Updated on April 7, 2022
A couple months ago, my Wi-Fi provider had an outage. So, I packed up my laptop and headed to a coffee shop, which I love to do anyway.
Three days and way too many lattes later, three different customer service agents from the Wi-Fi provider had told me, “There is no estimated time listed in our system, but I’m sure they’ll have it done today.” 🙄 Spoiler: They didn’t.
So while I waited, I found a fiberoptic provider with a rate half of what I was paying with a bunch of cash incentives for me to switch. Yes, please!
But that wasn’t the best part. From the moment I hit “purchase,” my new provider’s communication was shockingly great, creating possibly the best onboarding experience I’ve ever had.
I loved it so much that I studied it, and I identified the five F.A.C.T.S. of what makes this kind of communication so successful.
Forecast the process.
Let your customers know what happens next, when, and what they should expect or do at each step. I never wondered when my installation would occur or what the process would be like because they kept me informed every step of the way, and I could then plan work or notify my team accordingly.
Anticipate your customer’s questions.
Know your clientele’s FAQs and answer them before they have to go fishing for a FAQ page.
Candor = trust.
The first company’s staff telling me what they thought I wanted to hear only made me want to crush the phone in my hand when it wasn’t true. On the contrary, when my new provider couldn’t guarantee something, like whether they could install my new line through an existing cutout, they didn’t promise me anything. They told me what they could likely do, but if it didn’t work, they’d already identified the backup plan.
Timing is everything.
Inundating your clients up front with all the information they might need will likely cause overwhelm or oversights; on the flip side, radio silence after a purchase will leave them wondering, did my transaction even go through? Do they even care? Instead, parcel out important info and deliver it when they need it – and ensure this carries through seamlessly in the handoff from one department to another!
Skimmable beats wordy.
Ever wonder why someone doesn’t respond to the question buried in a long leadup and excessive pleasantries? Be friendly but concise so people can easily see the info they need or the action they need to take. This is one reason why B2C texting works so well.
See more exemplary communicators in our shout-outs section below.
Good communication should not be a surprise, and it matters in every job, not just those in marketing or customer service. Our success as hosts, businesses, communities, industries, even as a society hinges on us being able to share information well. (Speaking of, learn more about our brand new media partnership with VRM Intel below!)
If my new Wi-Fi provider maintains the bar it has set, I don’t care if they become more expensive than the crappy one I left, they will have a customer for life. Are you communicating with your guests, customers, community members, and colleagues like you want them to stick around, too? If it’s time for a refresh, try applying the F.A.C.T.S.!
Thank you for reading 💙
Alexa Nota
COO & Co-founder
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