Are Voice Mail Systems Harming Professional Service Firms?
The problem is that voice mail systems are now so rampant in professional firms that we have almost forgotten what it's like to talk to a real person. Technology consulting firms are famous for this. You simply can't contact a live person, but when you leave a message, it can take days until someone calls you back. Responding to clients' requests is just not a priority.
The biggest complaint clients of professional firms have is the lack of connection and responsiveness. While most firms and practitioners are wired up to their eyebrows with all sorts of fiendish electronic gadgets, most of them are mysteriously unavailable for their clients. When most firms are contacted, callers end up on the firm's complex voicemail labyrinth with no hope in hell to ever find the way to the people they are calling.
The "electronic receptionist" sends two messages to your callers:
Can this happen because you make a lot but keep very little? Make sure that - almost - always the same person answers the phone at your front desk.
People get used to a specific voice, and expect to hear it every time they call. Although conventional wisdom says that familiarity breeds contempt, I believe lack of familiarity breeds contempt. If I call a firm, and a different person answers the phone every time, that makes me think that the firm has atrocious staff turnover, which is the result of a stinking culture. And a stinking culture can only provide stinking service.
And if the firm provides stinking services, then I don't want to be the part of that. What's the logic in being this firm's client in the first place?
And huge part of your perceived value comes from your responsiveness. And let's face it, since these clients are paying you, they deserve answers to their questions between two official meetings. Remember, you are working with this client from the beginning of the project until completion. That means they can rightfully expect access to you.
The biggest complaint clients of professional firms have is the lack of connection and responsiveness. While most firms and practitioners are wired up to their eyebrows with all sorts of fiendish electronic gadgets, most of them are mysteriously unavailable for their clients. When most firms are contacted, callers end up on the firm's complex voicemail labyrinth with no hope in hell to ever find the way to the people they are calling.
The "electronic receptionist" sends two messages to your callers:
- You are so busy that you have no time to answer the phone
- In spite of being so breathtakingly busy, you are still not profitable enough to employ a real person to answer the phone. So, what is the ultimate message here?
Can this happen because you make a lot but keep very little? Make sure that - almost - always the same person answers the phone at your front desk.
People get used to a specific voice, and expect to hear it every time they call. Although conventional wisdom says that familiarity breeds contempt, I believe lack of familiarity breeds contempt. If I call a firm, and a different person answers the phone every time, that makes me think that the firm has atrocious staff turnover, which is the result of a stinking culture. And a stinking culture can only provide stinking service.
And if the firm provides stinking services, then I don't want to be the part of that. What's the logic in being this firm's client in the first place?
And huge part of your perceived value comes from your responsiveness. And let's face it, since these clients are paying you, they deserve answers to their questions between two official meetings. Remember, you are working with this client from the beginning of the project until completion. That means they can rightfully expect access to you.
posted by Bald Dog @ Wednesday, January 11, 2006
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