Call Center Management Featured Article
5 Tips You Won't Believe Can Improve Customer Service
We’ve all heard it before – the customer is number one; quality is job one; the customer is king; the customer is always right; and the list can go on and on. In call center management, it’s easy to think you have your quality customer service demands covered as you’ve done your homework and you know what metrics count.
But how many times do you stand back and notice that what you are supposed to measure and what actually leads to better customer engagement are two completely different things? Yes, you know that the customer who waits on hold for too long will be frustrated, but does that mean that the customer who didn’t have to wait at all will be happy? Is the customer who receives an answer to his or her question on first contact satisfied with the experience overall?
In call center management, your job is to make sure you deliver quality care to the forecasted number of customers in an appropriate amount of time. That doesn’t mean that in doing so each day that customers will rate the experience as meeting their expectations. Believe it or not, customers tend to be educated on the topic about which they are calling and they know a thing or two about quality customer interactions. If you’re not ready to meet their high standards, they just might take their business elsewhere.
To that end, let’s look at a few things you should make a priority if you want to keep your customers and keep them happy.
1. Knowledge is Power – there’s an assumption that the call center agent with good customer service skills is all that is needed to generate a satisfying experience. If your callers want more than simple answers, however, your agents need to be knowledgeable and empowered to do something with that knowledge. Customers won’t settle for anything less and neither should you.
2. Track all Interactions (News - Alert) – call centers often tell callers that they record calls for quality and training purposes. What you really need to do is track the interactions and associate them with the customer’s account so that each subsequent call can refer to a past incident if needed. This demonstrates to the customer that you care about their business – even the little intricate details.
3. Reward Smiles – we often think that if the customer can’t see us, it doesn’t matter what facial expressions we make. The problem with this line of thinking is that the way we compose ourselves does reflect in the way we communicate, even over the phone. If we answer the phone with a smile, it comes through in our tone and our choice of words, resulting in better interactions with customers.
4. KISS Really Counts – the concept of Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) is not necessarily something we want to push heavily in an environment where we want positive outcomes. But the point is that simplicity is what customers want. They have a problem and they want it solved. We’ve grown accustomed to a world of results in a few clicks – the same needs to happen in the call center.
5. Empathy Matters – while we don’t want to gush with the customer over the phone, demonstrating that we care that they have a problem is critical to satisfying them while finding a solution. Agents should be able to demonstrate empathy if they want to deliver the best experience for the customer.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi