Our ABC’s Of Merchant Account Support Anticipate, Build, and Clarify!

At Digital Financial Group, we employ what we call the ABC’s of communication.  When providing customer support, every word spoken between you and the client makes a huge difference in the relationship. Those words can be face to face, on the phone, via email, phone, social, or even text message these days. What’s more is that it’s fundamental that each communication activity incorporates thoughtfulness with regards to that specific client and the stage of your relationship with them. The conversation can be direct, not mix words, brief and to the point, or perhaps long and very detailed. Regardless of the format, they must be professional no matter what stage the relationship is in or how you are doing the communication.

The ABC’s of communication is merely defined as Anticipation, Build, and Clarify.  The ABCs of our incredible credit card processing merchant support team is at the crux of who we are as a company.

A-Anticipation:  First include everything that the merchant or client may require. Anticipate if the customer is asking a data question, they must need that data for what? Additionally, incorporate responses to questions they might not sufficiently know. For instance, if they are asking about when their credit card processing funds will be in their checking account, the short answer is the next day. However, the more complete solution would be, they will be available by 10 am the following day providing you have settled your account by 5:30 p.m. Central Time the previous day. Providing complete answers eliminates surprises down the road as well as it shows your thoroughness.

Anticipation also includes anticipating what doesn’t matter to the client or merchant. One important principle to remember is, include only the recipients that pertinent to the conversation. Limiting your communication is especially important when it comes to email because everyone gets far too many emails these days. And only press the “reply all” button when its necessary and called for.

B-Build:  Be continuously building a relationship with the client or merchant. Whether its written or verbal, the English language is a powerful tool. Word choice can easily make a customer feel better, or worse, as well as set the tone of the relationship. Every time we communicate we need to be thinking about how we wish to be perceived. Talking with a long-term goal of having this customer around for many years is an essential part of building a relationship with them.

C-Clarify:  Be sure to clarify what the client or merchant is asking for or needing. If you or they don’t fully understand the question or the need, then completing the task probably won’t be met successfully. We encourage our team to reread their communication because if anything within their writing or verbal communication is ambiguous to the client or merchant, it could leave everyone at a loss. We encourage everyone to take the extra time and use the additional words needed to make sure what your meaning to say is crystal-clear.

To us, clarity also includes the attention to detail. Having written correspondence is one way to have a record. Of course, that is not always possible when we are communicating over text or voice, so we strive for written communication about things that are important. Our goal is to make sure that what we’re putting down in words is correct and valid as if it is indeed “for the record.”

If you have questions about our ABC’s of communication, feel free to reach out to us. We provide honest, straightforward, unbiased, representation to save you hours of frustration and headaches. To learn more about how Digital Financial Group can help you and your business, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] or call 623-764-7471.