Action steps to improve the effectiveness of your customer service team

The most important question when running a business is, what can I do to make sure that my customer service department is engaged, skilled and empathetic? A functional customer services department is essential for the success of any firm, it does not matter the domain you are working. The reputation of your company relies on the feedback you receive from your clients, so it is essential they to be satisfied both with the quality of your products and with the quality of the customer service. There are not few the cases when successful companies are dashed away because of viral complaints on the quality of the customer service. You have to make sure that your customers have the best experience when they get in contact with your business. It would be wonderful if they would offer only positive feedback, but we should all be realistic, there will always be clients who will have something negative to say about your company. It is important to know how to deal with these cases, and how to treat unsatisfied clients.

Step 1 – improve the quality of your services

Before your clients get in contact with your customer service department, they use your products and services, so this is where you should focus your attention. If now you offer average services and products, your target should be to offer high-quality services until the end of the year. The majority of companies do not understand that this is the most important step they should focus their attention on, because if your clients are satisfied with the quality of the services and products they receive, they will not need assistance. If your clients have complaints about the quality of your services and products, you will have to improve them, and show them that you pay attention to their opinion.

Step 2 – Improve the skills of your customer service team

Specialists state that every business manager should consider their employees and partners as internal customers. From the team who cleans your office, to the person who fixes your computers, all of them should be treated as their customers, they are internal customers. You may find this idea silly, but you should wait a few seconds and you will understand. Just keep reading! You should make sure that you treat every person from your team as they were customers, because this will help them understand how they should interact with your customers.

The majority of companies have one rule they stay to, they consider that if everyone does their job, everything will run smoothly. Well, this is a mind-set that damages the performance of your customer service team.

Your customer service team is not the only one responsible for keeping your clients satisfied, you also are, as a manager of the company. So you should offer them an example, you should discuss with them whenever they need to do it, and you should not ignore them only because you are caught up in your work. You should not put pressure on them, because the customer service department is not functioning properly, you should work together to fix this issue.

Step 3 - Strengthen your customer service team skills

When you put together a team you have to make sure that, it has the right skills for doing their job. For example when you want to expand your team for the metal pressing department, you ask the candidates to take a test in order to test their skills. The same should be applied here, when you hire new employees, you have to make sure that they have the right skills for the job they apply. You should not invest in a better CRM software to compensate for the lacks of your team. You should work with them to overpass their shortcomings. If you do not know what skills they need, here is a list.

They should be patient and empathetic – the majority of clients are irritated about a certain aspect of your business, when they contact the customer service department. Other clients have the tendency to talk too much and get themselves lost in details. Your team will have to know how to handle both situations, and to offer them the same level of experience.

They should be able to adapt – Different customers have different needs, so they have to be able to adapt to the situation. This means that they should be willing to learn new things, and to understand that working in the customer service industry means getting involved in a continuous learning process.

They should be able to clearly transmit the message – They have to make sure that the clients do not interpret the message. They should use only positive language and not end a conversation if they are not sure that the customer is satisfied.

They should have knowledge about the products you sell – The quality of the service they offer depends on the knowledge they have about the work ethic and products you sell. If they stand for a metal pressing company, they should have knowledge in this domain. They should always stay informed about the changes in your company, and they should be able to offer details about them. But in case they do not know something, they should not be afraid to tell the clients that they do not have the information at the present moment. They should further inform themselves and contact later the client for clarification.

Step 4 - Improve the interactions your business has with your clients

If you are sure that all your employees have the skills they need to be part of your customer service department, then you should pay attention to some other aspects.

Find out what interests your customers have. If you understand what aspects of your company damage the relationship you have with your clients, you will be able to fix it.

Listen to your clients. Ask them to offer you feedback on your products, and assure them that you count on their opinion to improve your services.

Admit your mistakes. It does not matter if you or your customers have discovered that something does not work properly. You should be open about it, because it will help you build trust and restore confidence.

Cynthia Madison is a young blogger and economics and marketing graduate. She writes about home, lifestyle and family topics and is a senior contributor to popular niche publications.