Whether or not you believe the old adage “the customer is always right,” the customer service experience your business provides has a substantial effect on your reputation and bottom line. Of course, customer interactions influence your sales and the ability to run a business, but don’t forget that your organization and brand also depend on happy customers.
Did you know:
- 68% of customers identified a pleasant service representative as key to a positive experience, and 62% added the representative’s resourcefulness and knowledge were important factors too, according to American Express.
- 77% of customers said they would recommend a business to a friend after just one positive experience, according to Temkin Group.
- It is anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive to invest in a new customer than to retain an existing one, according to Harvard Business Review.
- 88% of high-performing customer service leaders are investing in training representatives compared to only 57% of underperformers, according to Salesforce.
Altogether, this data draws an important conclusion: businesses that invest in training for customer service representatives are equipped to provide positive customer experiences to maintain and grow their client base efficiently and economically.
So, basically: training customer representatives is very important.
You might be thinking, “Of course customer service is important, but why would I need to invest in training?”
Thanks to our 30 years of experience working with customer service departments from all kinds of industries, we’ve learned that customer service is a nuanced and complex art. That’s why there are many benefits for companies which invest in representative training.
Here are some of the top advantages:
Turn Difficult Customers into Fans
When people hear the term “customer service,” they likely associate it with long lines, being put on hold, and general frustration. It’s up to your business to break the mold and change your customers’ outlook, especially if the person your representative is interacting with is angry or difficult.
With proper training and an action plan, your representatives will be empowered to handle the customer’s emotional responses and use their knowledge base to problem-solve effectively. The advantages of representative education for difficult customers include situation de-escalations, reduced stress, and irate consumers becoming brand ambassadors thanks to representatives providing a positive presence and confident solutions in the face of adversity.
Communicate Effectively Over the Phone
Call centers can be particularly susceptible to customer service challenges. Although they’re designed to offer convenience for the consumer and efficiency for the business, the representatives in these roles are metaphorically working with one hand tied behind their backs: the entirety of their interactions depend on verbal communication.
Training equips representatives with phone etiquette so they can:
- Create positive first impressions and convey empathy with their voice.
- Ask tactful questions and get to the heart of an issue.
- Actively listen and choose a positive vocabulary and mentality even in difficult situations.
- Close sales and calls professionally and without robotic reading of a script.
Your representatives never know who might be calling in—make sure they have the advantage of being prepared to represent your business well over the phone.
Invest in Your Team’s Ownership Mentality
According to Career Companion, 40% of employees who don’t receive adequate training leave their jobs within 12 months. That’s why providing your representatives with proper training and a concrete game plan will increase their confidence, job performance, and the team’s retention rate.
Investing in a quality training program gives each member of your team a greater sense of ownership. For example, the advantages of this ownership mentality shine through when the rate of one-call resolutions increases because representatives don’t need as much supervisor assistance. Everyone wins when representatives are empowered and educated.
Our Customer Service Essentials course provides the baseline training for your team to tackle all the challenges previously discussed, and our Customer Service Advantage course enhances employee ownership by focusing on individual strengths and a growth mindset.
Contact us today to impress your customers, grow your business, and invest in your team.
Additional Resources:
- Increase the confidence of your team members so they can consistently deliver exceptional customer service.
- Build vital behaviors that enable your team to increase customer loyalty while improving morale, teamwork and commitment throughout the workplace.
- Employee engagement, emerging leaders, and improved customer experience. Contact us today!