Anatomy of a Really Good Customer Service Call
Your call center agents are key to your company’s success. They are the first point of contact with your customers and responsible for how your customers view your business. Thus, they are ultimately responsible for your bottom line. In the end, exceptional customer experiences all come down to really good customer service calls. In this article, we break down the anatomy of a customer call, best practices, and the quality assurance metrics essential for success.
Now that you know how your agent’s brains work, what can you do to take this information and transform it into an exceptional call center? It’s all about implementing six crucial customer service call center best practices.
1) Focus on the Important Elements of Every Call
Every call has an impact on the overall success of your call center, which is why it’s essential to ensure that every call has the necessary elements for success.
Watch Tone of Voice-
Everyone adjusts their tone of voice throughout the day depending on who they’re talking to and what they’re talking about. The key is using a tone that matches the other person. When it comes to call center agents, that means matching the tone of voice to their customers, which creates empathy and helps move the conversation along. Look for a confident and upbeat tone.
Listen Carefully-
Listening is the most important skill your agents can demonstrate. Customers hate nothing more than talking to a customer service representative and feeling like they weren’t heard. Even if your agents have heard the same question a thousand times, they still need to actively listen. The key is to pause for breath and not rush any call so the customer feels they’re being listened to.
Speak at a Normal Speed-
It can be tempting to speak slowly so the customer understands you better or to speak more quickly to get the call done. In either case, it’s not what you want. You’re not trying to make a sale or make the customer feel talked down to. Instead, your agents need to speak as normally as possible—not too slowly or too quickly. Speaking normally can also help your agents listen better. And don’t be afraid to adjust your speaking speed based on the customer. If they have an accent and appear not to speak English as a first language, they might require a slower speed.
5) Use the Right Language-
Only 7% percent of meaning is derived from the actual words we use. However, that doesn’t mean that language isn’t important. When you are only speaking with a customer over the phone, the language your agents use can make a big difference in the result of the call. Give your agents the freedom to be themselves, using humor and personalization on every call. However, make sure to explain when and how best to express themselves to promote trust, and when to focus on the basics.
Question Effectively-
Your average call will always use a few common questions such as “How are you?” and “What seems to be the problem?” The key is to make sure that every question is valuable, which means knowing the difference between the three main types of customer service questions and how they can be used to help the customer-
Open Questions: These questions are great for getting the conversation going and identifying the issue quickly while demonstrating empathy. Probing Questions: These types of questions allow you to delve deeper into the customer’s answers, to find out what exactly is going on. Closed Questions: These yes or no questions allow you to confirm that you understand the customer and have addressed their issues effectively.
Questioning is one of the most important skills your agent can demonstrate, and a few good questions can make all the difference.
Build Rapport-
Customers want to feel like they have a connection with your agent, which is why it’s so important to build rapport. It increases respect and understanding between your agent and the customer and is essential to a successful call. The good news is that there are easy ways to build rapport and demonstrate connection-
Break the Ice: The first few seconds of every call are essential, so it’s important to break the ice at the beginning and disarm the customer. Listen Carefully: As we said above, listening is important. Nothing will annoy a customer more than ignoring their needs. Mirror the Customer: Empathize with the customer, mirror their tone and voice, and demonstrate that you’re on the same page.
Closing the Call/-
Just as the call opening is important, so is closing the call. You cannot get off the call or close the chat too quickly. The end of your message is essential, which is where there are a few things you should do at the end of every call. Confirm next steps Be proactive about preventing future problems Ask if there are any other questions Genuinely thank the customer for their time Use the customer’s name during the final appreciation
2) Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence Skills for Success
Every successful call demonstrates the same critical skill: emotional intelligence. It’s this skill that helps your customers feel like they are heard and understood, which is crucial for customer satisfaction. When your agents demonstrate emotional intelligence they: Anticipate customer requests Deliver explanations and justifications Educate customers Build rapport Provide emotional support Offer personal information
3) Manage Customer Expectations
The channel your customer uses to communicate with you can dictate their expectations. For example, a customer on a phone call will want to be answered as quickly as possible while email could could have a response delayed by as long as 24 hours. When managing expectations, it’s also essential to understand what’s really important to your customers. This can change with the times, and so you must constantly update your performance metrics to make sure they match today’s customer experience.
4) Treat Every Customer the Same
No matter if your agent is talking to a celebrity or the Average Joe, they should receive the same level of customer service. This is especially essential in today’s world of social media. Influencers come in all shapes and sizes and can be indistinguishable from another customer. One bad experience with an influencer could damage your brand reputation very quickly.
5) Don’t Forget the Different Ways Customer Interact
Calls are not the only way you communicate with customers. In fact, most of your customers will probably communicate with your team through multiple different channels including email, social media, and live chat. As a result, your agents need to be able to handle customer service interactions however they come.
6) Cross-Pollinate Your Agents
Turnover in the call center is fairly high. The reality is that when it comes to your call center agents, half are there because that’s what they want to do for their career while the other half just want a job. That means that you need to ensure that your career-focused agents are spread out throughout your contact center because they will be the ones to enhance the overall customer experience.
