When thinking about customer touchpoints, it can be easy to focus all your attention on external communication. However, that discounts a vastly important aspect of customer relations – the education of and communication with your internal employees.

Map it out

Your employees are your greatest asset and greatest ambassadors, and investing internally allows you to grow your communication strategy from the inside out. It’s essential for you to have an understanding of how information is being distilled internally so that you can mold the communication appropriately. 

Take a step back and map out communication touch points with your employees. Take a hard look at how information is being conveyed, the channels on which you’re depending, and who is included at every step of the way. Who are you missing? Are there employees that aren’t involved in the feedback loop? Is the messaging consistent across all channels and departments?

Don’t forget that communication needs to be a two way street as well. Ensure that you have systems in place to get feedback from employees, as well as take their questions so that you can address concerns and educate where needed. 

This type of internal audit allows you to fill in the gaps in your communication and truly ensure that every one of your team members is armed with the right messaging and equipped to be a brand ambassador. 

Internal communication is a living, breathing thing

Once you’ve initially mapped out the internal communication, don’t depend on that to carry you through for the foreseeable future. Constantly be revisiting internal communication to understand how and where you can improve. 

Perhaps most important, understand that communication doesn’t just change over time – you also need to be aware of how it’s changing in the present, among different levels of your staff. You can’t be 100% sure that a message conveyed to management will trickle down without being distorted, like a game of telephone. Operate with transparency and clear communication across all levels to make sure that everyone in your utility is on the same page.

Building trust with your customers starts with building trust internally – and communication is key. Ensure that every member of your team is educated and engaged in what you do, and truly understands your messaging. That way, when they engage with customers, you can be assured that that touchpoint is a positive experience across the board.

To read more tips for customer touchpoints and to check out the rest of the blog posts in the series, check out our full infographic here.

Kelly Smith

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Kelly Smith