We see it everywhere, great company, good looking business and fantastic products but poor customer service. Customer service can make or break both a career and a business. So many people go into this field with sorely underdeveloped customer service skills. They have the potential to be everything that the company needs but for this one vital area. Not having the customer service skills you need can hinder your entire future. Many people who think they have strong customer service skills don't.
How you treat the client will depend on whether or not they return, as well as what they tell others about the business. Let's explore more to find out where you are on the superior customer service skills scale.
WHAT ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS?
If you think you have great customer service skills but you feel you need improvement that is good. The only thing worse than someone who don't have the adequate customer service skills is one who thinks they have no room for improvement. The fact is that no matter how good you are with the customer there is always room for improvement. Remaining teachable is a gift that some simply do not possess, and they shortchange themselves in the long run.
Customer service is a major marketing tool. It is implemented in every dealing with the client from phone to internet and even face to face. Some companies have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours on marketing their business never realizing it all starts at the base of the business, with the employees in the customer service departments. One bad experience can undo all of the hard work building the reputation of a company.
"ALWAYS TREAT THE CUSTOMER BETTER THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT TO BE TREATED".
Customer service can range over many different areas, so be ready to meet the demands of every customer and their unique needs. You can start by improving your interpersonal skills. Think about your communications skills as a whole, and brush up on them.
If you have to provide a service or a product then think about the many ways you can make their experience a good one. Hone your listening skills, nonverbal and verbal communications skills and even your writing skills. All of these areas improve your customer service skills. You have to become an expert at listening and communicating.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS CHECK LIST
* "A WINNING ATTITUDE"
* "CONFLICT RESOLUTION"
* "COMMUNICATION SKILLS"
* "CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT "
* "RESOURCEFULNESS"
* "THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE"
* "CUSTOMER LOYALTY"
Even if you are answering phones be sure that you smile when you do it. They say that a smile can be beard through the phone, and it seems to be a good concept.
When you are face to face with a client then smiling relaxes them and makes them feel welcome. That is huge. This is not based a generic smile, but offer a real smile. They are often infectious. Do not think that the customer cannot tell the deference between a generic smile and a sincere one. Having superior customer service skills means being able to lay aside any personal issues and out you all into client satisfaction, no excuses.
Listen to what the customer is saying to you. How else can you deliver quality service? You have to be aware of what their needs are in order to meet them, and in some instances the customer may need your help to identify their needs. This means you have to have problem solving skills in order to claim customer service skills.
Anyone with superior customer service skills will tell you that you have to know your business. Knowing about the business and the product is really necessary. As a matter of fact it is nonnegotiable. If you find yourself facing a question that you are unsure of the answer then ask. You cannot lie, exaggerate, guesstimate or wing it with your answer to the customer.
Customer service skills means knowing your stuff, being kind and helpful while standing true to your word. If you make a promise then deliver on it. Never give a promise without being 100% positive you are able to meet it. You want customers to remember you for a job well done.
Always be polite.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS TRAINING.
Anyone can go through an online customer service skills course or in person. However, without the basic knowledge being integrated into your daily routine then it is pointless.
It goes without being said that being kind and professional is a must when it comes to having even the basic customer service skills. You must also possess listening skills, problem solving skills and interpersonal relationship skills just to name some.
Wikipedia defines customer service as "is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase." It is not one action but a series of them all incorporated as a guide to the ultimate customer experience. One encounter with poor customer service can completely change the perception that customer has of the company as a whole.
Many people feel that customer service skills are on the downhill spiral and fast. Finding where this problem is surfacing and remedying it is essential, and many feel it is located in either lack of training or customer policy.
A lot of companies have decided to make it possible for clients to offer instant feedback on the services that they receive, and this is in order to ramp up customer service.
FOCUS IS KEY WHEN DEALING WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS
Customer service is without a doubt challenging. You have to know the key areas to focus in order to hit your key performance.
Again you will need to know the product and or services that you are offering. You want to strive to be an expert at giving customer information. Communication and body language is huge too. You cannot send a positive message with negative body language. You cannot just to conclusions and you should be an active listener, but you will need to know how to appropriately anticipate the needs of the customer and then clarify them so and not to encounter misunderstandings and establish trust. They need to know that you want to help them.
