Your skills as a customer service representative impact the success of the company. Your ability to effectively solve problems and provide a positive customer experience encourages both new and repeat business. You must personalize your interactions, show your competency, and provide convenient resolutions to customer issues. This increases the value you provide your team and impacts your ability to move up in the organization.
The following are six of the top skills to focus on in your customer service role.
1. Product or Service Knowledge
You need a deep understanding of your company’s offerings in order to provide value for your customers. This helps you relate to your customers’ struggles and explain ways to overcome them. You also may want access to a database of responses to common customer questions to provide additional ideas of how to overcome obstacles.
2. Communication
As a voice for your company, you are on the front lines of problem-solving for its products or services. This means you must be able to reduce complex ideas into easily understood terms so your customers can get the most value from your offerings. Being a voice for your company also means you share your customers’ ideas, input, and needs with your manager to help improve the products or services. Effective communication helps increase your product or service value, customer satisfaction, and customer retention.
3. Patience
Customers who reach out for support typically are confused and frustrated. They need a patient listener to soothe their emotional state and alleviate their trouble. You must stay calm and ask questions to fully understand the customer’s needs. You also need to patiently explain what you are doing as you work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
4. Problem-Solving
Customers are not always able to correctly label what their issues are. As a result, you may have to ask questions to diagnose the problem and find a solution. This may include determining what went wrong, the action to take for improvement, and ways to prevent the issue from happening again.
5. Time Management
You have a limited amount of time to find solutions to customers’ problems. This means you need to focus on efficiency when resolving issues. Asking relevant questions can help narrow down the obstacle and offer a way to overcome it. You may need to request help from your team or manager when needed.
6. Goal Orientation
Understanding and reaching company goals helps you stay engaged and productive. Knowledge of your manager’s top priorities lets you know which areas to focus on to provide the best possible service. This helps you achieve the desired returns and add value to the team.
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