6 Keys to Improving Your Team’s Customer Service Skills

Business Consulting for Women Entrepreneurs

1. Strengthen your customer service skills. - First, it’s important to make sure that

your customer service team has the right skills for your managing customers’ needs. No amount of CRM software can compensate for shortcomings in this area. But what skills should you be looking for in a customer service rep?

• Empathy, patience and consistency.
• Adaptability.
• Clear communication.
• Work ethic.
• Knowledge.
• Thick skin.

2. Look at every touchpoint. - A bad customer experience at any point in the customer lifecycle can ruin your relationship. In addition to making sure the right skills are demonstrated, you need to be sure they’re being demonstrated consistently. Pay the most attention to key touchpoints, but make sure you have a full view of the customer experience, or you risk lapses in service that can really hurt business.

3. Improve your customer interactions. - If your staff has the necessary skill set, that’s a good start. But they still need to relate to your customers. Here are some tips for making sure customer service is both thorough and well received:

• Ask reps to try to identify a common ground–like shared interests–with the people they help.
• Practice active listening so your customers feel heard.
• Admit your mistakes, even if you discover them before your customers do.
• Follow-up after a problem is solved.

4. Enhance your customer service strategy. - Your staff may have the skills and know-how to interact with your customers. But what organizational strategies can you employ to please customers? Practice proactive customer service by making your customers happy before they come to you with problems. Here’s how:

• Get personal.
• Be available.
• Cater to your customers.
• Create communities.

5. Make sure your reps are engaged. - You can have the best customer service skills and the best training in the world, but if your reps are checked out, it won’t matter at all. Improving employee engagement is another way to make sure customers have a great experience. Dissatisfied employees are unlikely to come forward with their problems, so consider an anonymous suggestion box or an employee engagement survey to see what makes your employees tick.

6. Give your customers a way to provide feedback. - No matter how proactive you are, you’ll never be able to get in front of every customer issue. To make sure you learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly experience your customers have, create an easily accessible way for customers to give feedback.

Source: SurveyMonkey

Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

Business Consulting for Women Entrepreneurs.

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