Kathrine Rabjerg Hansen

Marketing Manager

Tobias Winther Troelsen

CAO

Oct 7, 2024

How to avoid misunderstandings in your customer conversations

When managing a high volume of customer interactions daily, it is nearly impossible to avoid misunderstandings altogether. These misunderstandings can lead to frustration, repeat calls, and a damaged reputation – all of which negatively impact your business. We have gathered essential information on how to prevent misunderstandings and why addressing them is crucial.

Why do misunderstandings typically occur in customer conversations?

Let us start by diving into why misunderstandings are an issue in the first place – and how they typically occur.

Customer centers are struggling with repeat calls. In fact, in 2024, repeat calls accounted for about 13% of all customer conversations in Scandinavia – in some cases, as much as 30%. While repeat calls occur for various reasons, misunderstandings are a common reason for customers contacting you again.

They may have been in doubt about whether their issue has been resolved, be unsure of certain deadlines, or have received misleading information on the website and over the phone.

Misunderstandings also typically occur due to knowledge gaps, or they may be caused by new agents who may give tentative answers or entirely skip the agreed action points at the end of the conversations.


3 ways to avoid misunderstandings in your contact center

One way to ensure that customer conversations are of high quality is for employees to make sure that their customer communication is as concise as possible. The more precise they communicate, the less likely customers are to misunderstand them.

While misunderstandings cannot be completely avoided, it is important to focus on transparent communication, as unclear communication can result in more customers calling your company back with unnecessary queries.


Set specific timeframes to gain trust

So, our first piece of advice is that you should be transparent and specific. For example, you should avoid using vague expressions such as: "We'll be in touch," or "It won't take long."

Instead, make sure you mention concrete timeframes that the customer can relate to. If you know a specific department is particularly busy during a given period, be transparent with the customer and note that it might take longer.

If the issue is not resolved within the given timeframe, you should make sure you proactively contact the customer and give them an update. This way, customers do not have to spend unnecessary time worrying about their inquiry.


Sum up the conversation at the end of each customer conversation

When you have found a solution to the customer's issue, it is important that you communicate it in a way that ensures customers are not in doubt about whether the issue has been resolved.

You can use phrases such as: "Let's solve this together," "I'll keep you updated," or "I'll make sure of that."

This way, you communicate that the customer does not have to worry and that they can rest assured that their issue will be taken care of.

Such sentences not only minimize the number of misunderstandings, but they also increase customer satisfaction levels by as much as 10%.


Share information with other departments

Misunderstandings do not only happen in the customer center; they also occur if your website is not up to date or if technicians have given false information during a visit.

Often, customers are willing to find the answer themselves in self-service or FAQ pages when given the chance. But if your website is not completely updated at all times, you risk leaving your customers confused and receiving additional calls.

Even if a customer calls and gets a correct answer from your customer service agents, it can be confusing because they might have received another answer from your website.

Therefore, you should make sure to base your knowledge databases on data derived directly from your customer conversations. The same should apply to your FAQ pages. This way you ensure that all information aligns and is updated accordingly.

As a bonus, when you analyze your customer inquiries, you quickly get notified when a sudden spike in calls happens. You can use this knowledge to proactively notify customers on the webpage.


Want more advice on how to heighten the conversation quality

Successful customer conversations are typically a result of skills, experience, and easy access to key knowledge. As a rule, successful agents use the right language, understand customer inquiries on a deep level, and find knowledge effectively.

So, if you want to develop your skills based on data rather than gut feelings, we have gathered a variety of insights in articles containing concrete advice on how to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention, and handle more calls in less time.

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