“You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” the humorist Will Rogers was said to have quipped. And now, behavioral researchers are confirming that the witty line has some real scientific merit.
It’s true, we all form very powerful first impressions of people, organizations and experiences, and these deep-rooted initial observations guide our thoughts and feelings on those subjects in lasting ways.
For businesses, making the right initial impression can catapult your business forward or propel you back to the drawing board. The first moments in which you communicate with a customer is crucial; it lays the groundwork for all future experiences and gives you a moment to cement trust and satisfaction in the customer’s mind.
Similarly, leaving a bad initial impression is a death knell to that customer relationship and can even spoil other customer relationships through word-of-mouth complaints or online reviews.
So you can understand how crucial it is that you use the opportunity to build trust with new and existing customers. You simply must ensure that your first interaction with them is prompt and positive, and leaves an impression that future experiences with your business will be equally pleasant.
If you are in a business where that initial customer interaction is likely to come over the phone or via a live chat answering service, that initial point of contact will go a long way towards answering the questions that all customers have about a business. Do they care about me as a customer? Will they take my needs seriously? Will they make the issue I am inquiring about seem important or will they diminish its importance?
Companies that take customer service and satisfaction seriously know that the answers to these questions need to be an unequivocal “YES!” And these same organizations know that they need to monitor these initial touchpoints very closely, and be proactive about finding ways to tighten their processes to provide customers with not just a ‘pretty good’ first impression, but an overwhelmingly positive and memorable one.
According to the findings of the 2017 American Express Customer Service Barometer, 33% of Americans say they consider switching companies after just one single instance of poor customer service. Think about that, a third of your customers could vanish overnight because of a breakdown in your customer service processes. It’s almost literally money walking out the door.
In order to avoid that business-crippling outcome, you need to focus hard on any confusion or discomfort that your customers may feel at any point throughout their journey. But that first point of contact is the most important.
Here are some of the main ways companies fail to give their customers a delightful first impression:
They Fail To Answer the Phone
Letting the phone go to voicemail during business hours is a really great way to leave a poor taste in the customer’s mouth. It’s very frustrating to have the reasonable expectation of talking to someone, and then for those expectations to be dashed. It’s understandable that businesses get swamped sometimes, but you need to have a plan in place to ensure that all customer calls are attended to promptly.
Similarly, automated ‘phone tree’ systems can leave a negative first impression on many customers. Customers want to talk with a real person who can attend directly to their needs, they don’t want to be mired in clunky automated system. This is an area of your business you may decide to outsource, as professional live receptionist service providers like Securus Contact Systems can help ensure every initial communication with a customer is 100% positive.
They Aren’t Prompt In Their Responses
Customers report that when reaching out via email or via live chat, the most frustrating outcome is for them to not receive a response in a quick fashion. If there are times when you are not going to be able to respond immediately to a customer’s message, be certain to create an auto-reply that acknowledges the customer’s issue and provides clear expectations for when a response can be expected.
They Use Negative Language Towards Customers
Especially in interactions that don’t take place in person, the tone of voice and the language that is employed are the major factors that go into making a first impression. Whereas face-to-face interactions provide a host of other things we are psychologically drawn to, phone conversations rely almost entirely on voice and language.
Word choices are shown to have a pretty dramatic impact on the way your customers perceive you. Avoid negative language like “we can’t do that” or “I don’t know the answer” and instead rely on more positive phrases that make the customer feel that their issue is important, even in instances when the person talking to them cannot solve it immediately.
They fail to make a human connection
Humans are social creatures and we crave connection and interaction, especially when we have a particular need or require the assistance of someone else. For this reason, we believe that there is no substitute for having professional customer service reps ready to assist at all times. While new technology like automated chatbots and other artificial intelligence options are interesting and potentially useful in certain instances, we do not believe that you should cut corners when it comes to making sure your customers are engaged by a warm, personable human. If the first impression is so important, after all, why would you leave it to the robots?