Essential Skills For Customer Service Representatives – Improve Support Quality

You will likely lose your customers due to poor customer service; it doesn’t matter how excellent your services/great are. If we say CSRs (Customer Service Representatives) are the face of your company, it won’t be wrong because they are the primary POC (point of contact) that build your brand. In this digital era, where public opinions play a crucial role in your company’s reputation, you should avoid customer service failure and ensure that the essential skills for Customer Service Representatives are met.

Skills for customer service representatives that you should look for

Clear communication

When becoming a good customer service representative, having good communication skills is the key. As a CSR, you should know what your customers want to communicate and how you can assist them. Pronouncing, employing a clear, upbeat, positive tone, and speaking softly but a bit loudly will help you communicate more positively and clearly with them. Don’t forget these skills in phone communication; they are equally essential for it, too. Similarly, if you write an email, use correct spelling and grammar and choose good words that convey an equally clear and positive attitude.

Computer skills

In the customer service industry, representatives require specific tools that help them assist customers. An aspiring customer service representative should be familiar with other tools outside of the traditional Microsoft Office Suite. For instance, as a CSR, you must be familiar with LiveChat and similar tools. If you want to become a customer service expert, having good computer skills can help you a lot.

Listening skills

Like communication skills, listening skills are also important. Listen carefully to know what your customers need and how you can help your valuable customers. Show that you are listening to them through your responses. Don’t hesitate to ask again if you don’t understand the question to ensure you understand the other person.

Workload management

When discussing essential skills for customer service, workload management might be included in the top five. As a customer support agent, you need to meet various deadlines constantly. If you are not good at workload management skills, you can focus on different areas and improve these skills. These areas include time management, multitasking, meeting deadlines effectively, maintaining productivity, setting realistic goals, and maintaining your performance.

Ability to empathize

Every agent should have this skill, which will be honed over time. These skills can erode if someone has been in the customer service industry for a while. You should be able to listen carefully and involve yourself in what your customer is trying to tell you. If you are not listening to your customers and following your company’s policy, you may miss essential considerations that you need to consider for high-quality customer service. In other words, empathy is all about the ability to understand and feel the emotions of others and all your skills. If you can empathize, you can win the trust of unhappy customers because they think there is someone who can understand and feel what they say. 

Speaking skills

If you think about the most persuasive speaker in your company, they may be a salesperson. Persuasion is an essential skill that can also be helpful in customer service. You have seen that most good reps turn the problems into the solution, which means your loyal customers become your evangelists. They are usually persuasive and turn problems into solutions. Good customer service helps them get the job done without being compelling. Around 74% of consumers say that due to positive service experiences, they have spent more with the company. It is a lot more effective, so ensure that your rep speaks with confidence and a reasonable tone of voice and offers enthralling arguments that lead to high streams of conversions.

Ability to use positive language

When your customers contact you, they have a problem. Similarly, when you have pain, you go to the doctor. No one goes to the doctor when they are feeling well. The problem sometimes comes with frustration, negativity, and anger, but you must stay positive. If you have such a situation, empathize with your customer and keep your conversation as upbeat as possible. Use positive language because when you show a positive attitude, it helps to steer the discussion toward a positive solution. Only focus on the solution and thank them for their understanding and patience. The language of your support agents strongly impacts the customers, especially when using non-voice support channels. For example, if you have logistic issues and cannot deliver the package to your customer on the expected date, update them positively.

Self-control

Self-control is probably one of the essential skills for a customer service representative. The agent should handle the situation calmly, even if the problem worsens. Strive to remain positive and don’t lose your cool, even when you have a demanding customer who is not using positive language. Self-control will prevent you from saying inappropriate words. Remember that when your customer gets upset, don’t take it personally. When they are angry or frustrated, staying calm is more important. You should try to tone down the conversation as much as you can.

Product knowledge

Product knowledge may seem like a given, but it is a key element that can’t be overlooked. You should conduct regular training for your rep and give them product updates regularly. This will help them understand your product and any new changes that can affect your customers.  

Your customer service representative should provide updated and accurate information about your services or products to truly help your customers. If you are not able to do the same, you will probably upset your customers. Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a survey of over one thousand adults, and 70% of people are annoyed when the support representative can’t help them or the information is wrong.

Basic performance skills

To maintain professionalism, sometimes you have to put on a mask of concern and sometimes friendliness. This doesn’t mean you are trying to deceive your customers, but knowing how to do all this is vital. For instance, if a customer is not behaving positively and irritating you, you must know what to do. In this situation, it is inappropriate to show them you are irritated. If you have some basic performance skills, it can help you present some facts and information more cheerfully. Ensure that your responses convey what you mean to say and help you do your job well.

Taking responsibility

When it comes to customer service, taking responsibility is probably a big part of the job. It means you can say sorry, whether you delivered a poor-quality product or your shipment was late. You have to apologize to your valuable customers even when the problem was not yours because it always makes your customers feel better when they hear an apology.

Patience

If someone shouts at you or rudely behaves with you, it might seem like playing Russian Roulette; you pick up your customer’s phone. But you should not lose your cool and greet them, which might be critical, but have patience. The University of Toronto conducted a study that concluded that impatience makes the worst things even harder. For instance, impatience makes the situation worse when you can’t keep your cool while talking to an unhappy customer. If you think dealing with an irate customer is more than a pain, wait until they make your entire department grumpy. Instead, please take a deep breath, understand his problem, and realize that his ire has little to do with you. But you can turn their problem into a positive solution.

Attentiveness

Employee Engagement Trends published a report in 2015 that concluded that customer service representatives are among the least engaged of your workers. If your CSRs check out, your customers will do the same. You can’t stop your customers from moving on to other companies or your competitors. Only 43 percent of customers see companies as more helpful. So it is necessary to be present and focus on your customers’ problems. Be attentive, give them timely responses, and reduce the customer service response ratio.

Problem-solving

How a CSR find a practical solution for each query to ensure higher FCR (First Contact Resolution rate) on the first contact? If a CSR candidate knows it well, he can be a great customer service representative. They should be intelligent enough to find a viable solution and learn your offering. Moreover, a CSR should know how to resolve queries at their end without escalating them to the team lead or other upper management.

Takeaways

If you want to watch your CSR career take off or watch the levels of customer services soar, don’t hesitate to put these essential skills for customer service representatives into practice.