USING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TO SERVE THE CUSTOMER

USING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TO SERVE THE CUSTOMER

Introduction

For individual performance and satisfaction with a high level of emotional intelligence in giving exceptional customer relations, customer and emotional intelligence satisfaction. We can create valid satisfaction ratings and words can also involve embracing innovative technology. ?Practicing emotional intelligence, they understand self-motivation and intelligence, and emotional satisfaction, communication can be a systemic flaw and applications. We think before and satisfaction on. An Assessment of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the formation of consumer purchase intentions. Therefore managing customer relationships is playing a dominant role in almost every service-providing organization so banks are not an exception. To better engine the transcript between EI and customer satisfaction, and making purchases from the brand. For example, where they speak their own unique language, and statistical considerations.

?Emotional intelligence is currently divided into trait or ability emotional intelligence, and the two are often treated as mixed emotional intelligence (Mayer et al. 2001). Mixed emotional intelligence is the general way of reckoning EI. Goleman (1996) derived five elements for EI (i.e. self-awareness, self-regulation, social skill, empathy, and motivation). This was later reviewed by Goleman (1997) into four, namely self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and social skill. The measurement of each type of EI has been worked on from different angles of thought and assumptions.?

If the companies are using emotional intelligence in the workplace and groom better services to customers then the performance of the company might enhance and the overall image of the warrior will get stronger. These two banks. Literature over email, higher emotional intelligence, and search above and job satisfaction and sales reps get sales producers, and employees’ worthwhile investment that. If undefined we employ our teams to their able-to-it customer outcomes by raising their awareness of the emotional content within interactions and reinforcing skill in addressing how powerful customer feels. And influence customer loyalty: for creating emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence for customer support. It drives your employees to flip forward, and will guard your business never even further. For customer satisfaction and were subject to customer satisfaction? Because task success took a decay is largely defined by the happiness of its customers. ?Journal of service recovery and jobs involve emotional reasons. Traditionally, making them more involved and engaged with the organization as a whole, researchers exploring emotion psychology have become increasingly interested in cognition and affect. So, to respond and navigate the challenges of selling, two banks were selected. How your customers feel influences what they do. Managing feelings that are instructed to an independent variable service team how does call center solutions that may never over them is customer and emotional intelligence satisfaction among the public.

As customers, we recognize good or bad service as soon as we receive it. As service providers, however, we are frequently in practice in danger of failing to recognize the sensitivities and needs of the customer. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to put ourselves in the customer's shoes and to see things from their perspective.?This is most apparent when things go wrong, but EQ is relevant to every service act in the organization.?We look at why emotional intelligence is so important in a customer environment, what makes it a rare corporate attribute, and how EQ can be developed. Finally, we provide an opportunity to assess your own EQ.

WHY EQ IS SO IMPORTANT

The most "efficient" organizations are not always the most customer friendly. Research by Daniel Goleman, author of Working with Emotional Intelligence, (Bloomsbury, London 1999) indicates that when it comes to lasting relationships it is more often how we are and how we relate to customers rather than specialist technical skills and abilities which count with others.?Supermarket chain ASDA has grown increasingly successful by projecting a cheerful and responsive approach to each customer.?First Direct customer response staff are trained to respond individually to the mood and needs of each customer. Service providers who are emotionally intelligent are those who have a high awareness of themselves and the range and depth of their feelings - sad, happy, depressed. Other people and their feelings and what signal such feelings give off. The impact they have on others. The impact other people have on them. They are able to use this knowledge to manage the way they deal with other people and to change the impact that others have on them or that they are having on the customer.

Every front-line service employee knows that handling multiple customer queries each day puts them under pressure.?It is very easy to take things personally, to become frustrated and stressed. Service providers with high emotional intelligence recognize their emotional temperatures and are able to control their effects. They take steps to proactively manage their stress levels and the way it comes out. When handling customer calls, particularly difficult ones, the ability to empathize with the customer is key.?Service providers with high levels of EQ create rapport with customers by speaking their own language, showing an interest, and relating to what the customer is feeling. In this way, they form better relationships with customers which leads to more effective results and are able to diffuse many difficult situations.

