A company’s success doesn’t just come from the ingenuity and well-crafted marketing of its product. It is also crucial for a company to deliver memorable and improved customer service. Customer service is the key to not just strengthening customer relationships but also ensuring that your target market is taken care of. It must also be noted that the customer service team represents the company. Every interaction is what your customers will be remembering and discussing with their family, friends, and colleagues when asked for a recommendation. So how can you improve on your customer service team’s current skills and approaches? Here are some Training methods to consider to assure that department and your business a promising future.

Create a Strong Community

Customer service jobs are tedious and monotonous. Most days require longer hours than usual and there is the burden of dealing with irate customers. To keep your customer service team motivated, foster a tribe-like connection among them. This means involving them in the decision-making process of their department, such as weekly meetings where they can suggest ways to improve processes such as task delegation or how to approach customers. It can also be a time for everyone to voice out any concerns or for new trainees to raise any concerns as they’re learning the process. This kind of interaction creates a sense of camaraderie and support among team members, making the work easier to tackle rather than maintaining the monotony of the work itself.

As another exciting addition, customer service team leaders can turn their respective goals into a game. Including a reward also motivates the department’s members to do things faster and more efficiently.

Focus on the Customer’s Wants

Training a customer service team always begins and ends with what your customer wants. The specifics will depend on the products and services your company delivers, but your customer service team needs to keep in mind the 5Cs: comfort, consistency, clarity, care, and can. Let’s start with comfort. Customer service representatives must always be friendly when talking to customers. As they discuss matters with the customer, it’s important to answer all their questions and make sure every issue raised has been addressed. Every matter brought up by the customer should be finalized, whether discussed on the phone, via e-mail, or social media.

The second c is consistency. All customers must be treated in the same manner. When customers already know what to expect in a call, they become more comfortable and are grateful to receive the same type of treatment. Consistency should also reflect in small matters like maintaining certain call center hours and pulling up the necessary information. All customer service representatives should also be familiar with the company’s policies so all customers are familiar with the same information.

The next C stands for clarity. It is important for all customer service representatives to be clear when answering a customer’s questions. Any unclear statements will frustrate the customer and lead to miscommunications that could cost the company future business. It’s important for your training programs to focus on how representatives can say things exactly as they mean and be able to repeat issues accordingly to the customers.

The last two C’s are care and can. Care is crucial as this shows your customer that the time spent on making the call or e-mail is important to the company as well. Showing care in the customer service response also addresses the frustration or confusion a customer already has upon discussing the concern at hand. Similarly, it is important for customer service representatives to remember what they can do for the customer. Never start a conversation with “can’t” or “no” and instead show the customer how the service is there to solve their problems. Training should focus on this kind of attitude and the representative’s ability to find the necessary solution.

Example Driven Training

Your customer service team can’t grasp these traits unless they’re trained by example. You need to show them how these “C’s” will be done rather than just explaining them. Start with something as basic as videos, wherein the representatives can see actual individuals handling simulated situations. You could also engage them in interactive simulations where they have to speak with clarity and address specific issues in common situations. Alternatively, you could engage them in a role-playing session where two representatives can act out a situation they have problems addressing. Training exercises are another way for representatives to learn through the decisions and actions they make.

Train as Often as You Can

Training can be costly and difficult to schedule, given the 24/7 response required from customer service. Most companies opt for big training sessions every year or focus solely on the new hires. To save on costs and time, schedule weekly meetings that will act as small training sessions. Inject short exercises into the meeting that all representatives can complete. These meetings not only refresh them about important practices but can also be a space for them to voice out specific concerns.

Make the Customer a Part of the Process

Don’t forget whom your customer service team is addressing. It’s important to conduct interviews among customers or release a survey to them so you can get updated on how their reception of your service. You could also delegate the servicing of specific customers to a certain team in the department. If your company has products or plans that promise quicker service, then you can assign and train a specific team to be in charge of their customer service. Your customer representatives can treat these customers like VIP individuals, assuring a lasting impression for those who availed of that certain plan or product.

If your company does not have the money or time to train or even hire a customer service team, consider the benefits of outsourcing. All of Infinit-O’s customer service representatives are trained in both inbound and outbound services, as well as social media services. All media are covered without compromising the quality of service required to improve your business.

Sources:

• https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/2016/11/train-customer-service-team.html
• https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/6-keys-improving-teams-customer-service-skills/
• https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/community/blogs/jcaox/3-ways-to-train-your-customer-service-team

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