Whatever job you apply for, be it nurse aide or call center agent, you will likely encounter the question ‘How good is your communication skills?’ This is because clear lines of communicating with customers as well as coworkers can make or break a business. If you are a new startup or small business owner, here’s how communication can affect your success.
Efficiency
Poor communication within the workforce leads to inefficient customer service. If inter-department communication is inefficient, business output is obstructed and growth is stunted. For example, vague email messages that need clarifying or files that need proofreading and rewriting will either result in erroneous turnover or more time and energy spent on resolving the problem. This inefficiency will reverberate throughout the front-end or the customer side of the business.
No Call to Action
If you cannot convey messages properly to a customer, he/she will probably lose interest and seek the product or service elsewhere. Even if you have the best deals and promotional offers, this won’t matter if your target audience cannot understand it. Ultimately, sales and profits will be drastically impacted. Make sure you train the right customer service reps and keep the pitches simple yet interesting.
Lower Customer Retention
Businesses that cannot communicate with their customers tend to lose them after one or two purchases. If you want repeat customers and loyal brand patrons, make sure your lines of communication are available and clear. This is where communication companies like Telesphere come in handy as they can help connect customers and coworkers with the information they need seamlessly.
Lawsuits
If your customer service rep fails to provide accurate or whole product or service information, this can anger customers and make them think they are being scammed. In severe cases, your business can even get slapped by a lawsuit for false claims and advertising. Although this gives you free media exposure, the financial impact can be devastating for your business not to mention the value damage it causes your brand.
Reduced Innovation
Businesses with poor inter-department and customer service communication skills will suffer from lack of innovative ideas and new product lines to keep the business growing. While it doesn’t affect customers as much as it affects businesses, this lack of innovation will lead to loss of interest from customers who were once excited to support your brand.
Communication is a powerful tool for any business and lack thereof can mean the demise of the brand. Make sure you to regularly train your team’s ability to communicate to different types of customers and situations.