reap the commercial and reputational rewards.

Why bother to call?

Despite preferring the phone, we are all making fewer calls, with almost 30% stating they phone businesses less now than they did three years ago and a further 36% saying their behaviour remains unchanged. So, call volumes aren’t increasing, but their value is.

30% of people make fewer calls to businesses than they did three years ago.

Why have calls dropped?

• The rise in the availability of digital channels over recent years has created a greater willingness to ‘self-serve’. As a global population of smartphone users, we’re comfortable with finding answers online or via tools such as live chat, before we pick up the phone.
• Contact numbers are increasingly elusive as businesses force consumers to use digital methods instead.
• We’re time-poor and no longer constrained to the traditional 9-5. People have less time in the day to make calls and seek instantaneous information and quick responses via their smartphones and computers, at all times of day and night.
• The switch to remote working has left some people unsure about where professionals are based and whether they’re available via phone. If the enquiry isn’t urgent, they’re likely to email first to arrange a call or meeting.
• For many, call experiences have been so poor that consumers have been conditioned not to call. 

Businesses need to give customers what they want

Ensure your availability - Urgent calls require rapid response, so availability is key. Call handlers must be trained to act with efficiency and competence to ensure callers are instantly assured their enquiry is being treated as a priority. If the resource isn’t available in-house to ‘act fast’, then outsourced telephone answering support can ensure urgent callers aren’t left wanting.

Listen carefully - Dealing with complicated queries successfully requires a combination of thorough preparation and a focus on listening skills. Call handlers should understand your product, services and processes in detail so that they are equipped to handle complex enquiries. They should also be trained in active listening so that customers feel heard and understood. Responding empathetically, pragmatically and offering a step-by-step solution, gives customers clarity and can ease stress.

Be efficient -  If a customer is time-poor, they need to log their enquiry and feel confident that it’s being dealt with. Providing an instant solution isn’t always necessary, but efficient sign-posting to the right information is. This will assure customers that their issue is being handled and they’ll be contacted once it’s resolved. Seamless follow-up is vital.

Handle with care - Callers are often nervous when contacting a business about a sensitive issue, so respect and professionalism must shine through. Handling sensitive situations is about focusing on the customer’s needs – empathy and active listening will pave the way for a productive, meaningful conversation.

Things customers hate

• Don’t bury your number on your website
  
  90% of people find it frustrating when a business doesn’t provide a phone number on their website or makes it difficult to find
  
  Too often, businesses attempt to discourage people from calling by purposefully omitting a phone number on their website. For others, poor website design makes it hard to find. Either way, it tells customers that accessibility is limited. This is a huge source of frustration to consumers and should be actively avoided. Being accessible, approachable and personable is the first step to delivering quality customer service via the phone.
  
  

• Use auto attendant messages selectively
  
  Over half dislike auto attendant systems
  
  “Press 1 for sales. Press 2 for accounts” – auto attendant systems are extremely common but that doesn’t mean they’re best for business. We all know how frustrating it is to get stuck in a loop of selecting different options when trying to speak to somebody – a situation that most commonly sees calls abandoned. People want to interact with people. Ditch auto attendant systems and offer the human touch or explore more intelligent technologies, such as AI voice recognition.
  
  
• Answer calls
  
  43% say calls not being answered is their biggest gripe when calling a business
  
  Failing to answer a call is akin to throwing money down the drain. And there’s no use relying on voicemail as many people will choose hanging up over leaving a message. Of those that do leave a message, a quarter of them feel frustrated by having to do so. Ensure you have enough resource – in-house or outsourced – to answer each and every call. Don’t let business slip through the net.
  
  
• Take your time
  
  30% hate being told to check a website for information and 21% say they hate feeling rushed and not listened to
  
  This goes back to the importance of being intuitive and displaying empathy. If someone’s taken the time to call, respect that by providing them with the information or support they require and listening to what they have to say. Recognise they want to speak to a person and that they’ve probably already tried to ‘selfsoothe’ via digital channels. Fobbing a caller off or rushing to get them off the phone will leave a sour taste.
  
  
• Choose hold music wisely
  
  34% hate annoying hold music
  
  The data tells us that people are already in a heightened state of emotion when they call a business – don’t intensify the situation by forcing them to listen to annoying music as they wait, or making it hard to hear call handlers over background noise once they get through.

The power of a positive call

Consumers’ love of the phone presents an opportunity – a chance to stand out by delivering positive experiences with every call.

By mastering the art of call handling, businesses can make their phones ring and boost the bottom line in the process. With the right knowledge, telephone communication can be transformed into a vital tool to improve the customer experience, drive revenue and get ahead of the competition.

As well as finding out what people dislike, we asked the opposite: how do you feel after a great call, and how much of a differentiator is it?

Who are Moneypenny?

As the call and live chat experts, Moneypenny is the #1 provider of tailored answering solutions to the property industry, supporting over 2,500 estate agents with their customer conversations. We give you your own receptionists from our specialist property team who get to know you and your agency, looking after calls and chats exactly as if based in your office. On hand whenever you need, they’ll ensure you deliver outstanding customer service and never miss an opportunity.

Click here to download Moneypenny's full Customer Trends Report 2022