Unraveling The Significance of Tone-of-Voice in Customer Experience (Part 2)
Applying tailored interaction across channels to meet customers’ expectations
“Every communication channel has its nuances. There’s no single, right tone-of-voice, whether you’re speaking or typing/reading.”
Words can be conveyed through different mediums, but are they being conveyed similarly?
Building a consistent tone-of-voice does not mean using the same tonality across all channels of customer contact. For example, as a pioneer of digital customer service in Indonesia, Tokopedia, through Tokopedia Care, has a number of service support channels that customers can reach 24 hours a day, namely email, social media, Resolution Center, and live chat. Each channel has a fairly different characteristic, context, and way of working in which each customer would contact a specific channel with different purpose factors and preferences. Therefore, the brand voice will always be consistent, but the tone-of-voice used will be adjusted with the users in each channel without compromising the true identity of Tokopedia Care; “Friendly, Proactive, Simple, Trusted (FIRST)”.
Live chat as a channel, allows an easier and faster way to connect with customer service agents as an option for resolving urgent problems. This real-time two-way communication makes customers more sensitive to the word for word they receive in response to their queries. Customers who request assistance via live chat expect a tone-of-voice that is polite and appropriate or in accordance with their identity as a customer. Albeit, the overall tone tends to be more formal, while still being conversational, friendly, and enthusiastic.
Unlike live chat, customers who choose to raise a complaint via email expect a more detailed explanation of the problem they are experiencing, hence, they are more concerned with replies that are thorough, clear, and easy to comprehend.
When acting as a mediator and solving problems between two customers (buyer and seller) through the Resolution Center, more than 65% of users agreed that tonality and how customer service agents address the customers are two principal factors in delivering a service. It can even be a driver for them in providing a customer satisfaction (CSAT) score. At Tokopedia Resolution Center itself, the tone-of-voice used is adjusted to the customer’s expectations for an explanation that is easy to comprehend, in a less formal way that allows for a humane discussion (unlike speaking to a robot) and makes the problem-solving process more comfortable.
Bringing in Politeness to Casual and Friendly Conversations
The thing to note about Indonesian customers is that a friendly approach might be tricky to apply. For example, in social media which is a more conversational and casual platform than the previous-mentioned platforms, customers still expect polite answers from brands.
Tokopedia Care itself has previously been known as a professional assistance service. When presenting themselves professionally on social media platforms, Tokopedia Care notices that there are adjustments which need to be made for better accuracy in the context of social media where users also tend to be younger and more playful. Unlike other platforms, social media extends far from being an owned media where customers can raise their questions and complaints. Rather, it can be utilized to educate, engage, inspire, and entertain customers.
Therefore, after observing and listening to customers on social media, Tokopedia Care is currently using a more casual, respectful, helpful, and enthusiastic tone-of-voice in reflecting its values such as caring, being proactive, and staying professional on social media. Although having a more relaxed and flexible service than other service helplines, Tokopedia Care understands that customers still prefer a more personal yet polite and respectful approach, hence using too many slang words is furthermore avoided.
In the end, tone-of-voice may be adjusted to represent the characteristics of interactions in each help service channel yet still have a common thread that is consistent with Tokopedia Care’s main identity.
Tone-of-Voice Defines Your Relationship with Your Counterpart
Effective communication requires consideration of the background and situation of the person we are talking to. That is why the correct and precise tone-of-voice must be based on the target audience. At Tokopedia Care, research is constantly being conducted to better understand who the customers are, what matters to them, and also the language and communication codes they use. Listening to customers carefully will help identify “the right words” that can bridge ongoing relationships and talk to them as they like to be talked to. All of these efforts are done to realize Tokopedia Care’s main vision, which is to become Tokopedia users’ “best friend”, and a reliable figure in solving problems, creating opportunities, and growing together with Tokopedia.
As a result, friendliness and language clarity have become the top reasons for Tokopedia users to recommend their preferred help service channel.
The two factors are shaped through tone-of-voice which showed that written tone-of-voice might also impact customer satisfaction.
A Way Forward to Sharpen Your Tone-of-Voice
To conclude, tone-of-voice is a crucial aspect of brand practice as it strongly portrays a brand’s character through a non-visual medium. Therefore, correctly using tone-of-voice in each customer journey allows brands to build their rapport accordingly.
When crafting and implementing a compelling tone-of-voice for your brand, consider these tips to deliver a tone-of-voice that actually strengthens your relationship with your customers:
- Always Be Authentic — Reflect back on what your brand stands for, its position in the industry, and its culture. Everything that is conveyed by the brand must truly align with the brand’s core values and actions.
- Consistency is Key — Make sure that people behind the brand, at every layer, use the agreed tone-of-voice across all platforms in order to solidify the brand identity.
- Know Your Context — While upholding consistency, also make sure your brand’s tone-of-voice can be adapted seamlessly at every point of contact with your customers.
- Listen to Your Customers — Is the tone-of-voice used in accordance with your customers’ profile and expectations? Remember to always check in and listen to your customer’s aspirations, because in the end, it is to them that the tone-of-voice is conveyed.
