We’ve come a long way from service companies using a single phone line to connect with their customers. Now with email, voicemail, text messaging, VoIP, computerized phone systems, and smartphones, it should be easier than ever for customers to contact us. Unfortunately, the technology designed to keep us connected can actually push customers away. To be fair, it’s not the technology itself causing the problem, but rather how many companies choose to use the technology. Companies can keep the technology and their customers by putting some procedures and practices in place.
Anyone who has called about an insurance claim, a car loan, or tech support has probably been confronted by an automated menu. This pre-recorded message asks callers to make a selection from several options to route their call to the appropriate destination. Some companies use it to advertise their services, while others use it to make their companies seem larger than they truly are — a strategy that can quickly backfire when customers realize the same person answers the phone regardless of the option selected.