6 tips to improve your team’s customer service skills

I encountered an article earlier that talks about “6 tips to improve your team’s customer service skills” and here are some of it:

What is the most important thing you can do to improve relationships with your customers? The answer is as obvious as it is overlooked:?improve customer service. No matter how great your product is or how talented your staff is, one of the things that customers are most likely to remember is the direct interaction they have with your company.

A strong company will already have great customer relationships. But a smart company will always be asking “What is good customer service?” Good customer service centers around carefully listening and attending to your customers’ needs and desires. If you are not constantly on the lookout for opportunities to improve your customer service, then your relationships will stagnate.

Why customer service is so important

Customer service is an important factor in a business's success or decline, and each consumer interaction will be a positive or negative experience. A positive customer service experience will likely encourage repeat business and strengthen customer loyalty.

How to improve customer service

1. Strengthen your customer service skills

First, it’s important to make sure that your customer service team has the right skills for your managing customers’ needs. No amount of CRM software can compensate for shortcomings in this area. But what skills should you be looking for in a customer service rep?

·??????Empathy, patience, and consistency

·??????Adaptability?

·??????Clear communication

·??????Work ethic

·??????Knowledge?

·??????Thick skin

2. Look at every touchpoint

A bad customer experience at any point in the customer lifecycle can ruin your relationship. In addition to making sure the right skills are demonstrated, you need to be sure they’re being demonstrated consistently. Pay the most attention to?key touchpoints, but make sure you have a full view of the customer experience, or you risk lapses in service that can really hurt business.

3. Improve your customer interactions

If your staff has the necessary skill set, that’s a good start. But they still need to relate to your customers. Here are some tips for making sure?customer service?is both thorough and well received:

·??????Identify common ground

·??????Practice active listening

·??????Admit your mistakes

·??????Follow-up after resolution

4. Enhance your customer service strategy

Your staff may have the skills and know-how to interact with your customers. But what organisational strategies can you employ to please customers? Practice proactive customer service by making your customers happy before they come to you with problems. Here’s how:

·??????Get personal

·??????Be available

·??????Cater to your customers

·??????Create communities?

5. Make sure your reps are engaged

You can have the best customer service skills and the best training in the world, but if your reps are checked out, it won’t matter at all.?Improving employee engagement?is another way to make sure customers have a great experience. Dissatisfied employees are unlikely to come forward with their problems, so consider an anonymous suggestion box or an employee engagement survey to see what makes your employees tick.

6. Give your customers a way to provide feedback

No matter how proactive you are, you’ll never be able to get in front of every customer issue. To make sure you learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly experience your customers have, create an easily accessible way for customers to give feedback.

Want to know more? Head on over to the full article here for more ideas and perspective. Afterwards, why not drop me an email to share your thoughts at [email protected]; or call me on 0467 749 378.

Thanks,

Robert