It’s a beautiful Sunday morning so you load your family up in your pick-up truck for a drive. You turn the key, but the engine calls out a couple sput sputs before the vroom of the engine kicks in. As the vroom alternates with sputters, all the lights on the dash shut off, but one – the check engine light. Something is wrong. Wouldn’t it be great if your truck could tell you exactly what is wrong?
The good news is you can effectively communicate with your team AND your customers to keep business running smooth. By prioritizing communication, your team can provide top-notch service to customers with ease. Below are just a few benefits of high-quality communication.
5. Reduce Misunderstandings
Every team has “I thought you were covering that” moments, but with the right communication strategy and complementary technology, your team can minimize the confusion. Having one place to go to for all customer interactions rather than asking around for unclear and inconsistent answers keeps everyone on the same page. This increased level of transparency results in a more functional team atmosphere and improved customer experience.
| #ProTip: Don’t miss anything. Use AgriSync to automatically document calls as they come in, keep track of customer interactions in one centralized place, and distinguish who is responsible for handling that specific ticket. |
4. Capitalize on Strengths
Provide great service by sending the right expert at the right time. For example, if you have an individual whose best skill is identifying the source of mechanical issues, send them when customers break down. Sending the “best man for the job” can get the job done in half the time - increasing efficiency for your team and uptime for customers. Plus, when you give team members a task that aligns with their strengths it makes them feel valued and appreciated. Great service is high-quality service. Identifying a team member with the correct skillset and notifying them immediately can get them on the job faster. Help your team get to know each other. Make sure team members know the respective skills and specialties of other team members. This will reinforce where they need to go based on the problem they’re trying to solve.
| #ProTip: Maximize your team’s efficiency by handing off tasks to the team member with the specific skills to solve each customers’ unique issues. Make task assignment simple by using AgriSync’s capability to assign and reassign tickets. |
3. Maximize Efficiency and Effectiveness
The earlier you’re aware of an issue, the sooner you can get it on your schedule and get it resolved. Inadequate communication, both internally and externally, can be costly. Companies lose an average of $62.4 million per year from insufficient communication.1 Why? Better communication results in faster support. It’s as simple as that. Missed calls can significantly delay the time to resolve a customer’s issue. Effectively managing the chaos of customer calls increases the likeliness their first call gets answered and reduces the time to resolution.
.png?width=1200&name=communication_graphic%20(2).png)
Aside from properly managing incoming calls, first-class communication also includes quick response/dispatch time and simply keeps things moving forward. Customers don’t want to be slowed down by service that takes longer than necessary.
| #ProTip: Respond to calls efficiently with AgriSync’s ability to ring multiple team members at once. |
2. Provide a Positive Customer Experience
You know that feeling when an old friend calls out of the blue just to catch up? You can provide those same warm fuzzy feelings for your customers by proactively reaching out to them. Also, following up right away builds trust and encourages customers to engage in conversation as soon as they run into trouble.
| #ProTip: Proactive communication with the customer builds trust because it proves that you are there for them and keeps their experience positive. |
This increased communication makes for a better experience for customers while making things easier on your team. When your team is all on the same page, it’s easier to keep customers there, too. Streamlining communication like this alleviates confusion, preventing customers from getting frustrated with uncertainty.
1. Build and Maintain Customer and Team Relationships
When you’re in the loop, you feel included because you know what’s going on. Including your customers in the conversation increases their trust to build that relationship. A team that’s customer-centric about communication wins customers while significantly impacting profitability. If you have your customers' trust, they’re much more likely to choose your service over a competitor’s.
Customers’ existing perceptions of service may be low, but their morale around company support can be easily boosted by a team that effectively communicates. The quicker and more individualized support that comes as a result of strong team communication keeps customers happy through increased uptime.
AgriSync technology can streamline communication for your team, increasing visibility of issues and response time. Take that first step in making communication a priority in your business by scheduling a demo with AgriSync.
Sources:
- Patricia M. Buhler and Joel D. Worden, The Cost of Poor Communications, SHRM (2013), https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/communication/Pages/The-Cost-of-Poor-Communications.aspx
