The first interaction is often considered the first impression of the company. The customers deal with multiple people of your company from time to time. Does everybody wear the right attitude? Are you unknowingly losing your customers?
The person who answers the phone or the person who greets your customers, or the person who is at the sales counter – defines your company’s impression. They might not have the right title but they have the ability to delight or disappoint the customers, your customers. The first point of contact or the first interaction of your company decides on your company’s customer-database. Now, you might have realized how enormous is the impact of your company’s first interaction and for the success of your business.
The first impression should be always positive otherwise the customer could take their business elsewhere. What is the most common first point of contact for any organization? Reception? No. It’s your telephone. Most of the entrepreneurs tend to overlook the impression their customers get when they call. Whenever you want to contact any company or organization, you would definitely call them, right? The first contact is obviously the phone – the person who talks on the phone represents the entire company.
Most of the time people talk rudely or keep the caller on the long hold treating them downright. Many entrepreneurs use emails nowadays, but still the company’s telephone number is often preferred by many consumers as many people still prefer to talk and sort out their queries right away with interaction. The best thing to do here would be to train your staff with proper telephone etiquettes. You can even record all the calls and track how your staff deals with your customers. Make use of automated system and play voice recordings for your off-timing customers. Don’t lose even a single customer even if there’s nobody to answer the call.
The secondary point of contact is the reception, the sales counter, etc. They must be polite and capable to answer all the customer’s queries without asking anybody else or letting the customers to wait longer. These small things can work wonders for you. Pay attention on them, before it’s too late.
Why don’t most of the small businesses survive? After much research and discussions, I found the answer. Most of them still follow the same old-fashioned leadership techniques – the ‘leadership-myths’.