Customers know that excellent service is something they should expect.
If you neglect your teeth, someone else will have to take care of them.
It is always beneficial to improve the skills of your employees. There is never too much training for customer service and support.
However you can optimize it? And how can you change customer service training into a regular element of your organization’s culture?
What is customer service training all about?
Customer service training is designed to help your employees improve their core skills related to customer service. This includes product knowledge, soft skills, and interpersonal abilities. The goal of this type of training is to help employees better meet customer expectations and increase satisfaction levels.
The actual training comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most popular options are:
- Online customer service courses
- Webinars and QA sessions
- In-person service training workshops
- Customer service training manuals and ebooks
Customer training: soft skills vs hard skills
Training customer service agents in soft skills is fun and easy, but they should also be trained in hard skills. Technical qualifications and in-depth knowledge are essential for some customer service jobs, and product training is also important.
Why is customer support training so important?
Customer service training seminars can be costly, with the average cost to train an employee ranging from $500 to $1,500. Training sessions can also last several weeks.
So—
An employer might encourage an employee to complete a customer service training class to improve their customer service skills.
First and foremost, reducing customer churn should be one of the most important business priorities. A report by Oracle found that 73% of customers remained loyal because of positive interactions with customer support. Therefore, training your team has a direct impact on customer retention.
Despite this, customer service is not a natural chat between individuals. It has some unique quirks and very specific dynamics. This can make it difficult for even the most communicative and empathic people to communicate effectively.
It is important to not judge someone in order to provide good service.
A customer service agent should never say that something is good, bad, right, or wrong. Especially if it goes against what the customer is saying. For example, if a guest tells you that their Wi-Fi is slow, you should never ever say anything like “Well, actually it’s not that bad.”
While the customer isn’t always right, they should feel like they are, and that you are doing everything possible to help them. Otherwise, you will just waste time arguing over things that are unimportant. Winning an argument means losing a customer. You should always try to prioritize the needs of customers over your own. This is called customer orientation.
Is customer service training really necessary?
Some people may naturally excel at customer service, but most representatives will need to work hard to develop those skills. Excellent customer service skills can be acquired through training and practice, much like one regularly exercises to stay physically fit.
Essential areas of customer service training with easy exercises
What are the objectives of customer service training? But to do this, your employees need to learn the following customer service skills:
1. Bringing positive attitude
Your customer service team members can be a big asset by simply smiling. It doesn’t mean they need to be constantly happy or grinning, but having a positive attitude is essential to the job.
You’re not serving a lifetime sentence when you’re serving a customer. Learn to enjoy your work.
Your customer service training should include aspects such as posture, language, and tone of voice, which all play a role in the attitude of your agents. Positive energy from your agents is contagious and reflects well on your brand.
Customer service training exercise:
- A customer wants to get a refund. However, he is not eligible for it. Try to explain it to him without forming negations like “don’t/won’t/not.” Try to end on a positive note.
Here are 7 tips for maintaining a positive attitude in customer service: 1. Be patient with customers 2. Be polite and respectful 3. Be upbeat and positive 4. Be a good listener 5. Be helpful 6. Be willing to go the extra mile 7. Be genuine
2. Listening to customers
The majority of individuals see themselves as competent listeners, however, customer service necessitates a distinct ability known as active listening. This goes beyond being non-disruptive and permitting someone to speak; active listening encompasses conversational methods that maintain both parties invested.
Customer service agents that have received training know how to reply in a way that shows they understand, ask questions for more information, and follow up. Sometimes they need to clarify or summarise what has already been said. While some people may have this ability naturally, it is something that can be learned through training.
Customer service training exercise:
- Collect a list of typical complaints of your customers and then try to paraphrase them in your own words. Use the formula: “So, you have [describe the problem]. Is that correct?” Asking for confirmation shows that you pay attention.
– Business 2 Community Listening to customers is a skill that can be learned and perfected over time. Here are 10 ways you can become better at understanding and responding to customer needs: 1. Pay attention to body language and nonverbal cues. 2. Repeat back what the customer says to ensure understanding. 3. Ask questions to clarify understanding. 4. Avoid interrupting the customer. 5. Allow the customer to finish speaking before responding. 6. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. 7. Show empathy for the customer’s situation. 8. Focus on the customer’s concerns, not your own agenda. 9. Look for ways to meet the customer’s needs. 10. Follow up with the customer after the conversation. Listening to customers is a skill that can be improved with practice. By paying attention to body language, repeating back what was said, and clarifying understanding with questions, you can become better at understanding customer needs. Additionally, showing empathy and focusing on the customer’s concerns will help you meet their needs. Following up with the customer after the conversation is another way
3. Cultivating empathy
Your customer service agents need to be able to understand the customer’s position and feel their emotions. If your employees struggle with tapping into customers’ emotions, you don’t need to panic. Empathy can be learned.
If you demonstrate deep empathy to others, their negative energy will be replaced by positive energy. This will enable you to be more creative in problem solving.
When dealing with customers, it is important for customer service agents to be able to empathize with them. This way, the agents will be better able to understand the customer’s issues and work with them to resolve the problem.
