How to Avoid Your Customer’s Voicemail

You’re calling your customers and often landing up in their voicemail, leaving you with one thought; why aren’t people answering the phone? Hearing that dreaded voicemail inbox repeatedly can be irritating, and studies have shown that 90% of voicemails are never returned.

There could be a number of reasons why your customers aren’t picking up your calls. They could be driving, eating, sleeping, but there might be a bigger reason as to why less and less customers are answering the phones: phone anxiety.

What is Phone Anxiety

Phone anxiety (also known as telephobia) is a fear of calling people or being called. Anyone can have phone anxiety. Some people can be completely comfortable talking in front of a crowd or sending out a dozen text messages a day, and yet the thought of speaking on the phone can send shivers down their spine. Telephobia is a common fear for those who experience social anxiety disorder. In some extreme cases, people may experience severe anxiety attacks or display physical symptoms. According to Statistics Canada, social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, and is among the most common psychiatric illnesses. In the U.S. alone, it affects over 15 million American adults. Beyond the numbers, it’s also important to note that many people are growing increasingly uncomfortable with phone calls, whether or not they’re impacted by social anxiety disorder.

How much can phone anxiety impact customers?

Symptoms of phone anxiety can manifest in both emotional and physical distress. Emotional symptoms can include: delay in answering phone calls/complete avoidance of them, obsession over what was said, and stress. Physical symptoms can include: nausea, shaking, lack of concentration, and shortness of breath.

Why do people get phone anxiety?

There are a number of reasons why your customers might dread phone conversations:

Looking foolish/awkward
To try to avoid looking foolish around your staff, customers will often show high degrees of self monitoring. Too much self-monitoring can make conversation more awkward, and exacerbate their anxiety. This can also lead to miscommunication or fear of speaking up when requesting a service from your company.

Rejection
Fear of rejection could be linked to a deeper trauma, and psychologists believe that it could be related to receiving very bad news on the phone.

Lack of Non-Verbal Cues
90% of communication is nonverbal (i.e. body language and facial expressions), and not being able to see those cues on the phone can cause misunderstanding. Phone calls can make concepts harder to grasp, and interpretations a guessing game.

Time Pressure
Calls are time-consuming and require your full attention. While texting can be left off to more convenient times, phone calls are disruptive. Written communication allows you to have time to gather your thoughts and edit before hitting send, but when on the phone, every word can feel like a gamble.

Judgement
Many people who experience social anxiety fear that they are being judged on the phone. They may fear being judged for being an inconvenience, and they may never call you to avoid “bothering” you.

Inexperience
In the age of texting, some people may never call on the phone. This inexperience, coupled with their anxiety, can be enough to stop them from answering the phone or calling you for questions.

How to Ease Your Customer’s Mind

Customers’ fear of making or receiving phone calls can be quite disruptive to your professional life, and for modern businesses, it’s important to find new ways to connect with your clients. To ensure that your customers experience the utmost comfort, here are some best practices for reducing phone anxiety:

1. Text your customers their appointment reminders and updates.

By incorporating business text messaging you can update your customers of important information and schedule appointments. Your customers will always be in the know about your business without you having to go out of your way to call them. With texting you can ensure that you never disturb their day, and avoid their voicemail inbox. Studies show that text messages have a 98% open rate, and 95% are opened within the first 5 minutes. The sheer convenience of texts ensure that their time isn’t wasted, and yours isn’t too.

2. Using SMS messaging for inquiries.

If your only other channel of communication with your customers is through email or a web form, they are much less likely to ask you any short or simple questions about your services or product. They are probably not going to craft a long email asking you a simple question like an inventory check for a single product, especially if they are afraid to call in the first place. This creates a problem because they are therefore not going to get the clarification they need to buy your service/product, and will move on to a different business with an easier mode of communication. With text messaging, customers will be able to ask you quick questions with little-to-no-effort. This ensures that they have all the information they need to determine whether or not you can help them and they will be more likely to bring their business to you due to ease of communication.

3. Use emojis to mimic positive facial expressions.

Phone conversations can feel very foreign for many people because we all rely on reading body language and behavioral cues to understand each other. Not being able to see someone can really deter customers from reaching out to you. In order to ease this alienation, you can mimic facial cues by adding personality to your messages with emojis. For example, you can use a smiley face to convey your enthusiasm, and a thumbs up when they book an appointment to show excitement. That way, people can get a better understanding about how you feel, and therefore ease their anxiety about not being able to see you face-to-face.

4. Using your social media channels.

Businesses exchange more than 20 billion messages with people on Facebook Messenger every month. With these statistics in mind, it’s safe to say that many of your customers are using those social platforms on the daily, so being able to be reached on those platforms allows you to conveniently interact with your customers on their preferred platform. If your customers are unwilling to call you, you can meet them halfway by conversing on the apps they’re already using. There are also platforms that allow you to integrate social media and text messages into one unified inbox so that you are able to converse with your clients on social media all in one place.

5. Send quick review links via mobile for feedback.

Reviews are incredibly important to enhancing your business’ online reputation, and 84% of people consider them to be as reliable as a personal recommendation. The more reviews on your site, the more trust you will garner. They are important for gaining new customers, but are especially integral for anxiety-prone individuals who may read them first to determine your ability to give them the best service possible. It can be a tricky process to ask for feedback as some people may feel uncomfortable when directly asked to leave a review. Instead, you can alleviate any awkwardness they may feel towards leaving reviews by sending them a link via text that allows them to easily leave a review without any social pressure. This ensures that the interaction is as comfortable as possible.

6. Ensure availability.

Let your customers know that they are in no way inconveniencing you with their inquiries. One roadblock for those who experience phone anxiety is that they feel that they are a nuisance to the people they are calling. When you reaffirm to your customer that you are glad they reached out and you are always available and ready to help, you can ease their mind of the anxiety of potentially catching you at a bad time. The more enthusiastic you are about their calls or texts, the less nervous they will be.

7. Reward your customer.

You can let your customer know that you value their time and effort to speak to you, even when their anxiety could get in the way. By rewarding the customer with discounts or special offers, not only are you making them feel special, but you are also giving them incentive to continue to do business with you. An example of this would be to send them a message soon after your initial conversation saying “It was a pleasure to speak with you Claire. As a special thank you I’d like to offer you 20% off” or “Thanks for speaking with me on the phone today Sam, it’s always a pleasure! I hope to hear from you again, and here’s a $5 credit for being a great customer.” Make your customer feel good about talking on the phone with you so that they are less afraid to do it again.