Johannesburg, 11 Jan 2023
Customers today have higher expectations than ever before. They want companies to be responsive, transparent and available 24/7. They expect a personalised experience. This can be challenging for businesses to provide, especially if they are not using the latest technology.
Retraining and upskilling of your agents has become essential. Here are tips and techniques for your agents.
Engage in active listening.
Active listening is essential for effective communication. It allows for a better understanding of the customers’ needs and shows the agent’s willingness to help. Allow the customer to talk without interruption, reflect on their main question or concern and ask clarifying questions if necessary.
Highlight understanding.
Ensure that each customer is aware that you understand their needs. By using active listening techniques and asking relevant questions, customer service representatives can communicate that they understand the customers and are trying to help solve their problem.
Be courteous.
Be polite and show respect for your customers. Always use “please” and “thank you” to create an inviting call centre environment and build positive customer relationships.
Call the customer by their name.
Ask the customer their name and pronounce it correctly. This communicates respect for the customer and lets them know that they are important.
Go the extra mile.
Demonstrate through actions that the customer is important by giving more than the minimum effort required. By taking the initiative to provide better service or give the customer something extra, customers will feel valued and appreciated.
Ask and do not demand.
Statements can sound harsh. Asking appropriate questions makes the conversation more collaborative. Review all customer scripts to ensure the tone and message is correct.
Empower customers.
Empower customers with concise and accurate information to assist them to make informed decisions. When there are options, thoroughly describe each available alternative. By offering choices, customers will be more involved in solving their problems. This results in a higher level of customer satisfaction.
Take initiative.
Engage in initiative-taking steps to satisfy the customer’s needs. Being initiative-taking will also help to reduce barriers when problem-solving. Artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools like virtual agents and knowledge bases help call centre customer service agents to be initiative-taking and efficient by providing them with automated suggestions on query solutions, upsell, cross-sell and others.
Highlight pros and cons.
When describing a product or service, include both its strengths and weaknesses relative to alternatives. By providing balanced recommendations, customers will view you as more credible. This increases trust and customer satisfaction.
Explain.
Customers are not always familiar with your company’s policies or procedures. Thoroughly explain to customers what you are doing and why you are doing it. A clear understanding tends to decrease customer frustration.
Use plain language.
Avoid technical terms, jargon and acronyms. Be professional, concise and clear.
Refer when necessary.
When the customer’s needs are beyond your expertise or level of competency, refer them to a colleague, a supervisor or manager. Contextual handover is essential to keep the customer experience consistent and avoid having the customer repeating themselves.
Keep the right distance.
Be aware of your customer’s comfort zone and increase or decrease your distance accordingly. Adjust your behaviour when a customer shows that you are too close or too distant.
Summarise conversations.
Summarise the main point of the conversation before engaging in the problem-solving process. This will demonstrate that you were listening attentively. It will also facilitate a mutual understanding between you and the customer.
Conclusion
Applying techniques will increase the professionalism and effectiveness of customer interactions. Moreover, these techniques will allow your business to give your best for each customer interaction. Adopting these tips and techniques can increase the quality of the level of customer service provided by the company and transform how employees interact with customers.
How Quality Connect can help.
Quality Connect is a specialist systems integrator of optimised customer experience and workforce engagement software. We are trusted by our class-leading technology partners and customers to architect, implement and support sustainable business solutions across Africa.
Contact us
If you are looking for a partner for success to optimise your customer experience and workforce engagements, contact us and allow us to amaze you:
E-mail: info@qconnect.co.za Phone: +27 11 0200 909
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* Article first published on itweb.africa