Tips for Improving Customer Service

In today’s world of social media, viral tweets, and Yelp reviews, consistent customer service skills are essential. A company can provide exemplary customer service for years, only to have decades of hard work undone when a single incident of poor customer service goes viral.

The importance of customer service cannot be understated. A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases company profits anywhere from 25 to 95 percent, but retention only happens when you give customers reason to keep coming back. Having satisfied customers isn’t enough. you want the Holy Grail of business: customers so happy they become ambassadors for your product. The six customer service tips listed below help you reach this goal.

Building a Culture of Customer Service

Customer service agents deal with the bulk of customer complaints, and as such, need the most customer service training. Agents are rarely, however, the cause of customer complaints. Who’s to blame when a customer objects to a defective product? The customer service agent or the quality assurance team? Is it the fault of the assembly line worker, or the maintenance crew for not repairing an essential piece of machinery in time?

The point is the need to provide great service goes much further than your customer service team. Everyone who works in your company has an impact on customer experience. The actions of any employee can, directly or indirectly, result in a negative customer service experience. Making customers happy should be the number one goal of all members of your team, from your maintenance staff up to your CEO.

Customer Service Training

Few people enter a company with the customer service skills they need. Skills need to be taught, and for that, you need training. Whether it’s offered in-house or through external contractors, customer service training should be provided to any employee who has contact with your customer base, including customer service agents, vendors, and retailers.

Provide the Right Tools

According to MyCustomer, 32 percent of customer support agents report lacking the knowledge they need to resolve customer issues, while 22 percent have experienced serious problems due to inaccurate or conflicting information. This isn't a lapse in their customer service skills--it’s a failure on the part of the company to provide staff with the information they need.

In addition to information on products, delivery times, warranties, and similar information, customer service staff should have access to solutions to common customer objections and complaints, so they can provide prompt, helpful solutions to such problems.

Tone and Language Matter

The ability to communicate clearly is one of the most important customer service skills and is essential for resolving customer issues. Customer service representatives should avoid confusing slang and overly technical jargon. Local idioms and colloquialisms should also be avoided, as they can easily be misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Use a support lexicon as part of your customer service training. A support lexicon is simply a handbook outlining what to say when dealing with customers, as well as suggestions on the tone of voice and vocabulary.

Learning how to reframe negative issues into positive events is one of the most important customer service tips. Consider the difference between these two responses:

 

• “The product you want is backordered until next month. You'll have to wait until then to order it.”
• “The product will be ready in four weeks. I can place the order for you now and will make sure it’s ordered as soon as it comes available.”

The second example offers solutions. The situation is exactly the same--the product won’t arrive any sooner, but the customer service rep has reframed the problem by offering a solution. The customer is likely to end the call happier, knowing action has been taken to address his concerns.

Customer service communication can be broken down into four steps using the CARP method:

 

• Control the situation. Remain calm and polite while asking questions to understand the problem.
• Acknowledge the issue. Even if the problem is entirely outside of the company’s control, acknowledge the effect of the issue on the customer and apologize for it.
• Refocus the conversation. Focus the conversation on solutions.
• Problem solve. Work with the customer to create a solution that leaves them happy.