Customers are like family. You can't live with them, and you can't live without them. No matter how annoying or demanding they can be at times, you still need to do your best to keep them around. They are the reason why your business exists and continues to do so, which means you depend on them. '

This is why customer engagement and a focus on how you can improve customer service is so vital to the success and longevity of a company. Did you know that engaged customers can provide a 23% increase in profit, compared to just average customers? But the problem is, how do you keep your customers engaged? It can be tricky, especially when talking on the phone with them. Their attention was on something else before they got on the call with you, and you want to be able to gain and keep their attention. Here are 7 ways to improve customer engagement on a call:

1. Keep Your Employees Engaged and Happy

If your employees who are on the phones are disgruntled and quick to anger, the customers on the phone with them are going to have a most unpleasant experience, and may not return to do business with your company. Improve your call center agent's happiness by taking the time to develop a good company culture, make sure they have clear career paths and understand where they fit into the bigger picture of your organization. Doing all of these things will help improve agent's engagement on the job, and in turn, they will be more likely to keep your customers engaged while on a call.

Click here to read about how Contact Center Success Means Having Happy Contact Center Employees

2. Smile and Gesture

Callers can't see your agents, but the body language they use on the phone, still translates into their voice. The more they use their hands and smile, the happier they will sound, and the more clarity will be in their tone. Provide headsets to free their hands, and increase productivity. 

3. Use Your Ears

A phone conversation is a two-way street. You can't have an active dialogue with just one person talking. Agents with good active listening skills help to build better customer engagement. By allowing customers time to speak, it shows them that your agents are really interested in helping them solve their problems. 

4. Develop a Relationship

Just like with family, it's beneficial to develop a good relationship with your customers. Be genuine, honest, empathetic, and build familiarity by routing repeat callers  to the same agents they spoke to before, when possible (assuming that the agent did a good job the first time). Long-term revenue for a company depends on developing good relationships with customers. It is more expensive to generate gain new customer loyalty than it is to keep your existing customer base engaged. 

Read more about how Customer Service is crucial for success

5. Eloquent Communication

Clear communication is key. It cuts back on the unnecessary cost of problems that arise from poor or misunderstood communication, and it ensures a higher level of customer engagement. If a customer can't understand what the agent is saying, because they are mumbling or talking too fast or too softly, they won't be interested in speaking with them. Rushing through the script or mumbling can come off as insincere, and shows anxiety and discomfort. Communication that is well paced, with no technical jargon and no filler words, shows sincerity and confidence. This is very important if you want to be able to keep the caller on the phone.

6. Everyone is an Individual 

Try your best to personalize each customer experience. Rather than promoting your product or service, understand that the customer is looking for how you can help them, and not the other way around. How would their life be better if they use your product or service? Show them how your offer aligns with their life and their concerns. Treating all your customers as a revenue stream, and not as individuals with individual needs, will not cultivate engagement. Remember, it's about them, not about you. 

7. Be Well Informed 

Have the right data, and know when to use it. The more information you can get and archive on your customers, the more personalized and easy you can make the calls. Knowing when they last called and why, what purchases they have made, what they like and what they don't, can keep your agents as informed as possible on your customers or clients. This will simplify and personalize the calls, and keep customers engaged and coming back, because they have had a good customer experience with your agents.