Customer Service: What Is It and How to Improve It?

Nowadays, consumers gauge a company based on the kind of “experience” it delivers to them, in addition to its products or services. This customer experience is the direct responsibility of a department or team, known as customer service. Customer service provides assistance to leads, prospects, and buyers, whether they’re merely browsing the listings or contacting because they’ve encountered a problem.

Every business organization needs to work on its customer service unit if it wishes to see a substantial boost in customer satisfaction, retention, and even acquisition.

Almost all giant corporations and mega-companies invest heavily in customer service. Check this site for a superior cable customer service, as an example. The point is that customer service is the face of a company and brands should strive to improve it. How can you improve the customer service of your firm? Here are a few tips in this regard:

Create a Valuable Customer Service Culture

Companies have a certain set of goals and values that are unique to them and their cause. These goals and values should be communicated effectively to the customer service agents, so they can perform to the best of their abilities. As a manager or supervisor, set a culture of progress and transparency in your customer service department. Instead of airing toxic competitiveness, prioritize healthy incentives and give the credit where it is due. Ensure that the customer service representatives are on one page about the targets and empowered enough to accomplish them. Remember, only happy customer service agents can make happy customers.

Streamline the Workflow with Tools & Software

Transforming customer service workflow with state-of-the-art tools and automation software can significantly improve the team’s performance and generate better results.

How can you go about it? Start by bringing a cloud-based helpdesk into the fold to unify your customer service channels and manage them efficiently. Integrate chatbots into your live chat platform to assist customers 24/7. Use AI data analytics to assess your customer interactions, figure out the loopholes and contemplate strategies to tie up loose ends. Customer service technology can streamline the support operations and allow the agents to be more productive, focused, and on-point.

Equip the Agents with a Centralized Knowledge Database

Information is the true currency in the field of customer service. Every caller, texter, social media commenter, and emailer who reaches out to your customer service is looking for some sort of information. It may be an answer to a question, a solution to a problem, or a request for an upgrade. Whatever it may be, your company’s customer service representatives should be well-equipped to respond to any inquisitive, agitated, or interested customers and satiate their curiosity.

To that end, you should develop a centralized knowledge database that is accessible to all the customer-facing agents and lists every bit of information about the company’s products, services, policies or pricing, etc. This maneuver will make your reps more knowledgeable and they’ll be able to closer tickets faster without compromising on the quality of the support.

Adopt the Best Customer Service Skills

Even a knife needs sharpening from time to time. So, train your customer service representatives regularly to improve the quality of every customer interaction. Make a general survey of the industry’s best practices and take on those skills to stay ahead in the game. Here are the most crucial customer service skills you should inculcate in your team of agents:

• Listening – Customers love being heard. To show them that your organization cares about their concerns and interests, train your representatives to listen to the customers who contact them. Listening “actively” with tactful rephrasing and silent reflecting soothes the customers and throws the ball in your court. It is one of the most essential skills that every customer service agent should master.

• Speaking – Positivity goes a long way with customers. Coach your reps to open every customer interaction with a warm and welcoming greeting. Address the customer with their name, instead of a scripted opener, and maintain a pleasant and professional attitude throughout the call. Keep the tone of the conversation light and elevated to drive your point home.

• Maintaining Clarity – It is easy to fall into the trap of complex jargon and convolute the interaction to the point where it becomes an impossible puzzle for the customer. Teach your customer service representatives to make clarity and conciseness the crown jewels of their communication. They should use simple and straightforward language, so that every type of customer can understand it, regardless of age, occupation, or region.

• Adaptability – Not every customer your agents tackle will be the same. There may be customers who are exceptionally chatty or those who are irritated to the extent of berating you and your company on call, chat, or social media. This is where the skill of adaptability comes into play. Adaptability means sensing the customer’s mood and changing the treatment to best satisfy them. So, ask your reps to work on their skill of adaptability to handle every situation with grace. Also, instruct them to be thick-skinned in the face of backlash and accept errors responsibly.

• Empathy – Empathy is the ability to perceive and share the emotions and feelings of other people, and as such, it is the fulcrum of customer experience. If your customer service agents are empathetic towards the circumstances of your customers and go out of their way to hasten the solution, then it will produce a deep fulfillment and make your customers loyal for life. Thus, encourage your customer service reps to be empathetic throughout the interaction.

The Bottom Line

Customer service is an essential unit of a company, which provides aid, assistance, and advice to consumers who purchase or show a willingness to buy the company’s products or services. This team deals with the “experience” a customer has with a company. The experience can be good or bad, depending on how the customer service representatives interact with people and situations. If your customer service has been lacking somewhere, then use the aforementioned pointers to bring it up to speed and improve the performance of the agents. You’ll see unbelievable growth, thereby.