As a manager or business owner, you know that customers are your bread and butter. Serving them with a smile is all you need to do to keep them happy and coming back for more. But what about your employees, do they need a refresher course in politeness? You can teach them that!
You know what good customer service looks like, so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and deliver a customer service training skills class to your staff – How hard can it be? You don’t need to hire anyone, you’ve got this!
5 Reasons You Can Skip Professional Customer Service Training
1. You can do it yourself. Of course, you can! You have loads of free time and you know your customers and how to serve them – so why not? Here’s why not:
Many companies pass along customer service training to their managers or internal training departments. But unless their focus and expertise are customer service, you’re making a big mistake. Bonfire Training’s Customer Service Essentials teaches: how to handle difficult customers, positive communication techniques, telephone etiquette, the critical importance of voice tone, and ownership mentality. If you’re confident that you have the know-how and the skillset to train your employees in each one of these areas, then have it! (Actually, contact us, we’d love to have you on our team!)
2. Customer service is easy. Customer service is common sense! All you have to do is be nice and polite and remember that the customer is always right, right? Wrong.
Do you assume customer service is common sense? Don’t. There is more to customer service than being nice; it requires specific skills that can be learned through training and should be practiced often. And, it requires the ability to provide support and knowledge from product interest to product delivery and beyond. According to Bonfire Trainer Desirae Haynes, while customer service may seem like common sense, it is often not “common practice.”
3. You don’t want to spend the money. We get it, who does? Money is tight, go ahead and spend it where it’s really needed, on technical training. What could possibly go wrong? A lot.
If you’re thinking about redirecting your training budget to systems or technical training, think again. Of course, it’s important that people know how to do their jobs, but by skipping customer service training, they’re only learning how to do half their job. Soft skills are vital to successful customer software engagements. They help employees demonstrate a genuine interest in assisting the customer and interacting on a human level. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. (And no, that didn’t come from a fortune cookie.)
4. Your business is too small to hire a professional customer service training company. You’re a small team and only a couple of you even deal with the customers – why bother? Spoiler alert: you should bother.
Small businesses have it tough – half fail after only five years. Why shoot yourself in the foot? 58% of Americans have said they would never use a company again after a negative interaction and 82% of customers have stopped doing business with a company because of bad customer service. On the flipside, after having a positive experience, 77% of customers would recommend the business to a friend and 65% of U.S. customers feel that positive experiences with a business is more influential than great advertising! (Told you you should bother.)
5. You haven’t received any complaints. Hey, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it! Here’s the thing though – do you even know if it’s broken?
Plenty of customers leave because it’s just meh. Ask yourself, is your goal to meet expectations or to exceed expectations? If your competition routinely exceeds expectations rather than merely meeting them, you’re going to lose out. With 33% of Americans saying that they would switch companies after only one instance of poor service, do you really want to take the risk? It isn’t about providing a good experience, it’s about providing an excellent experience. (Write that down.)
Many companies think customer service training is easy, so they don’t take it seriously or invest in it. Avoid falling victim to these customer service myths.
Excellent customer service skills are important. When customer service is lacking, things can go from bad to worse quickly, negatively affecting your image and your bottom line. PWC has found that a third of customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after only one bad experience.
But when customer service is done correctly it can lead to loyalty and higher profits. Whether your business is customer-facing or B2B, customer service is a vital component of success – and don’t forget to smile!
Bonfire Training offers training to equip your staff, increase morale, and create better customer experiences producing positive long-term benefits.
Additional Resources:
- Increase the confidence of your team members so they can consistently deliver exceptional customer service.
- Learn more about our customer service reputation!
- Check out what we offer and cultivate your team one course at a time.
- Don’t take our word for it! See how we’ve helped transform other organizations.