Customer Advocacy Language in Customer Care: 9 best practices with Examples
As a customer, we all have faced the frustration of being put on hold listening to the same old tunes.
In urgent situations, we are willing to go through it. But for simpler queries, self-service and chatbots are much more convenient.
When we reach out to a human representative, we expect them to understand our problem, empathize with us, and help us find a solution.
To communicate that care over the phone or live chat, the language used makes all the difference. This is where the concept of?Customer Advocacy Language?comes into play.
What is Customer Advocacy Language?
Customer Advocacy Language is a set of communication strategies, soft skills, choice of language, tone and phrases that your customer-facing teams should incorporate to demonstrate a commitment to customer satisfaction.
Advocacy is defined as any act that endorses, supports, defends, speaks in favor of, or pleads on behalf of others. The focus of Customer Advocacy Language is on building a positive relationship with the customer and creating a sense of trust and reliability.
Why is Customer Advocacy Language important?
Over the phone, the lack of body language and visual cues makes tone and language vital for effective and clear communication.
Your customer service representatives are (literally) the voice of your company. Every word said is one that your customers will associate with your brand.
It’s essential to convey empathy and support the customers’ needs in every conversation. Words have the power to shape thought. Even a single misused word that doesn’t align with the customer’s mindset can give the impression of insensitivity.
Customer Advocacy Language in Customer Care: 9 best practices with examples
1.?Use the power of personalization
“A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
– Dale Carnegie.
Personalization through name mention
Addressing the customer by name establishes a bond in which you identify them as a named human being and more than just another ticket. When interacting with a new customer, politely ask for their name and use it throughout the conversation. For returning customers, consult your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to find their contact details. This will leave your customer feeling like their needs have been cared for by someone who truly understands them.?
However, make sure the name-mentioning doesn’t sound forced, scripted, or overdone. A good rule of thumb is to mention their name at the beginning and end of the conversation.??
The trick here is to strike the right balance between professional and personable. Avoid using overly friendly or informal language, as it can undermine your credibility and authority.
Personalization with a CRM tool
Use a CRM tool to take personalization to the next level. This software lets you organize relevant customer contact details, previous interaction with the service, frequent concerns, purchasing history and more ? displayed in a timeline layout. That way you can anticipate their query and needs based on previous interactions.
Personalized incentives
Instead of offering one-size-fits-all incentives, use the information you already have on your customer to reward them with personalized perks. VIP programs, loyalty points, personalized discounts, freebies, surprise gifts, exclusive events, and early access, are all examples of different incentive types.
2.?Use positive language
Working in support involves dealing with customers who are experiencing problems with your product or service, and you might experience some emotionally-charged scenarios. Your job is to provide effective solutions to customers’ problems while maintaining a positive and professional attitude.
This means using words and phrases that communicate positive connotations.
?Positive language examples:
Avoid negative action words such as?‘won’t’?and?‘can’t’?that sound dismissive. Instead, focus on what you?can?do.
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Instead of?“That item is not available”?try replacing it with?“That item is currently out of stock, but I’ll be able to pre-order it for you. Would you like me to go ahead with that?”
Or instead of, “This is the hard part,” say, “This is the interesting part.”
Try replacing?‘You’ statements?with?‘I’ statements and probing questions?instead. That way,?you show initiative, care, and responsibility while working?together?on finding a solution.
Instead of “You should call another department,”?you can say,?“I can transfer you to the right department.”
Or?“You haven’t fully charged the battery”?can be replaced with a probing question:?“Have you tried fully charging the battery?”
3.?Avoid passive voice
There is no faster way to lose customers’ trust in your business than to use the passive voice to distance yourself from accountability. This is particularly true when responding to customer complaints, as it may appear that you are not acknowledging responsibility.
True, customer service agents may feel tempted to use the passive voice in hopes of avoiding becoming the target of a customer’s wrath. But, wrong word choice can only aggravate an already irritated customer.
Instead of?“There is a payment issue…”?use?“I have found the source of the issue, the payment…”
Keep in mind that using the active voice communicates a more personal and casual tone. Passive voice appears deceptive, lacks clarity and directness, and can lead to misunderstandings by failing to clarify who did what.
4.?Remove the “Us versus Them” dynamics
“Sorry, that is our policy”?is possibly the most annoying customer service phrase.
Customers are already under the idea that they are interacting with a faceless business representative who is biased in favor of the company. By using inclusive language when dealing with customers, you eliminate the?Us vs. Them?dynamic.
Instead of saying,?“Sorry, that is our policy,”?consider going the extra mile. Instead, say “We are able to do [ABC] or [XYZ], does either of that sound good to you?”
This way, you are downplaying the negative and offering an option to choose from, which helps your customer feel in control of their choices.
5.?Avoid politely masked passive-aggressive phrases
It’s best to steer clear of phrases that appear polite but are actually passive-aggressive.?
Instead of saying, “As you are no doubt aware, our return policy is…,”???simply state the policy. The same goes for?“just so you know…”?and?“for future reference…”
Replace?“Correct me if I’m wrong…”?and?“Let me know if I misunderstood…”?with?“What I’m seeing here is [XYZ], correct?”
Practice being clear about what you want to say, without hiding behind overly polite or passive language.
This is an excerpt from the original blog post. Interested in the other four practices? Head over?here.
Can you remember the last time you re-engaged with your customers and tried to win them back? These strategies will do exactly that and more.
At FrontLogix, we know that customers’ interactions with our agents play a critical role in shaping their overall opinion of your business.
Therefore, we have implemented a rigorous 6-stage recruitment process to vet our customer rep candidates thoroughly. We evaluate their verbal and written communication skills and look for individuals with a “service-oriented” attitude.
Apart from training on each client’s product or service, our bilingual agents undergo Customer Advocacy Language training to improve their etiquette and ensure they can resolve customer inquiries in a single call.