The reality: few organizations have high EQ

If a well-developed ability to empathize with the customer is clearly so important, why is it not universal in in-service organizations??What stops EQ from being present throughout the organization??

?Here are some common reasons for poorly developed EQ:

Many managers are 'people insensitive'

Managers often reach positions of authority through their technical ability and their capacity to look dispassionately at facts and present information logically. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? measures this as a preference for decision-making through Thinking.?Research suggests that more managers are higher on this scale than Feeling, which are those who actively pay attention to others. A study of the relative ineffectiveness of IT managers serving their internal clients observed 'One of the more noticeable aspects is how many of them find it hard to get in touch with their feelings.?Such managers?pay more attention to: facts?rather than?emotions, and logic?rather than sensitivities. This approach affects the ability to listen more to customers and to colleagues and to create and maintain rapport.

Many suffer from overload and stress

In an era of downsizing and re-engineering, employees feel increasingly under pressure as layers of?posts have been removed and they are working long hours.?Fear can lead them to take on a 'siege mentality', afraid to delegate and closed to the views or feelings of others for fear it will be personal criticism, or lead to even more work for the individual involved.

There is a deluge of information

As information availability has increased, so has the inability of managers and organizations to handle the data.?This has led to a situation where warning signs of poor quality or customer dissatisfaction go unheeded.

Interfaces have multiplied

The growth of outsourcing, alliances, and global networks has led to more possibilities for confusion and distortion.?Cultural differences and barriers can harm the ability to understand and be understood.

Managers fear of letting go

Many managers are reluctant to empower and are overly concerned to keep control.?This leads to a lack of trust; which others quickly pick up on.?Management textbooks report the death of the autocrat and controller?- we have seen plenty around the organizations we visit!

Poor role models

In view of what we have said so far, it is not surprising that senior managers often display negative and insensitive behaviors.?In turn, their managers and staff pick up the signals and behave in a similar way, and so the cycle repeats itself.?For years one organization we worked with instilled a 'do as you're told' mentality.?Latterly, it has been seeking new ideas, and its top management is puzzled why so few challenge the status quo.?Old habits are hard to change.?At a course dinner, the company's director harangued the managers for lack of challenge, whilst they all sat quietly, fearful of the consequences of speaking out on their careers.

·??????Shielding of impact

We become shielded from the consequences of our actions.?Employees of large organizations frequently do not feel the personal impact of their decisions.?E-mail and voice mail have heightened this cocooning impact which can lead to an approach of 'it wasn't my fault'.

How to increase your own EQ and that of your team:

There are many approaches that can be used as a line manager to increase your own EQ and that of others in your team.

We find a selection of methods: find ways during recruitment to check out the level of candidates' EQ. For example, ask how they handled difficult customer problems.?Watch for responses that indicate empathy and concern for the customer. Mystery shop your service: Ask your team to experience the service they provide from a customer’s perspective and to identify the feelings this experience generated. Mystery shop your competitors and encourage your team to do the same, noting how the needs of customers were met. Encourage your team to bring in examples of best practices in customer service and those which display EQ. Feedback comments from customers.?Use customer research to identify how each service provider is performing. Monitor performance and provide ongoing coaching.?Focus on 'how' the service provider relates to the customer as well as their knowledge or skills. Provide training on the skills needed in handling difficult customer situations. Put particular emphasis on showing genuine empathy to the customer when things go wrong. Studies show that complaining customers will not listen until you show that you truly understand their situation. Engender a 'can-do' attitude in your team by empowering them to make decisions to help the customer. Coach team in the use of rapport-building techniques such as recognizing customer moods and adapting service style to match, use of mirroring verbal and non-verbal cues (where appropriate), and showing a genuine interest in the customer. Talk with your team about how to deal with difficult customer issues. Pass on this information to other parts of the organization so that steps can be taken to avoid these problems. Give feedback to your team on how they are performing - motivational feedback will develop their level of confidence and formative feedback will help them to improve.?Be prepared to listen to feedback on your own performance. Talk about what causes your team stress as part of your regular team meetings. Take steps to overcome the causes of stress. Provide training to your team in stress management. Make time to find out the expectations of other groups and colleagues.?Encourage an internal customer approach to handling their expectations. Act as a role model for your team. Take time with them and give time to customers. Acknowledge what individuals in your team are feeling and offer them help and support.

