Improve your telephone manner...

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Communication – both internally and externally – plays a vital part in how a company operates on a daily basis.

Customers are the very lifeblood and many businesses deal exclusively with current and potential new customers via the telephone, meaning it’s crucial to make the right impression and communicate properly with them.

Talking on the phone, though, is a skill that some people find tricky to master on a business level, so here are a few things to remember the next time your phone rings at work:

Talk clearly and concisely

Introduce yourself in a polite and professional fashion and be sure to make a note of the name of the person you’re dealing with, what company they work for if applicable and find out what the purpose of the call is. This’ll ensure you stay on topic and can resolve the query quickly. Talk clearly and concisely, particularly if you have a strong regional accent.

Be attentive and proactive

Dealing with an irate customer on the phone can be testing at times, especially if you misunderstand the problem or if the issue remains unresolved. Be polite, be attentive and be proactive in getting everything sorted. If you can’t help in the matter for whatever reason, then make sure the call is quickly passed on to someone who can or get the relevant person to ring the customer back.

Stay calm and carry on

A disgruntled customer poses a problem when it comes to staying calm and courteous, but it’s worth remembering what difference negative word of mouth can make, so it’s important to stay professional and do what you can to turn a negative situation into a positive outcome.

Be patient and informative

The subject matter of a call may be second nature to you, but show a caring side if you need to explain something to a caller. Go out of your way to be informative and never just presume that the person on the end of the lines knows what industry-related jargon means in real terms.

Be open to feedback

Ask for feedback at the end of the call and take on board any points raised that you feel will help you to improve your phone manner.

15 May 2012 0

The meaning of numbers...

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Superstitions involving certain numbers are extremely common.

If you’re a superstitious person and have wondered why some numbers have more significance than others, here we explain why they carry certain meanings.

Four

Four-leaf clovers are seen as being a good-luck charm because of their rarity, as they usually have just three leaves. In Japan, four is seen as being unlucky as the way it’s pronounced is similar to the Japanese word for ‘death’.

Seven

Although widely perceived to be a lucky number, you might not know that, if you break a mirror, you’re expected to get seven years’ worth of bad luck. This saying apparently dates back to Roman times, when servants who broke mirrors would take seven years to pay for a replacement one out of their wages.

Eight

The number eight is considered to be very lucky in China, as the word ‘eight’ sounds similar to the Cantonese word for prosper.

13

There are many reasons why 13 may be seen as unlucky. Thirteen people dined at the Last Supper and the myth that 13 turns make a hangman’s noose are among the reasons why the number has its reputation.

666

The number of the beast, the reason behind 666’s reputation is supposedly because six is one short of seven, which is the number of days it took God to create the world.

12 May 2012 0

Is your company ready for the Olympics?...

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The London 2012 Olympics are fast approaching – there are less than 80 days to go! – and many businesses in Britain will feel a knock-on effect from the sporting extravaganza.

For some companies it could be a positive impact as revenue is boosted by the increase of tourists heading to the capital for the Olympics, which run between July 27 and August 12, and Paralympics, set to take place from August 29 to September 9.

Other firms, though, could suffer negative disruption, especially if they don’t plan accordingly.

Fortunately, it’s never too late to start planning for the threat of disruption and here are a few suggestions on getting ready for the Olympics. (more…)

10 May 2012 0

The importance of social media to businesses...

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No matter what size your company is or what sector it operates in, there are many reasons to implementation a social media strategy.

The uses of different platforms of course differ in terms of the type of company you run and in most cases; a finely tuned crossover of two or more platforms used in different ways is usually the best recipe for success.

Before considering what social media options are right for you, you have to think first of your customer.

Remember, social media is there to bridge the gap between a company and the customer. The general public give much more trust to their piers than they do a faceless corporation, social media is your ticket to eradicate brand/customer estrangement.

(more…)

2 May 2012 0

Why getting an 0800 number makes good business sense...

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If you’re running a business, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to get in touch – whether it’s by email, post or perhaps most importantly of all, by phone.

It might seem strange, but a memorable phone number can help make it easier for customers to contact you and getting an 0800 number might be the way to do it.

(more…)

2 May 2012 0