FAQ: Answering Frequently Asked Questions by Phone in 4 Steps

Belfabriek / 11 Mar 2016 / 3 min read

By offering a national presence – and, if applicable, favorable call costs – you invite more people to call you. You’ll notice that callers have a number of questions, some of which are frequently repeated. And you want to make a good impression.

An effective FAQ page is indispensable, but in this article, we’ll show you how to answer these frequently asked questions more easily and quickly over the phone. This reduces the burden on your staff, allows you to maintain longer opening hours, and increases trust and customer satisfaction.

It’s important to spend time efficiently on valuable tasks within your customer service team.

In the step-by-step plan below, we’ll look at how to automate parts of your phone service, using the handy features available to Belfabriek customers. Read on and follow these steps:

Step 1: Start with an Inventory

Before redesigning your phone number, it’s important to know which frequently asked questions callers contact you about. Make a list and review these questions carefully. Not all questions can be answered faster.

For example, customers may need specific information about their account, file, or contract, which requires your staff to manually check the system. On the other hand, there may also be general questions that many customers ask and for which the answers are always the same. We’ll work with these types of questions to create an organized FAQ structure.

Step 2: Automated or Personal Responses?

The idea is to guide your customers to the answer to their question as quickly as possible through a call menu. Clear communication plays an important role here. Questions usually fall into categories, such as billing, terms, delivery, or technical issues.

Your staff can answer these, but in some cases, it’s also possible to answer questions through an automated message. In your situation, a mix of both approaches may make the most sense. Including well-optimized FAQ questions can further improve efficiency by reducing repetitive questions.

Now that you know which questions are most frequently asked and which can be answered automatically, it’s time to design a new menu structure. It’s crucial to organize important information well so customers can easily navigate, find what they need, and have their needs met. Belfabriek customers have access to various handy features that you can integrate into this structure:

When designing your menu, it’s important not to overwhelm callers. Two choices in a row in a call menu are tolerable for most people, but a structure with more choices can lead to frustration, which you want to avoid. There are also people who always prefer to speak to one of your staff personally. We recommend including this option by default in the menu, for example, as the last option.

Step 4: Extra Features

In the first step, we mentioned that not all questions can be answered automatically. That’s not entirely true, as our Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system allows connections to your database. Where our standard features end, our Custom Routing starts.

We create these types of features, as the name suggests, tailored to our customers. Regardless of the size of your business. For example, we made it possible for a bank’s service number to automatically report the customer’s account balance and for an energy supplier to provide meter readings to users. It’s essential to have frequently asked questions clearly and comprehensively answered.

Imagine how much time you free up for your staff if you can automate these types of information requests. If you’d like to learn more about the technical possibilities of custom routing, feel free to contact us, also via phone at 0800-BELFABRIEK.

FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. Make your FAQ page organized; bundle the most common questions and answers in one place so users or customers can quickly find and understand them. This is essential for a good user experience.

An FAQ helps answer general questions in advance, supports employees by saving their valuable time, increases customer satisfaction through logical communication, and prepares staff better for phone conversations with customers or prospects. Effective communication is crucial for smooth and clear interactions between staff and customers.

Start by collecting the questions most frequently asked by phone and discuss which are most relevant. These are often questions about delivery times, billing information, or technical support. By analyzing these questions, you can create a list of the most common ones. It’s also important to carefully review these questions to ensure they are fully and accurately answered.

Use a mix of automated responses via a call menu or IVR system and personal support from staff for more complex questions. Provide clear answers and avoid jargon. This way, you effectively address weak points in your communication skills.

Add new questions as they become more frequent. This keeps your FAQ page current and relevant. Remember to regularly review the content and adjust it based on user feedback.

Besides an FAQ on your website or IVR system, you can also send a follow-up email after a phone call, add FAQs to your product pages, use an automated voice message, and answer the most common questions. This strengthens your approach and improves collaboration between the customer and the organization.

The benefits of an effective FAQ page and a phone FAQ menu include increased productivity, fewer repeated questions, better insight into your audience’s needs, and the ability to guide communication and set expectations clearly. Additionally, it’s essential to make important information clear and accessible.