Tips To Develop Effective Phone Answering Service Scripts
Creating a business answering service script calls for an attention-to-detail approach to make sure that it serves its intended purpose. The last thing a customer wants is the failure to get adequate or relevant information after calling up a phone answering service line. Real phone operators can provide better personal attention compared to automated scripts, but the scripts for both should start with a warm greeting. The scripts should have courteous phrases and should be drafted in a way that the caller feels respected. The script should generate a feel that the company is eager to provide its customers with whatever assistance they are looking for.
While it is always good to open a conversation with a warm greeting, it is best to limit it to a certain extent as most customers who call a customer service line are in need of urgent attention and need their issues to be addressed as quickly as possible. So the script that should follow the greeting message will be, “How can I help you?” Automated systems should provide multiple relevant options to allow the customer to select the one that will lead him to a solution or the required information.
Companies find it easier to practise upselling techniques with existing customers and customer contact provides an excellent means to promote new products and services. The answering service script should include information about a new product or service and it should match the existing customers’ area of interest. Automated scripts may include a marketing message at the end whereas live operators should check with the caller if they can share information about a new product or service before elaborating more on it.
A business phone answering service caller needs a response that is not only timely, but accurate at the same time. So the phone operator should not only stay equipped with information to answer the most commonly asked questions, but he should be able to answer the most complicated questions as well.
There can be instances when a caller asks a question and the operator has no answer. Such circumstances can be addressed by allowing the caller to have another option to find the answer. Phone scripts should include contact information or the system should allow for automated call transfer to the relevant executive or department in order to save the caller’s valuable time and to help him get the information he needs.
To sum up, business answering service scripts should be created with an overall objective of providing all possible information to the callers. Companies who are looking to maximize the benefits of a business answering service should make sure to incorporate a professional yet personal tone in the scripts while keeping in mind that they need to value the callers’ time, provide as much information as they can, introduce customers to a new product or service, and encourage further communication.
