Ultimate List Of Skills In Customer Service Role

Customer service is one of the most in-demand positions right now. According to the customer service trends enlisted by HubSpot, for 90% of people in the US, ustomer service is the key deciding factor in purchasing a particular product or service. A representative working in this field must have all the necessary skills in customer service to understand each client's problems, handle complaints quickly and efficiently, and provide a sympathetic ear at all times. This fact makes the customer service job all the more challenging but rewarding.

A customer service job in a contact centre has many roles – that of an advisor, a researcher, a communicator, a brand custodian, and a trouble-shooter. It is a rewarding career opportunity as you can interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds, work with the latest technology tools, and represent well-known brands as their frontline executives. The job also offers several opportunities to help people seeking assistance, turning their queries into smiles. So what are some of the skills that will help you not just do well but excel in this role? Let's explore some of the critical customer service skills.

Be a Good Listener

As the old saying goes – 'Every good conversation starts with good listening.' When a conversation with a customer begins, one of the essential strategies would be to allow the customer to state the issue at hand without any interruptions or presumptions. It creates a positive impression when customers know that you genuinely pay attention to what they say.

When you listen intently, you will be able to catch what they state and what they mean or imply. This would help you strike a chord and resolve the query faster. Listening helps determine the current issue, and the conversation also creates contextual opportunities to upsell and cross-sell, a win-win situation.

Be Empathetic

In the customer service field, the first impression is the last. You must leave no stones unturned to make the most of this first opportunity to leave a lasting impression in your customer's mind. Solving a customer's problem is not the only way to create this impression. It also includes how empathetic you were while handling a customer.

Empathy is vital in any customer service setting because it helps you put yourself in the customer's shoes and understand what they're going through. It allows you to understand their needs, which can help you provide better service and ensure that your customers have a positive experience with your company.

Being empathetic is also essential for building solid relationships with your customers. When you show empathy, you are helping them solve their problem and showing them that you care about their situation. They'll feel more comfortable discussing other issues with you too.

Be Patient

Sometimes issue resolution may involve completing multiple steps at your end and the customer's end. As a customer service executive, the systems and processes might be familiar to you, but the customer may not be as well-versed. Be sure to guide them along, adjusting to their pace and level of familiarity. Additionally, a customer might expect a quick resolution, and the process might be lengthy. He/she might find it too tiresome. In such situations, practice empathy – put yourself in their shoes. You can be more attuned to their frame of mind by being patient. Remember, patience and fortitude conquer all things. Being patient will ensure a positive attitude permeates the conversation, ultimately driving customer satisfaction.

Be a Problem Solver

Have you ever faced a situation where the customer dials to report an issue with a printer's ink while the actual issue was in the printer cover? If you have figured out the latter, you are a true problem solver. To be one, you must master your analytical and reasoning skills to go beyond the customer's perspective, do a root cause analysis and identify the actual cause behind the customer's issue.

Problem-solving skills involve asking questions and listening carefully to gather as much information about the problem as possible. Then you can work through possible solutions and choose the best option for everyone involved — including yourself!

Be Attentive

Your degree of attentiveness has a direct bearing on your problem-solving skills. This is why you must hone your active listening skills to come out as a reliable customer service representative.

A customer may not explicitly call out their issue with an object. They can get highly vague while explaining their problem. For instance, they may state, "my computer mouse is acting weird!". If you actively listen and read between the lines of the customer's explanation, you will understand the root cause of the problem.

Be Collaborative

A caller may consider you as the one-stop shop for problem resolution. But most of the time, you will need to liaise with multiple departments to resolve a customer query. For instance, you will have to communicate with the order management team and delivery partners to answer a customer's question on their order delivery status.

The key to acing this communication is to improve your collaboration skills. You must maintain good relationships and a proper collaboration network with all the departments across your organization. This will motivate colleagues from other departments to prioritize your queries, helping you expedite customer issue resolution.

Read More: Screening interview tips for Voice and non-voice customer care jobs

Be a Multi-tasker

Your journey to being an efficient multi-tasker begins with knowing which task to prioritise. It also helps enhance your time management skills as you know which jobs need your immediate attention and which ones are better done later.

Prioritizing work will enable you to better schedule your day by creating actionable steps. These steps will help you identify places where you need to multitask to deliver multiple resolutions.

Be Knowledgeable

Product knowledge is among the must-have skills in customer service. You must have a good understanding of the products you are selling. This includes their features, benefits and how they compare to similar products on the market.

Above all, people don't just want great products; they want to buy from companies with a good reputation for providing excellent products, consistently! That's why you must understand your brand and its USPs.

Be a Good Communicator

Good communication skills entail many things – while having a good command over the language certainly helps, your ability to communicate, organize your thoughts logically and succinctly, ask questions to clarify or confirm your understanding, and set the right expectations will ensure that you deliver a delightful experience. As you would agree, a good customer service experience is the foundation upon which long-term trust is built. You can create that bond through every customer conversation as a customer service executive.

Conclusion

There are many ways to become a good customer service representative, but the most important is how you present yourself to people. If you think this isn't going to be a career for you and are exclusively interested in making a commission, you will end up in the same rut as everyone else. Selling your product is only about one-third of the equation; it's what comes next that matters most.

By focusing on and sharpening these critical skills in customer service, you can succeed in a customer service role from day one.