Communication Skills For Customer Service Edu Ppt

Slide 1

This slide covers information regarding why interpersonal skills are important in building connections with the customers and shows how positivity and empathy are crucial factors to convert a customer into repeat customers.

Slide 2

This slide covers an exercise on positivity and training that can be provided to the customer service executives. 

Slide 3

This slide covers the importance of clarity in communication by a customer service executive while communicating with a customer.

Slide 4

This slide covers information regarding tips that can be used for clear communication by a customer care executive. The tips are patience, honesty, effective listening, avoiding interruptions etc.

Instructor’s Notes:

Following are the tips that can be used by a customer care executive for clear communication-

·      Patience: Have patience with the customers and try and understand their point of view, even if they are too aggressive

·      Under promise and Over deliver: It's easy to offer the world to your consumers, especially if you think it'll help them relax or make a conversation go smoothly. Setting reasonable expectations and then exceeding them is always preferable. Don't give any firm deadlines or commit to anything you're not sure your team will be able to accomplish

·      Learn About Your Customer: Before attempting to assist the consumer, the more information, your staff has, the better it is. Make all of that data easily accessible to anybody who interacts with customers—the less information your team needs to get from customers, the better

·      Be Honest: 89% of customers said they're more likely to support honest brands. If the customer care executive does not have the correct answer for the customers, tell them you are unsure. Remember to tell them when they can expect a resolution of the issue

·      Ace Your First Impressions: First impressions are your finest chance to make a winning impression. The importance of first impressions, especially immediate ones, cannot be underestimated. Make sure your staff goes above and beyond to meet and exceed your clients' expectations

·      Actively Listen: Active listening is a must for effective communication. In customer service, active listening involves being completely attentive to the client's words, comprehending what they mean, and responding in a way that supports what they're saying

·      Be Positive: When you use optimistic words, it's simpler to understand and accept bad news. For example - Which of the two sounds better? "I won't be able to assist you till next month. We're having supply chain problems, so that's not available right now." Alternatively, "Next month, that product will be available. I can place an order for you right now and ensure that it is dispatched as quickly as possible“

·      Avoid Interrupting: A customer service representative should not overwhelm customers with several questions without giving them a chance to answer

·      Double-check your assumptions: A customer service executive can ask the customer to confirm that the assumptions are correct wherever possible. The following are some phrases that can be used: Can you confirm? & Let me know if that's right

·      End Every Interaction With an Invitation- "Is there anything that can be done", should be the last line of every interaction. It shows to the customer that you are willing to assist and go an extra mile when necessary

·      Ask More Questions: Ask about your consumers' feelings. If they provide you with any insights, make sure you comprehend the context. Always ask more

Slide 5

This slide covers exercise that can be provided to the customer service executives on product demonstrations.

Slide 6

This slide covers information regarding how assertiveness and directness can help customer service executives in communicating the best solution to the customer’s problems and issues.

Slide 7

This slide covers information regarding the benefits of being assertive in customer service role.

Instructor’s Notes:

Following are the tips to become more assertive and to improve the ability to handle customer service scenarios.

·      Don’t Mistake Assertiveness for Aggression: Aggressive behavior is all about winning, but assertive behavior is about finding a satisfying solution to a customer's problem while having a direct and honest approach

·      Think About Situations: By taking time to understand what a customer is saying, a customer care representative can prevent appearing as if they have made a hasty or reactionary decision without thinking. Furthermore, they will have more processing time, which will allow them to build a confident response that will satisfy the customer

·      Use ‘I’ Statements: 'I' statements are used in all assertive statements. They reflect emotional states and interests, whereas 'you' statements may be interpreted as aggressive and provoke an unwanted response from a customer. The use of the word "I" is less confrontational and conveys a direct, authoritative tone

·      Always Find a Solution: A customer care executive has to be assertive when they cannot agree to a customer's demands. Instead of saying "no" to a customer, they can try providing a different solution. A compelling alternative will make the customer feel like they've had a productive chat with someone who understands their problem and cares about the ongoing relationship

·      Tell the Truth: Assertiveness is based on expressing one's feelings. A customer service executive can use assertiveness to communicate effectively with customers by employing short words that    clearly express their opinion

Slide 8

This slide depicts an exercise in which customer service executives can role-play with one another in order to better resolve their customers' problems.

Slide 9

This slide highlights the importance of product features training for customer care executives to handle customer queries regarding product usage effectively.

Slide 10

This slide covers information regarding the importance of training the customer care executives on the product’s feature so that they can better assist their customers.

Instructor’s Notes:

How does good product/service knowledge help?

•       Good customer service: Customer service representatives familiar with all elements of a company's products/services can address problems more quickly and effectively

•       Clearer communications: Product knowledge allows a customer care executive to accurately and persuasively communicate the benefits and features of products/services. The more information the agents have, the better they will be able to communicate

•       Confident assistance: The customer care executive tone and attitude become more confident as a result of his/her product understanding

•       Build trust: When it comes to building trust, all of a company's customer service representatives must have access to the same, up-to-date information

For instance, if a consumer receives different versions of information from various customer service representatives, customers will be hesitant to associate with the brand. They will lose faith in your brand. They are more likely to trust brands that demonstrate confidence in their products.

Slide 11

This slide covers information regarding the importance of teaching customer service executives about the product so that they can provide high-level assistance to the customers.

