And you should, too.
Why?
Because things are changing fast. Let me tell you how…
Customer service agents have been the face and voice of brands for many years. They have done this majorly through phone calls and emails, and in recent times, through instant chats and social media.
The role has been this way for a long time and hasn’t changed much.
But this is not the case anymore.
Thanks to technology, self-service is helping customer service agents deflect routine questions while they focus on more important queries.
And that’s a good thing, right?
Yes, it is.
However, it poses a different challenge for customer service teams.
Because regular questions are answered automatically, customer service agents now have to deal with more complex problems. They have to engage in deeper and more thoughtful conversations with customers.
And so, in order to overcome this challenge and provide great service, customer service teams need to grow to possess these 4 skills:
-
Empathy
Longer, more thoughtful conversations will more likely be emotionally charged.
Customers with more difficult issues will need to engage with a real human being, not a chatbot. These customers will want your service agents to demonstrate an understanding of their problem.
And not just that…
Customer service will need to demonstrate empathy. They need to momentarily fill the customers’ shoes and feel their pain.
Therefore, train your customer agents to improve their emotional intelligence to be able to show empathy to your customers.
Additionally, you should employ AI-based text analysis platforms. As they will help you garner insight on the emotion behind customer emails or chats.
-
Problem-Solving
Again, gone are the days when customer service teams answered routine queries.
Nowadays, they deal with more complex complaints. And sometimes these complaints may be beyond the current knowledge and expert of your agents.
That’s why they will need to be excellent problem-solvers. Your customer service team members need to learn how to understand problems and proffer solutions quickly.
Their problem-solving skills should also include the ability to predict problems in the future and solve them before they come up.
But that’s not all…
If your customer service teams are not allowed to tackle problems by themselves, they can’t do much for your customers.
Therefore, empower your team with the right knowledge. But also give them authority to solve problems without having to seek permission from upper management.
-
Knowledge And Expertise
How knowledgeable are your customer service team members?
While customer service agents deal with complex issues, the conversation may take a different turn. Customers may begin to talk about certain matters that concern their values. And they will expect your team to have knowledge of them.
Customer may also expect your customer-facing team members to know nearly everything about your brand. They may ask questions about how you get your raw food materials or from where you get them.
Does that sound weird?
In truth, customers can be put off by a customer service agent who appears to know nothing.
With this in mind, your agents will need to build their knowledge base beyond the scope of their job description. They may need to:
- Learn a new language.
- Understand technical terms.
- Know the ins and outs of your brand from raw material to finished products.
- Articulate how your business impacts the environment.
And many more…
Furthermore, you want to provide a central knowledge base that puts information at their fingertips.
-
Multichannel Communication
Customers now interact with brands through several channels.
These include phone calls, email, instant chat, social media, and even video calls. Because of this, most brands separate their agents into different groups with some taking calls and some replying emails.
However, this may not be profitable for your brand.
You need to train your customer service agents to be able to communicate through multiple channels. This improves their omnichannel communications skills and helps you cut down on staff.
Finally…
As customer expectations increase and get weirder, you need to prepare your team. Focusing on developing these four skills is the best way to go. This will help your customer service agents provide amazing service and delight your customers.
One way to empower your agents is to provide them with accurate customer data.
How?
By using a Wi-Fi marketing and analytics software like Spotonwifi to collect customer data in real time. Using our software, you can garner valuable insights on your customers which will enable you run more profitable marketing campaigns.
What’s more?
Our software collects customer data on autopilot and is easily accessible by you and your team. It is represented in formats such as charts and graphs that make them easy to interpret and apply.
Without a doubt, Spotonwifi will help you improve your marketing ROI.
Want to learn more? Do not hesitate to contact us. Let’s get you started.
POSTED ON February 25, 2020Share:
