Business Way Today

Every business needs customers to be successful.  The skills that help you retain customer satisfaction in your business, products, and services are called customer service skills.  Customer service can be any number of services you provide to your customers including product troubleshooting, returns, billing, etc.  The way in which your company carries out these services can make a huge difference in whether your customers are happy and return for more business or not.

Good customer service can make or break a company. Because so much hinges on reputation, customer service skills in the customer service department of the company are absolutely crucial in ensuring the success of the company.  Customer service skills can be broken down into two broad categories: technical skills and interpersonal skills.

Technical vs. Interpersonal customer service skills

When you are looking for customer service representatives, these are two of the skill sets you should look at.  But which one is more important?  Always remember, technical skills can be learnt, but customer service interpersonal skills are a gift.  Not everyone is cut out for the customer service profession.  Think about it.

If you called a company you had just bought something from with a problem, if the service representative treated you with kindness, empathy, and a sense of humor, even if he or she took longer to fix the problem you would probably end up satisfied in the end.  If the service rep instead was rude on the phone, no matter how efficient he or she was, you would probably not feel like doing business with that company again.  It is possible to get everything technically right and lose a client.  That’s how important interpersonal skills are in business.

What are the most important customer service skills?

What skills are the most important in customer service related jobs?  Probably the most important skill to develop is empathy.  Your customer service reps need to connect with clients on a personal level and actually want to help them with their problem.  Empathy is feeling the frustration of customers and doing your best to help them solve their problem.  If your reps have empathy, it doesn’t really matter if they make a few mistakes here or there, because your customers will know that your company really cares about finding a solution to their problem.

Listening

Another important skill to develop is the art of listening.  Listening is an important part of good customer service communication skills.  Listening to a customer means searching for key problems in their complaints as well as hearing their feelings out.  If a customer needs to vent their frustration, listening is being silent and hearing them out.  Good listening is the first step in problem solving.  If you jump to conclusions too quick, you could end up irritating clients and taking longer to solve the problem.  Take the time to listen, ask targeted questions, and write down notes so you can address the problem accurately.

Ensuring customer satisfaction

Another important skill in customer service business is ensuring the problem has been solved.  It’s not enough to know the problem has been solved from your perspective.  The acknowledgement of the customer that the problem has been solved, or the question has been answered is crucial to customer satisfaction.   Ask clients whether they are satisfied at the end of a phone call.  This accomplishes two main things. One, it puts the responsibility on the customer to conclude the conversation.  Two, it seals the transaction in the customer’s mind and concludes the matter.

Customer service phone skills

Most customer service transactions happen over the phone.  That is why customer service phone skills are so important.  When talking over the phone with a client, always smile.  People can actually hear a smile over the phone.  Try this exercise with some of your service personnel and see if you can tell the difference between a grumpy ‘good morning’ and a cheerful one.   Observing phone etiquette such as not keeping a client on hold too long is key.

Conclusion

Customer service skills are required in almost every business.  They are what help a company make and keep customers happy.  Customer service skills can be broken down into two broad categories: interpersonal and technical.  While technical skills are good, anyone can learn them.  Interpersonal skills, however, are a gift.  Some of the most important skills in the customer service business are empathizing with customers, listening to them, and ensuring their satisfaction.  Empathize by feeling their frustration and taking responsibility to bring the solution.   Take notes while listening to ensure you can properly address the problem.  Finally, ask the customer to tell you when the conversation is over.  This helps cement the transaction in the client’s mind and conclude the matter.