For a business like a contact center, customer service is one of the keys to success. Striking the right chord between dealing with irritated clients looking for a quick solution and well-intentioned agents trying to provide the best solution can prove troublesome for many contact center employees. The key to providing better overall service, and increasing your contact center metrics, is to train your contact center agents to deliver the best customer service out there. In this post, we provide you with five of the most important tips to get you on your way to providing top-notch customer service.
Have you ever noticed that you can hear a smile in someone’s voice? It may sound crazy, but it is true! Physically smiling while assisting a client over the phone emits a friendly and engaging tone, ready to confront whatever problem is about to be thrown your way. With these attributes in your voice, it will be easier to build a trustworthy relationship with each client, improving contact center metrics and the overall satisfaction of each client.
Spending each day listening to customer complaints may become monotonous and, slowly but surely, each complaint slowly molds itself into the same thing. Instead of jumping to a conclusion of what the customer needs, remember to stop and listen to each, individual customer to be sure that you’re addressing his or her specific problem. Taking a few minutes to understand the problem allows the customer to fully express themselves - and you the ability to solve what they need.
After listening to the customer’s need, each agent needs to be able to suggest solutions based on an in-depth knowledge of the products and services. Agents should be able to answer any customer question or concern instantly and with 100% accurate information, or enable the customer to find the information if it is out of their area of expertise.
A major customer service solution that is often overlooked by contact centers is to offer customers a call back option. Many customers call in with a complicated issue that takes time to explain and be sure that the agent understands. A classic situation: just as they complete their description, the phone line drops and they have to call back and start the whole process over with a new agent. This situation can be easily avoided with a call back option by asking the customer for their number at the beginning of a call. With this information, the agent can then call the customer to follow through on the solution.
The last step when implementing new customer service solutions such as these is to monitor its effectiveness. Utilize call recording software and other tools to monitor calls and learn which methods are the most effective for satisfying customers and increasing the level of customer service. This is the most important step to ensure there is an improvement in the long-term.
Keeping customers happy and solving their issues without frustration can often be a balancing act but, with these customer service solutions, you can increase your contact center metrics and leave your customers satisfied. For more information on software programs that can help you in your contact center, contact us today.
