In today’s instant gratification culture, manners, courtesy and etiquette are often left behind.
But, according to a new report released by the Marchex Institute, of Marchex, titled “Politeness Pays,” politeness – or lack thereof – can have a significant impact on purchase decisions and sales results.
That’s the opening statement in the official report announcement shared with MMW this week.
With rudeness on the rise, a lack of social etiquette could be costly. In fact, businesses and consumers alike can benefit financially by simply using words like “please” and “thank you” when on the phone.
As for key findings from the report, they include:
- As a consumer, you increase your chances of getting a deal or discount by almost 50% just by being nice to the agent.
- Callers are far more polite to agents than the reverse. While 79% of callers are polite, only 57% of agents show the same courtesy.
- When agents were polite to callers, the average call was more than three minutes longer versus when they used rude or disparaging terms, providing more time for agents to try to sell and close a sale.
- One Marchex client quantified that sales conversion rates could increase by more than 35% per year if all their agents were polite on calls, resulting in an increase of nearly $400,000 in monthly revenue, or almost $5 million per year.
“While being polite to customers may seem like common sense for service representatives, the data shows that agents aren’t actually showing this courtesy in many cases, and ultimately it’s impacting the bottom lines of the businesses they represent,” said Guy Weismantel, Executive Vice President, Marketing, at Marchex. “This further reinforces the importance of properly training customer service teams. And for consumers, it’s a good reminder that in the heat of a frustrating customer service moment, remaining calm is your best bet. Being polite isn’t just about having good manners and more pleasant conversations – it’s also a strategy that, when put into action, can correlate into more lucrative deals for brands and their customers alike.”