15 Customer Service Skills that Every Employee Needs
There are certain customer service skills that every employee must master
if they are forward-facing with customers.
Without them, you run the risk of finding your business in an embarrassing
customer service train-wreck, or you'll simply lose customers as your
service continues to let people down.
Luckily, there are a few universal skills that every support member can
master that will dramatically improve their conversations with customers.
Below I'll cover the 15 most-needed skills to master this incredibly
important position.
The Customer Service Skills that Matter
When most business publications talk about customer service skills, things
like "being a people person" tend to take the spotlight.
It's not that this trait is outright wrong, but it's so vague and generic that it
is hardly a help to those looking to get involved in support positions within
a company, and certainly doesn't help out entrepreneurs/founders who are
looking for the right set of skills when hiring the all-important folks who
will be taking care of their customers.
With that said, let's get into some specific skills that every support
employee can master to "WOW" the customers that they interact with on a
daily basis...
Ever wish you had an instruction manual for building a support
department from scratch? Check it out here >>
1. Patience
If you don't see this near the top of a customer service skills list, you should
just stop reading.
Not only is patience important to customers, who often reach out to
support when they are confused and frustrated, but it's also important to
the business at large: we've shown you before that great service beats fast
service every single time.
Yet patience shouldn't be used as an excuse for slothful service either!
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Derek Sivers explained his view on "slower" service as being an interaction
where the time spent with the customer was used to better understand
their problems and needs from the company.
If you deal with customers on a daily basis, be sure to stay patient when
they come to you stumped and frustrated, but also be sure to take the time
to truly figure out what they want — they'd rather get competent service
than be rushed out the door!
2. Attentiveness
The ability to really listen to customers is so crucial for providing great
service for a number of reasons.
Last week I went over a few customer feedback systems, and long before
that I showed you the data on why listening to customer feedback is a must
for many businesses who are looking to innovate.
Not only is it important to pay attention to individual customer interactions
(watching the language/terms that they use to describe their problems),
but it's also important to be mindful and attentive to the feedback that
you receive at large.
For instance, customers may not be saying it outright, but perhaps there is
a pervasive feeling that your software's dashboard isn't laid out correctly.
Customers aren't likely to say, "Please improve your UX!", but they may say
things like, "I can never find the search feature," or, "Where is the _____
function at again?"
What are your customers telling you without saying it?
3. Clear Communication Skills
Make sure you're getting to the problem at hand quickly; customers don't
need your life story or to hear about how your day is going.
More importantly, you need to be cautious about how some of your
communication habits translate to customers, and it's best to err on the
side of caution whenever you find yourself questioning a situation.
An example: The last time I went to get work done on my car, I was told by
an employee that if I wanted to get an oil change, it would be "included" in
my final bill.
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I thought that meant I'd be getting it for free, yet as it turns out, that wasn't
the case. The employee apologized and I truly believe it was an accident
(they just worked there), but I haven't been back to that shop since because
of the miscommunication.
When it comes to important points that you need to relay clearly to
customers, keep it simple and leave nothing to doubt.
4. Knowledge of the Product
The best forward-facing employees in your company will work on having
a deep knowledge of how your product works.
It's not that every single team member should be able to build your product
from scratch, but rather they should know the ins and outs of how your
product works, just like a customer who uses it everyday would.
Without knowing your product from front-to-back, you won't know how to
help customers when they run into problems.
5. Ability to Use "Positive Language"
Sounds like fluffy nonsense, but your ability to make minor changes in your
conversational patterns can truly go a long way in creating happy
customers.
Language is a very important part of persuasion, and people (especially
customers) create perceptions about you and your company based off of
the language that you use.
Here's an example: Let's say a customer