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Strategies for Conducting Customer Support Phone Calls During a Crisis

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    03.04.2024
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    7 minutes
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    Author: Julia Andrusiak
Illustration

Strategies for Conducting Customer Support Phone Calls During a Crisis

    icon
    03.04.2024
    icon
    7 minutes
    icon
    Author: Julia Andrusiak

During times of crisis, effective customer support becomes critically important for maintaining loyalty and ensuring the successful operation of businesses. StreamTelecom offers a range of strategies for conducting phone calls that help maintain communication with customers even in the most challenging circumstances.

1. Empathy and Compassion

Empathy and compassion are important not only during a crisis but in any situation. However, during a crisis, these qualities become even more significant as customers may be experiencing stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. Here's how to provide support effectively:

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    Listen to the customer attentively and calmly. Allow them to express their fears, frustrations, or uncertainties.
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    Express sympathy for the difficulties the customer is facing. For example, you can say, "I'm sorry you're going through this. We'll do everything we can to help you."
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    Recognize that each situation is unique and maintain an individualized approach to each customer. Try to see the situation from the customer's perspective and understand their feelings and needs.
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    Offer your assistance and explain how you intend to help resolve the situation.

It's also important to adhere to professional standards and ethics when communicating with customers. Maintain a professional distance, avoid getting caught up in emotions, and provide objective and competent support.

2. Extended Operating Hours

Extended operating hours allow a company to respond to emergencies promptly and efficiently. This will lead to increased competitiveness, as companies that provide additional support to customers will have an advantage over competitors who operate on a regular schedule.

3. Process Automation and Quick Access to Information

One such method could be the use of an IVR system (Interactive Voice Response). It can significantly improve service during a crisis for several reasons:

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    Automatic call routing. IVR allows customers to select the appropriate option or press the corresponding key to route their call to the relevant department or operator.
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    Reliability at all times. The IVR system is available to customers 24/7.
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    Call filtering. IVR can be used to filter calls by allowing customers to resolve certain questions or issues without operator involvement. This helps reduce workload and speed up call processing.
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    Personalized responses. IVR can be configured to provide personalized responses to customer inquiries, such as by identifying the customer by phone number or order/reference number.

4. Personalized Support

With the help of CRM and IP telephony, employees can provide personalized support. For example, considering the customer's history, they can offer personalized products or services that best meet the customer's needs in the current unstable situation. This demonstrates respect for the customer because you're not wasting time presenting generic company services but prioritizing the customer's interests.

5. Service Quality Monitoring/Feedback Collection

Here again, CRM comes to the rescue, allowing you to:

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    track and analyze waiting times on the line;
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    the number of inquiries and customer request processing time;
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    the number of repeat inquiries;
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    customer satisfaction levels;
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    the number of missed calls for workload planning.

This will provide you with valuable information for further improving service and responding to customer needs. It's important to note that such monitoring is essential not only during a crisis but also in regular operations.

6. Forecasting and Planning

It is necessary to better prepare for future unforeseen situations and understand how to strengthen customer support capabilities. In CRM, call volumes during a crisis period can be analyzed, the types of customers who reached out can be determined, the most frequent questions can be tracked, and the timing and geographical localization of inquiries can be analyzed. This allows for proper preparation of the contact center for increased workload and ensures high-quality service.

7. Data Confidentiality Protection

Data confidentiality protection is needed not only for the peace of mind of customers but primarily for your own. It should be taken care of in advance, not when "everything is on fire." What needs to be considered:

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    Data encryption. Establish data access monitoring systems to detect any unusual or suspicious activities to promptly identify potential security breaches and react to them.
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    Data backup. Conduct regular data backups to ensure the ability to restore important data in case of a crisis or incident.
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    Strict access policy. Also, educate your staff on cybersecurity rules and provide them with an action plan in case of security breaches.
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    Data security audit. Conduct regular audits to identify potential vulnerabilities and improve security systems.

StreamTelecom's IP telephony provides data encryption and all the mentioned security measures to protect information.

8. Employee Support During Crisis Situations

This is one of the most crucial points, as during any crisis, it's important to act as they teach on airplanes—first, help yourself so you can help others. Here's how to ensure this:

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    Clear communication. Provide your employees with information about the current situation and company action plans. This will help reduce anxiety and unrest among the staff.
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    Resources and support. Provide employees with the necessary resources to help them fulfill their duties in crisis conditions. This could include technical tools for remote work or access to essential sources of information.
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    Listening and openness. Create opportunities for employees to express their concerns, questions, and ideas. Listen to their thoughts and respond to their questions with an open heart.
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    Team building and relationship support. Organize events and other activities that foster a positive work environment and support respect and collaboration within the team.

Conclusion

Supporting customers through phone calls becomes a key aspect of ensuring high-quality service and maintaining customer loyalty, especially during a crisis.

A successful phone call management strategy includes:

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    Identifying customer needs;
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    Actively listening and responding to their requests;
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    And ensuring effective use of technologies such as IP telephony and CRM systems.

Using IP telephony from StreamTelecom is an effective tool for providing reliable customer support during crisis situations. Its wide range of features and capabilities allows companies to maintain a high level of service and preserve the trust of their customers, regardless of circumstances.

Need assistance? Contact us!

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Julia Andrusiak

Account Director

+38 050 700 75 72

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