You already know how much excellent customer service means to your business. Your company may even be one of the 89% planning to increase investment in their customer experience (CX) technology. Customer service, just like the products and/or services you offer, is now one of the areas that businesses compete in.
New and emerging technology is also playing an increasing role in customer service. With 76% of customer service execs planning to invest in AI-powered systems for customer service or call center work, it has to be part of any plan. In addition to technology, what customer service techniques should you be looking at to take your service to the next level?
Why is customer service important?
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It doesn’t matter what type of business you operate, your customer service (CS) team is the direct link between you and your customer base. The entire buyer journey could theoretically take place with no human interaction; brand awareness, consideration, and decision, could all happen with no involvement from your human agents.
But if the customer has a question (one not answered by your FAQ section), then the probability is that they will contact your customer service department by phone, email, live chat, or other channels. The people in your CS teams are the public face of your brand and, as such, their customer service techniques, their empathy, and their personalities can have a major effect on how customers view your brand.
When a business improves its CS provision, it improves customer satisfaction and engagement by as much as 30%. Other benefits of providing fantastic CS include:
- Customer retention. If you provide great CS, then customers will keep coming back. In turn, a higher retention rate means lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) and a decreased churn rate.
- Increased revenue. By investing in CS, you’re investing in both your brand and your customers. Your customers will have a higher customer lifetime value (CLV) when they have a strong relationship with your business. It also becomes easier to upsell and cross-sell.
- Customer loyalty. See all those retained customers you now have? That loyalty can see them become brand ambassadors and referring friends and family.
- Employee engagement. When you have great CS and satisfied customers, you will also see better employee satisfaction levels, higher productivity levels, and a more engaged workforce.
- Competitiveness. It can be difficult to gain a competitive edge in a crowded marketplace. When your competitors offer similar products at similar price points, then great CS could be the thing that makes you stand out.
8 important customer service techniques
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People drive your business, whether they be the customers buying your products/services, or any of your employees in the roles they fill. Your CS team may already be providing good levels of customer service and you may offer things such as toll-free numbers but what techniques can you introduce—or reinforce—that will elevate them from good to great?
1. Personalization
In many cases, you will have in-depth information about a customer in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. If it’s a new customer, your customer service representative should introduce themselves and ask what they should call the customer. This personalization establishes a connection between your agent and the customer and can reinforce a developing relationship..
2. Active listening
A customer service call can often have a lot of information in it and it can be easy to lose track of the story. Some reflective listening can be helpful (where you paraphrase some of what the customer said to be sure you understand their point) but agents should also practice active listening to build trust and rapport during the call and help to enhance problem-solving.
An agent who practices competent active listening can also contribute to improved customer satisfaction. Active listening has three main components:
- Cognitive: The agent should pay close attention to the information being imparted, both implicit and explicit. They should make efforts to understand all the points made..
- Emotional: Agents should manage and suppress any negative emotions they may have such as boredom and always use positive language.
- Behavioral: Your agent should act empathetic and interested throughout contact.
3. HEARD
HEARD (hear, empathize, apologize, resolve, diagnose) is a tried and trusted technique that should be used by all customer service teams. It can make customers feel more comfortable and understood.
- Hear. Let your customers tell you the reason for the call without interrupting them. This allows them to give you information and voice any frustration at the start of the interaction.
- Empathize. Show that you understand the customer, reflect on what they’ve said, and build rapport with the caller in order to support them.
- Apologize. Although not always necessary, if the customer has had any sort of issue with their purchase, offer an apology that demonstrates empathy and validates the call.
- Resolve. Now look at resolving the issue (if you can). Your goal is to end the call with a happy customer, so look at every aspect of any problem. If the agent is unable to resolve by themself, they can escalate to a manager. Remember, you are looking to maintain a good first call resolution (FCR) rate,
- Diagnose. Was the issue a one-off or part of a wider problem? Look at the root cause of the call and, where relevant, feedback to your team or to management so see if you can prevent the issue from recurring.