As a customer service representative going the extra mile to help a client shows loyalty. This can really make all of the difference in the world. A creative customer service representative will always look for that little extra touch to make the client happy, meet their needs, or solve their problems. This builds loyalty and happy customers not to mention great word of mouth marketing for the company.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS 101
Employees with exceptional customer skills is the main blueprint to your company, the support process and its future survival. However, it doesn't simply boil down to the employees that you choose. It can also be linked to your expectations and the training that you provide. You have to have high but realistic expectations, offer leadership by example and invest in training programs that set the employees and ultimately your company up for success.
"THINGS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS DEPARTMENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: "
* PERSONALITY
* COMMUNICATION
* CREATIVITY
* SELF-MOTIVATION
* GOOD FIT FOR TEAM
* EXPERIENCE OR TRAINING
An individual's personality has to be great. Negativity breeds negativity, and there is no room for that in customer service. The persona must have control over their emotions, and be able to genuinely smile even if they feel horrible.
The candidate needs to know how to communicate both verbally as well as nonverbally. They need to be confident and assertive, possessing excellent interpersonal communications skills.
A creative outlook is often a huge ne==benefit to anyone with good customer service skills. Finding fresh and creative ideas is a breath of fresh air. There should not be a stale regimen in place to deal with clients, but allow creativity. It will make your employees happy, and customers like it too.
Plus a creative customer service representative will go above and beyond to satisfy a customer and make up for a mistake or solve a problem. This can save the day and secure the customer, plus your business gets remembered for its creativity.
Self-motivation is a huge customer service skill. Reps have to really be go getters, and they have to be driven. If someone in customer service cannot work on their own they need more training, more confidence and ultimately have no business in the field until those skills are developed.
When it comes to the hiring process or making sure you are a good fit for a comp0any culture must be considered. You want to be able to interact or hire an employee who can interact with the f=rest of the team.
Soft skills or interpersonal communication skills are mandatory. Either a person has them or they don't. This is the way that people communicate on the more basic of levels both verbally and nonverbally. It is the way that they understand and portray the messages they hear or send.
Hard skills are far easier learned. These are typing, telephone, email, online communications and the like. Hard skills can be taught whereas soft skills are integrated onto an individual and honing them takes time and effort.
Sensitivity is an area that needs attention. Social sensitivity or empathy is critical in the customer service skills area because anyone in the field needs to be able to interpret a customer's feelings and meet their needs. This plays into many areas including communication and solving problems.
Protocol may take a time to learn, but if you or your candidate has what it takes to meet the needs of the client then it is worth the time to train them to meet protocol. The ability to interact with and understand the needs of the client is far more essential. It is one of the most critical traits in a customer service rep that you can find. While a representative cannot control the client reaction they can influence it.
Remember being an active listener means more than hearing what the customer is saying. You want to listen, but acknowledge that you are hearing the customer. Offer the customer proactive services, and make sure there is a clear understanding established to the customer about the process. True sincere service and customer interactions will carry you a long way.
Remaining in control is essential in a customer service setting. Look, you cannot "fake it until you make it" and though you may indeed be new clients do not want to hear that as the answer to why you do not know. What you have to do is seek out a solution. If you are clueless and for legitimate reasons, tell the customer, "Awesome question, let me get you that answer."
The entire team can benefit from customer service skills training and brush ups, but there has to be some fundamental parts already integrated in the representative to truly be successful.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS AND COMPLAINTS
No matter how awesome your service is and how many times you have honed those customer service skills to near perfection there will always be an unhappy customer. People complain. It cannot be avoided, and your customer service skills will determine the outcome in 99.99% of those cases.
This is where good listening and problem solving skills meet empathy and emotional control. If the rep remains confident that they can fix the issue it will calm the client, and ultimately lead to a resolution. Be proactive and listen actively while keeping a positive and calm demeanor.
So yes, the customer is always right. A good customer service representative will always be in control, and a customer should never hear the words "I don't know." Now, customer service skills are at peak when negotiation skills, listening skills, interpersonal communication skills and the like are fine-tuned and there is a genuine desire to help other in pace. At the end of the day it is about what you have inside more than what you will learn through training.
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