The customer service industry has a unique history which has led to today’s state of affairs, where “customer service†has connotations with negative vibes, dicey conversations, and dissatisfactory results. However, it’s a provable fact that your company’s customer service reputation has an enormous impact on the way your company is viewed, the likelihood that customers will buy, and even the amount of money that customers are willing to spend. All of this hinges on the performance level of the customer service team.
How does a company up its game in the field of customer service? Remember what the people want, never dehumanize a ticket, and personalize your personnel.
Encourage your representatives to invest in the customer’s interests, abilities, or life details. Sometimes the real sort of service that the customer wants is being heard, understood, and believed. Representatives should have a goal of attaining one detail for each customer interaction, to ensure that they continue to listen and connect. Even if you wind up providing the same answer that you would have without the extra details, customers who feel they have been seen as more than a number or ticket entry will have a much more positive image of your company in the future.
Kick off the day with a group meeting, so that all teams are on the same page and company-wide information can be shared between members. During such a meeting, try not to focus on semantics or company policies, but rather encourage team members to connect with each other, on customer service strategies, on daily goals, on birthdays coming up in the office. A positive atmosphere on the inside directly translates to a positive atmosphere on the outside, and it’s important to acknowledge the human need for social connectivity to perform on any level.
Increase the usage of non-script responses and real-time responses, to give each customer the rich, involved experience that they desire when approaching a customer service representative. Scripted messages, while sometimes necessary, should at the very least be worded in such a manner that cuts down on a mechanical feel and gives representatives a dynamic entry that can be used inside of their own words, not in place of them.
Lastly, it’s advantageous to treat your team. While this can occasionally mean inviting everyone to an ice-cream social, the more effective and lucrative method to treat your team is to provide them with the customer service tools necessary to deliver on each and every service contact. Give your agents a visual workflow so they can find the rhythm of the company and work within it. Features like PhaseWare’s Task Manager will smooth out agents’ days so that each one can be at his or her best, and customer satisfaction rates will improve in return.