4. Know your products or services
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If a customer calls regarding a particular product, it doesn’t look good if the agent knows nothing about that product. While it may be difficult to know every product intimately if you carry thousands of products, even a basic knowledge can sometimes suffice. If you do offer a lot of products, it can also help if agents have access to a knowledge base so they can refer to it.
You could also consider including product knowledge training as part of the onboarding process for new agents or to hold regular training for your customer service teams. Good product knowledge can also contribute to a good average handling time (AHT), something that contributes to both productivity levels and customer satisfaction.
5. ELI5
ELI 5 (explain it like I’m five) is not as condescending as it may sound. Many technical and SaaS products can be extremely complex, so using ELI5 means agents can break down solutions into simple and easy to understand steps. The idea behind it is to offer solutions in language that even someone with no technical background can understand.
It’s crucial that agents avoid the aforementioned condescension. They should be offering solutions in a friendly manner while maintaining respect. It’s best to not use any overly-technical language and to focus on providing a solution that anyone could understand.
6. CRM use
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Your CRM (customer relationship management) system is an agent’s best friend. They should be using it on every call, both to get information from and to provide information for the current call. It contains vital customer information which includes purchase history and any previous interactions with customer service.
It can also contain the knowledge base mentioned earlier so is a crucial reference tool. By utilizing your CRM, agents can enhance personalization, refer to a strong customer profile, and use real-time data to provide analytics that can tell the agents about different aspects of their service.
7. Availability
It can often seem that your business has many metrics to track—from demand planning KPIs to abandonment rate. However, every one of these metrics tell a story; usually that you are either doing well in that area or it’s an area that needs improving. Ensuring your scheduling recognizes peak days and times and provides enough agents to cover those periods.
People don’t like long waits for their call to be answered. You need to ensure that your agents provide a good first response time (FRT) and that they practice good time management skills. That can include low after call work (ACW) times. Where possible, have your agents update your CRM and other systems during the call while still ensuring their work is customer-centric.
8. Automation
Automation can be a great help when it comes to time management. Many tasks can take time, time that would be better spent dealing with real customers. By identifying areas that can potentially cause logjams, you can apply automation to those areas, improving the service you offer and increasing customer satisfaction. Some of the areas you could automate includes:
- Virtual queuing. Every customer service team or department experiences busy periods. Even virtual call centers can be busy. With automated virtual queuing, their call will be answered by an interactive voice response (IVR) system that can advise them of their place in the queue and expected waiting time.
- Callbacks. If you’re really busy, a customer may not have to wait in the queue. Having an automated system offering callbacks means the customer still gets dealt with at a time convenient to them and you.
- Routing. It can be very frustrating waiting in a queue only to be transferred to the wrong team or agent. Using IVR, your system can ensure that customers are routed to the person best equipped to deal with their issue.
- Customer surveys. As well as data analytics, you want to keep track of your customer service provision. Metrics such as customer satisfaction score (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and customer effort score (CES) all measure how good the customer experience (CX) was. Rather than have agents collect customer feedback, you can automate the process via email or SMS.
The takeaway
Providing excellent service is crucial and customers remember agents who go the extra mile. When customer service reps provide exceptional customer service, then not only is customer satisfaction boosted but you are reinforcing customer loyalty and the relationship. How your agents deal with customer issues is something that reflects strongly on your brand.
Angry customers are something that will happen nearly every day. But a proficient agent can turn a bad experience into a positive experience and can turn frustrated callers into loyal customers. Customer service agents with great customer service skills are a prerequisite for any business and they can deal with any customer interactions to ensure you are delivering outstanding support.
FAQs
How can companies measure the effectiveness of their customer service techniques?
Companies can measure effectiveness through customer satisfaction surveys, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), customer retention rates, and by monitoring the number of resolved issues on the first contact (first contact resolution rate).
What role does technology play in enhancing customer service?
Technology can streamline customer service by enabling faster responses, offering multiple channels for communication (like chatbots, social media, etc.), and providing tools for tracking customer interactions. It can also help in personalizing the customer experience.
Originally published Aug 21, 2024
