If you want to win in business, answer the phone.

Voicemail systems will never bring you a dollar of new business. That’s truth. Maybe there is someone out there that can provide data to disprove this. I’m not interested. What I am interested in, is the shift in business practices away from automation, and towards humanization.

When I have a problem, I want a solution

Voicemail systems provide canned, impersonal, standard solutions. They don’t make me feel special or cared for; they make me feel like you have better things to do than solve my problems…FAIL.

We’re all in the customer service business

There are more businesses. There is more competition. There are more marketing channels. There is more noise. What cuts through that noise and situation? Personal care, customer service and actually caring.

When you call a big company and on the second ring a person with a warm voice and smile answers the phone, isn’t it refreshing? Doesn’t it feel great? Don’t you feel like this company “gets it?”

I’ve actually seen one of my clients dive for the phone so it doesn’t go to voicemail. It’s part of their culture. They profoundly care about their customers and want them to understand that, so they do whatever they have to to ensure you talk to a person.

Answer the phone

When I say answer the phone, what I want you to hear and read is “care about your customer’s experience.” Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, email or the phone, your customers want to talk to a human being that can address their individual issue. They want to be treated as an individual, and they want their time respected. Only a human can determine how to best deal with an incoming call. Only a caring individual on the other side can direct your call or interpret urgency.