Instructor’s Notes:

The sources from where the customer service executives can attain product/service knowledge are:

·      Product Literature

·      Customer Feedback

·      Experienced Colleagues

·      Production Units

·      Training Programmes

·      Own User Experience

·      Catalogues

Slide 12

This slide shows an exercise how a customer service staff can establish a knowledge base about a product/service in the form of a guide or directory to better assist consumers.

Slide 13

This slide covers information regarding the information regarding crisis management and how it is an essential component of public relations.

Instructor’s Notes:

Crisis Management Process

·       Pre-Crisis: Preventing potential crises is the first step in crisis management. It includes developing a crisis management strategy, employing and training a crisis management team, and conducting mock drills to test your system

·      Crisis Management and Response: It includes the process of dealing with and reacting to various stages of a crisis

·      Post-Crisis: Finally, examine your crisis management strategy with your crisis management team to see how it performed in a real-life emergency situation

Types of Crisis:

·      Personnel crisis: When an employee or someone else connected to a company engages in unethical or unlawful behavior, this misconduct can occur in or out of the office and be related to the individual's professional or personal life

·      Organizational crisis: When a company has wronged its customers by taking measures that negatively impact its customers. For example, customers who deserve to know the details of a given topic may be kept in the dark about crucial information

·      Technological crisis: When servers fail, software crashes, or another technological device fails, the entire network is disrupted. It could cost a company a lot of money, make customers doubt their trustworthiness, or destroy their reputation

·      Natural crisis: Natural calamities such as hurricanes, floods, and winter storms can damage or destroy a company's office space. Depending on the location of a company, it may be more vulnerable to numerous natural calamities that occur throughout the year

The dos and don'ts of crisis management

·      Do have a plan

·      Do restore service ASAP (if possible) 

·      Do provide a consistent response

·      Don’t be defensive

·      Don’t make hasty decisions

·      Don’t ignore risk

Slide 14

This slide covers information regarding how designing a crisis communication plan can help customer service executives to resolve the crisis.

Instructor’s Notes:

Crisis Communication Tips for Great Customer Service

·      Gather All Necessary Information: First and foremost, a customer care representative must acquire all necessary facts regarding the problem to determine the best course of action

·      Develop a Crisis Management Team: The next step is to form a crisis management team that will lead the charge during a crisis. This group will assist in keeping your company and staff on track and on task throughout the crisis, as well as prepare the customer care team for future crisis

·      Create a Knowledge Database for the Crisis: It is critical to provide all relevant information to management, employees, and customers in order to ensure excellent customer service during a crisis. The goal should be to equip your company to deal with every situation that arises

·      Prepare Crisis Management Customer Service Responses: The customer care team members will be able to confidently answer all customer questions in a realistic, clear, helpful, compassionate, and consistent manner if you have a list of prepared crisis management responses

·      Ensure Management is Always Available: To answer questions, management should be available at all times via social media, email, text message, internal systems, or phone. They should be available to deal with escalated customer care inquiries

·      Provide Omni channel Support: By delivering Omni channel support, a customer care executive can engage with its consumers anywhere and whenever they choose. It's crucial to connect with customers on their preferred channel at all times, but it's especially critical during a crisis. Whether your consumers contact you via email, social media, live chat, blog, or the phone, you must be available to respond and engage with them

Slide 15

This slide shows an exercise where customer service staff can conduct mock calls to resolve a real-life issue with the product/service.

Slide 16

This slide contains information on how customer service executives can work together as a team to address problems faced by the customers.

Slide 17

This slide contains information on the benefits of customer service teamwork. The benefits include a faster resolution to customer’s concerns and consistent customer service support.

Instructor’s Notes:

Ways to bring your customer service team closer together

·      Speed up and streamline communication between customer care representatives

·      Make your hiring and training process meaningful, memorable, and personal

·      Review your customer personas together

·      Appoint a decision-maker

·      Make customer information available to everyone

·      Be open about your goals and objectives

Slide 18

This slide shows an exercise where the company can organize out-of-office events for the customer care executive teams to bring them together and create strong bonds.

Slide 19

This slide explains how delivering outstanding customer service may turn customers into active promoters of the company.

Instructor’s Notes:

Following are the tips to increase customer advocacy:

·      Empower your team with the right tools: A customer care executive can track customer interactions across many channels with a helpdesk ticketing system. A help desk can also assign customers to specific support representatives, track key metrics, and resolve issues quickly and efficiently

·      Train your staff on customer service skills: Well-trained customer care executives with emotional intelligence and a broad communication skill set are better at creating customer relationships

·      Make your return/cancellation process painless: An easy return and refund process makes a business shine in customer's eyes. The chances of doing business with them again also increase. A company may lose revenue from one canceled order but will gain a happy customer, even coming back to buy again

·      Keep an eye on your metrics: Metrics can be a pain to track, but they are vital in delivering the best possible customer service

Some great metrics to track include:

•       Time to first response

•       Average resolution time

•       Resolution rate

•       Customer satisfaction ratings

Slide 20

This slide explains that a customer care executive must have a high level of conflict resolution quality to provide solutions to their customer's problems.

Instructor’s Notes: Following are the conflict resolution tips that can be deployed by customer care executives in certain situations-

·      Set expectations based on previous experiences

·      Clear communication

·      Empathy

·      Active listening

·      Acknowledge customer’s specific needs

·      Not to blame anyone

·      Say you're sorry

·      Stay calm and professional

·      Help customers in a way they want to be helped

·      Not to interrupt the person while he/she is talking