Customer service skills
Great customer service is the competitive advantage of the business. Once you get it, it seems to have the ability to reveal all the secrets of success. However, providing flawless customer service is not always easy.
Although the search for great customer service skills and capabilities is a recent endeavor, many CEOs argue that it is far from being achieved. No matter how many customer service skills’ assessment surveys you send, much of the customer’s psyche will remain a mystery.
Fortunately, researchers have been collecting data on customer service satisfaction for years, the search for good customer service comes with a more detailed road map, and everything starts with the people you hire. Here are the most important customer service skills your representatives need, according to data and reports.
The most important customer service skills needed in support representatives
Convincing speaking skills for customer service
Think of the most convincing speaker in your organization. Is he or she is a salesperson? The odds are the answer. Persuasion has long been recognized as an important sales skill, but it can also be invaluable for customer service.
Every day, your representatives turn problems into solutions and customers too loyal to the brand. Do you think they don’t need persuasion to get the job done?, 74% of consumers say they spent more with a company because of positive service experiences, up to 14% more. It’s effective. So make sure your representatives can speak with confidence, stay positive, and make some kind of convincing argument that leads to transfers.
Empathy for customers
A list of good customer service skills is not complete without empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others and understand their point of view. How is empathy an important service skill? Keep in mind that 70% of purchasing experiences are based on the way the customer feels treated.
It’s not about whether the problem has been resolved, whether there’s a refund, or how much time has been spent — at least, it’s not entirely about these problems. Business people are used to thinking about the end result, but the end result in most customers’ minds is not financial; it’s emotional. Emotions are more important than facts, clear and simple.
Adaptability
When you work directly with the public, your days won’t be exactly the same. People aren’t the same. Did you know that 60% of customers change the way they communicate with you depending on where they are and what they do? This means you’ll have inquiries over the phone, email, social media, maybe even personally – sometimes all of them from the same customers.
Fortunately, a good customer management system is equipped to deal with this challenge by integrating ticket sources and making customer information available regardless of the channel you use. Customer service representatives need the same mental flexibility to respond to a variety of situations in the way your customers currently prefer.
The ability to use positive language
If your customer contacts you, it’s probably because he has a problem. But despite the client’s anger, frustration or defeat, delegates need to remain positive. It’s okay to sympathize with the customer – in fact, it’s an essential element of great customer service – but make it as optimistic as possible. Direct the conversation towards a positive result using positive language. Focus on the solution. We thank customers for their patience, understanding and loyalty.
Highlights of communication skills
This may seem obvious, but you’ll be surprised by the number of customers struggling to connect with their customer service representative. In fact, 33% of customers say that answering questions efficiently is the most important skill a customer service agent can possess.
Ambiguity, loss of focus, or the use of unclear language can be a source of many dissatisfied customer experiences. Agents can be the most sympathetic, professional and positive people at work, but they should also be able to communicate well with customers. Hire a well-connected customer service and commit to training everyone in the customer service team.
Restraint
It could be an angry customer in a minute, someone who’s totally confused the next, or a perfectly patient customer who turns around and criticizes your Facebook company. In a world where a single negative social media post about your company has a big impact on buyer decisions, such as the impact of five positive posts, this is a very big problem.
As cumbersome and worrying as customer service can be, your representatives need restraint – even when your customers aren’t. They must remain calm even when attacked, positive when faced with pessimism, and professional when the customer becomes personal. There are very few consequences for the customer when it explodes in the customer service representative. However, the consequences of lack of restraint when dealing with the customer are often irreconformable.
Taking responsibility
Just because you solve the customer problem does not mean that it will continue to work, but how to solve a problem is just as important as providing a solution. The key is to take responsibility for customer care. Customer service representatives are in the front lines of satisfaction, but how many delegates are already at the cause of the problem? Very little.
However, they can take responsibility for how the solution occurs, and 29% of customers say that being able to handle requests without transfers or escalation is one of the most important skills for the actor. This is a big deal, with 70% of customers who have left companies saying they would have stayed if their problem had been solved in one interaction rather than multiple interactions.
The ability to admit you don’t have the answer
Customers are armed with knowledge and generally try to solve their own problems before contacting your representatives. In fact, according to the Customer Service Status Report, we learned that 39% of millennials check the company’s FAQ page first. If this doesn’t solve the problem, they eventually call the company, email them, call them on social media, or ask for help through another channel.
Although it can be embarrassing when a customer knows more than your customer service representative, if that delegate is confused while trying to hide the lack of knowledge, you may lose your job. Instead, encourage your representatives to confess when they don’t know something or when they’re wrong, and offer to find the answer.
It’s hard to find a member of the customer service team with all these skills, but you don’t have to feel tired. Your employees are not trained overnight, so take it day after day. Each skill is based on and complemented by others, focus on customer service skills that can be improved more and go to every additional skill from there. By chance, you’ll notice a marked improvement sooner than you think.
Of course, this list of customer service skills may not be ideal for each company or entire customer service team. A strong customer service department has been established with strong leadership and empowered staff. Start here, then build your team with a focus on listed customer service skills, and customer satisfaction results will interact accordingly.
