Anatomy Of a Great 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. The problem is that many call centers are caught in the past. They are still stuck on outdated metrics and ways of handling customers that don’t match up with today’s customer expectations, which can result in poor customer service experiences that lose sales. 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.

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.

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, email, or chat 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

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. While these elements might be difficult to measure, it’s a worthwhile process that can tell you a lot about your agents and how well they handle customer calls. Based on the results of these metrics, you should be able to tell why a call went well or didn’t and how it can be improved in the future. Quality assurance is necessary in the call center, and the right tool that uses evaluation sheets will ensure that you deliver consistent, high-quality customer service. It will help you identify agent behaviors that need to be addressed and corrected and top performers. The more robust the QA audit, the better.