Customer service is more than responding to problems and closing tickets. It’s about building trust, protecting brand loyalty, and making customers feel seen, heard, and cared for.
Strong emotional intelligence is a necessity for the job. Whether the customer is irate, frustrated, scared or flustered, your team must be able to respond with calm and professionalism.
1. Easy to remember
Whether you’re locked out of your Facebook account or trying to rebook a flight, you’ll often want to call customer service for help. And you’re more likely to do so if the number is easy to remember.
The problem is that our brains get sent 11 million bits of information every second, and can only successfully process about 40 or 50 of them. That’s why we use memory chunking, or association, to store the things that are important to us.
That’s why numbers that spell out words — like 1-800-FLOWERS or 800-GoFedEx — are easier to remember than random jumbles of numbers. In addition, they’re an extension of your brand and can be used to promote specific products or services you offer. You can even choose a local area code that’s easy for people to dial (or a toll-free option). These are also known as vanity phone numbers. They’re easy for customers to remember, and they make you appear more professional.
2. Easy to remember
The working memory can only hold about 40 or 50 bits of information at one time. That’s why we use mnemonic tricks to remember things like passwords, PINs, or phone numbers. Numbers without context, however, are simply too abstract to stick in the brain for very long – even when they’re repeated over and over. That’s why it’s so much easier to remember a word-based number that spells out a specific phrase, such as 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-GO-FedEx. These are called vanity numbers and are a great way to promote your business in a memorable way, converting those random jumbles of digits into something that can easily be linked back to the brand.
If a customer can easily recall your phone number, it’s likely he will be more inclined to call again in the future, rather than search on Google when in need of your services. And that can mean more repeat business for you. Easy-to-remember numbers also look professional and help you stand out from the competition.
3. Easy to remember
Despite new fancy-shmancy productivity and communication tools, old-fashioned telephone calls still do the job, and that means customers need to remember your number. A memorable phone number translates to a memorable brand.
If your business’s number is a random jumble of numbers, it will be hard for people to find you or recall your contact information later. Vanity numbers, or “local easy dial” numbers (like 1-800-CUPCAKE or 1-800-FLOWERS) spell out words that connect with deeper memory, making them much easier to recall than a string of random digits.
Memorable customer service numbers are a great way to reinforce your branding and make your business look classy. It would be ideal if your customer service number was a phrase related to the product or service you provide, such as “taxes,” “auto repairs,” or “classic cars from specific decades.” This will help your customers understand what they can expect when calling for support. We call this technique memory chunking.
4. Easy to remember
When something goes wrong, it’s usually natural to want to call customer service for help. Unfortunately, many companies hide their numbers or make them difficult to find on their websites. So people end up searching on Google, which can be a time-consuming and ineffective way to solve a problem.
A memorable phone number is easier for customers to remember, which makes it more likely that they’ll call again. Vanity numbers, which spell out words or phrases that describe the business’s products or services, are especially effective. Businesses like 1-800-FLOWERS and 1-800-GO-FedEx use these types of numbers to make their brand memorable.
These numbers also work well for local businesses, such as a bakery that could use 1-800-CUPCAKE or an auto dealer that specialises in classic cars from certain decades that could have a number like 1-800-1989-1999. Memorable numbers are mnemonic devices that leverage the brain’s ability to associate and remember words. That’s why they are more successful than random jumbles of numbers.