If you want to improve your customer service there are several ways to go about it. Both skills and data are important because while it’s great to provide excellent service, it does come at a cost. You need to offer the highest level of service you can afford at the price point your customers are comfortable with. The only way to do that is with a combination of customer research and data.
Here are 7 things that you can work on if you want to improve your customer service:
1. Communication
Listening well is a great way to start your communication improvements, but it doesn’t matter how well you listen if you can’t respond well. Clarity is an important skill to develop, as is brevity and the ability to use positive language when talking to customers. For example, rather than saying “I can’t help with that”, consider “I can help you to find someone who can help with that” or “I know someone who does that and comes highly recommended”.
2. Customer research
Customer research is important because it lets you tailor your service to your customers’ expectations. You don’t want to provide fantastic, personalised service to customers who just want to shop and go at the cheapest price. However there are probably other ways you can delight them and keep them coming back. Customer research lets you gauge expectations and find which areas you should focus on to make your customers happiest.
3. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to relate to your customers and to see the problem from their point of view. Being able to put yourself in their shoes prevents you from treating their problem as trivial. Even if a problem is easily fixed, your customer may be very upset. Having empathy with their viewpoint will allow you to react in a way that makes them feel like they’ve been heard.
4. Industry research
Knowing what is best practice and what is common practice in your industry is essential to understanding customer expectations. It also allows you to position yourself in the market more accurately. If your pricing is too low or too high for the services you offer it will put people off. Understanding the industry allows you to make decisions based on hard data rather than hit-and-miss.
5. Listening
Learning how to listen well is a skill that everyone should develop, but if you’re looking to improve your customer service it’s essential. Learning to practice active listening is a great way to start. It’s also worth having a look at this article on Listening Skills. It’s also a good idea to work on your comprehension skills to make sure that you’re translating what you hear correctly.
6. Telephone skills
Telephone skills are important for every customer service position as telephone interactions will occur at some point. You can find some great tips in the post “Giving Good Phone” which I wrote years ago. Basically, the things to remember are: Smile before you pick up the phone, give the call your full attention and practice active listening. Also, keep your voice even, especially if the person on the other end of the phone raises them. You won’t help anything by raising your voice, but keeping your tone even and friendly might help calm them down.
7. Writing skills
When I talk about writing skills, I don’t mean perfectly polished spelling and grammar, nor do I mean calligraphy or cursive. What I mean is the ability to compose, at the very least, a letter or email that is easily understood by the recipient. Perfection is unnecessary, but a message that is impossible to understand is pointless. Most people won’t even bother trying and those that do will probably just end up feeling frustrated. A poorly written communication also gives an impression that your business has an attitude of carelessness and lack of concern.
None of these things require perfection, but the more effort you put into improving them the better your customer service will be.