?At the heart of developing employee and customer-centered skills is the willingness to take time to regularly make contact with stakeholders, inside and outside the organization.?Successful organizations who display high EQ put emphasis on these areas: Communicating business priorities and changes - and listening to how people feel about them, Taking time to build trusting relationships through the whole value chain: Ensuring you keep your promise - explaining your priorities and respond to others, not just your own agenda, Interchange people and circulate knowledge across teams, Clarify expectations and discuss successes and shortfalls openly, Leaders set an example by being open to feedback and putting communication and listening high on their priority list, Build systems which encourage EQ, for example communicating and rewarding good examples of relating to the customer, and Develop EQ skills through regular reviews, coaching, and training.

Nearly every company watches rational market drivers such as price and product innovation. But today’s customers aren’t deciding how to shop based on these traditional, rational forces alone—they’re also highly influenced by their emotional experiences with a brand. Tuning into customers’ emotional needs is a prerequisite for achieving Customer Engagement.?Customer Engagement?is important because engaged customers are the ones that stick around for years. They bring in new business with their ebullient recommendations. Ultimately, Customer Engagement boosts your organization’s profit margin, share price, and ROI. But customers’ emotions aren’t one-size-fits-all. In order to figure out what each customer wants, front-line employees and managers must have tools that help them maximize their own emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and appropriately respond to one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. In business, it is becoming more widely accepted that this intelligence has a great influence on HR. However, few customer satisfaction programs train service reps and front-line managers how to read and appropriately respond to customer emotions.?Empowering employees?in this way is what separates the customer service wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

Daniel Goleman, the author who had the most influence in popularizing the concept of Emotional Intelligence, has addressed its relevance to business in his book,?Working with Emotional Intelligence. He writes: “How customers feel when they interact with an employee determines how they feel about the company itself. In a psychological sense, the ‘company’ as experienced by the customer is these interactions. Loyalty is lost or strengthened in every interaction between a company and its customers.”

?Goleman also examines the skills needed to earn loyalty (which is included in our?Customer Engagement model). The most successful service reps, he writes, are emotionally intelligent enough to assess a customer’s emotions. They empathize and stay emotionally present so as to fine-tune their understanding of the customer’s emotional needs as the interaction continues. Finally, they are able to assertively (not aggressively) make suggestions according to what the customer wants. Instead of telling the customer how she should feel or what she should buy—which often leads to customer resentment—the emotionally intelligent customer service representative finds the best product or service for her needs, and the company sees increased Customer Engagement and sales. Such a service is definitely beneficial in the long run. For instance, a?L’Oréal study?found sales agents selected for their emotional intelligence each sold $91,370 more annually than salespeople selected through the traditional hiring process. What’s more, emotionally intelligent salespeople had a 63% lower turnover rate during the first year of employment.

CONCLUSION

To harness the power of emotional intelligence, hire with emotional intelligence in mind and provide tools for current employees to hone their emotional competency. Doing so will foster authentic, engaging customer interactions that will bring business for years to come. ?It is?found that “social skills” makes the highest influence on service delivery and customer satisfaction, but the predictive influence of “self-awareness” on both service delivery and customer satisfaction is insignificant. It is recommended that the management of banks use training and human resource development programs to equip employees with the competencies of the four elements of emotional intelligence, giving particular attention to “social skills” in this regard. Service delivery is a primary means of realizing expected financial performance and growth in many sectors of business. It offers an opportunity for service organizations to persuade customers and potential customers of their patronage. In the service sector, service delivery forms the framework of practices for attaining desired customer patronage, satisfaction, and retention. Similarly, fortifying the relationship between service delivery and customer demand, satisfaction and retention in the service sector is the guiding strategy for maximum organizational performance.

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