Customer service training exercise:
- Role-play a situation in which agent A pretends to be a customer and agent B tries to be the worst agent ever. But don’t tell agent A about the goal of agent B. Afterward, ask agent A what was wrong and how it should be done correctly. This exercise helps them understand the position of an upset customer.
If you want to easily boost customer service empathy, there are 7 ways to do so. If you’re looking for ways to enhance the empathy of your customer service team, here are seven suggestions.
4. Improving communication
In order to be successful, customer service agents must be able to communicate complicated matters in a simple and straightforward manner. strong communication skills and the ability to share knowledge are essential. customer service agents should sound confident and have a well-organized speech that is easy to follow.
You should be careful not to be too blunt when communicating. Although it is important to focus on facts, some customers may find this disrespectful or too direct. You should try to deliver information in a way that your customers can understand and process.
Customer service training exercise:
- Come up with a customer issue that requires a longer explanation. Divide your team into two groups. Let one group write a single email with instructions on solving the problem. The second group should write 3-8 live chat messages with instructions instead. Compare the results and discuss their effectiveness with regard to clarity.
Read more: 15 Tips for Better Customer Service Communication
5. Sensitivity Training
The benefits of a diverse workforce are that your employees are exposed to different perspectives. Although this diversity can lead to disagreements between coworkers, it is also beneficial in generating new ideas.
It is the job of owners and managers to ensure that all employees are working towards the same goal. Sensitivity training is an exercise that helps employees understand their professional goals as well as their personal biases. By exploring these topics in depth, employees can develop a greater understanding of one another and be more considerate of their differences.
Even if your team works well together, it is important to do sensitivity training regularly. This will remind employees how they should treat each other and how they should voice their opinions if they need to confront an issue. By reviewing these ideas consistently, new hires will feel more comfortable when joining your team, making them more productive early on.
6. Customer Experience Simulation
Instead of interacting with a mock customer, the service rep becomes the customer in customer experience simulation, and goes through the experience of purchasing your product or service.
This exercise allows reps to see the roadblocks they troubleshoot from the perspective of the user. They can understand the frustration or disappointment that customers feel when something goes wrong or when expectations aren’t met. This way, when they’re working with real customers, they have a better understanding of what people are going through and how to resolve their issues.
7. Social Media Training
Almost half of all consumers will unfollow a business on social media if they provide poor customer service, so it is essential that teams dedicate resources to supporting these channels.
Although social media is still new to customer service, not all reps may be experienced in using these platforms for professional purposes as opposed to personal updates. This way, communication will flow more smoothly on social channels and create more positive customer experiences.
8. Product Breakdowns
If your company sells a physical product, it can be helpful for employees to see how the product works, inside and out. Take your product apart in front of your employees and show them step-by-step how it’s put together. Educate them about where your product’s resources come from and how the manufacturing process is carried out daily.
If you sell software, it can be difficult to take it apart to show potential customers how it works. Instead, tell your employees where your servers are located and how your software is powered. Discuss contingency plans for potential shutdowns, and what employees can share with customers if they ask about sensitive information. When you’re supplying software to businesses, it’s not uncommon to receive phone calls from their IT teams. Your support team will stand out if they can relay this information offhand.
9. Corporate Culture Training
How employees feel about your company’s culture is very important for customer service. This is because they are the ones who interact with customers and represent your business. If they lack faith in the culture of your company, customers will as well.
Training employees in corporate culture doesn’t have to be extensive, but it should be consistent. Every day employees should be reminded, in some way, about your company’s core values and how they contribute to that culture.
A culture code lists the company’s values and what it expects from its employees. This will help you hold employees accountable and show customers that you’re committed to creating a positive experience.
10. Crisis Communication
companies mess up, but the good ones know how to sort out their mistakes. They understand that it starts with their customer service teams.
Instead of waiting for a problem to happen, successful companies anticipate it and prepare their teams. They create crisis communication plans and educate every customer representative on how to respond to common questions. This preparation can help your team keep loyal customers from leaving.
While your customer service team may be too busy for formal training, there are still activities they can do to stay sharp.
If your business could improve its customer service skills, you should try the exercises below.
11. Product Demonstration
Product demonstrations are a great way for new support reps to learn about the product or service they will be working with. By getting a deep understanding of how the product or service works, they can be better prepared to help customers with any issues they may have.
The representatives should give a short presentation about the product and then demonstrate how to use it. They should explain everything the customer needs to know to be able to use the product successfully.
Managers should listen to their employees to see if they can explain complicated topics in a clear and concise manner. They should also make sure that their employees understand how to use and explain every aspect of the product, including the website or app, and its features.
12. Call Review
Feedback is important for champions and for support reps.
Regular call reviews are necessary for any customer support team that wants to be successful. The team should get together every once in a while to listen to a recording of a customer call and discuss what went well and what could be improved. Hearing actual calls provides insight into what customers are really expecting, and team members can offer different perspectives that can help reps improve their skills constantly.
Customer Service Training Your Team Will Love
There are lots of ways that customer support and service reps can keep improving their skills, even when they’re not meeting as a team. Online resources like articles, tips, and ideas can be really helpful. Try to mix up interactive activities, team-oriented exercises, and roleplaying to keep training interesting and make sure your reps understand and remember what they learn.
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