Want the Best Customer Service Training? Modify it for Modern Customers
Technology has changed how people shop and what they expect from customer service representatives. Unfortunately, most customer service training hasn’t kept pace with the rate of technology and customer expectations. If you want to deliver the best customer service training, you must modernize it to meet the needs of the modern customer.
Who Is the Modern Customer?
According to Salesforce, “Shoppers are doing their homework ahead of time (and across multiple emerging channels), making them more knowledgeable and empowered than ever before.” Modern customers also prefer to troubleshoot on their own using FAQs pages and knowledge bases if they run into any problems. The Center for Generational Kinetics found that “Over 65% of all Americans say that they feel good about themselves and the company when they can solve a problem without talking to customer service.” This means if a customer does contact customer service through the many channels available to them – live chat, social media, email, phone, etc. – they probably have a complex issue and have already searched your site for an answer.
“. . .The kinds of calls that go to a live agent are reserved for those complicated or urgent issues that are not handled by self-service.” -Shai Berger, CEO of Fonolo
What does this mean for your training?
To have the best customer service training, you have to equip your reps to meet the needs of today’s customers. Customer service teams need to be able to rapidly address issues that are more complex for customers who are more knowledgeable. So, where do you start? Consider these four best practices when modernizing your customer service training.
1. Train on addressing complex issues quickly
Chances are, if the customer has already tried to solve their problem themselves, they’re ready for the solution—fast.Think about some of the complex issues your company is receiving from customers, and work with customer service representatives to turn long, detailed responses into short, solution-centered ones.
2. Train for personalization
Customers communicate across multiple channels and expect CSRs to know who they are regardless of the channel they’re using.Train representatives to review the customer’s communication history before responding to an issue. If the customer has already reached out about the same issue, review when the customer last contacted your company and through what channel. Work with representatives to personalize their service with this in mind.
3. Train on your company’s knowledge base
Train representatives to not only be knowledgeable about your products and services, but your company’s knowledge base as well.Customer service representatives should be able to speak to the product, but also guide customers toward the most helpful self-service site or knowledge base, if that is the customer’s preference.
4. Train for active listening
If a customer has attempted to solve an issue on their own, they will likely reference actions they’ve taken to solve their problem.Customer service representatives need to be able to hear everything the first time to create a quick, effective solution for the customer. Practice active listening with representatives to ensure they hear everything the first time, so they can quickly lead customers to the perfect solution.
The Best Customer Service Training Increases Revenue
To deliver the best customer service training, you have to equip your CSRs to handle the expectations of today’s consumer. This change in your training can result in a better customer experience which can lead to a greater return on investment and increased customer retention. According to the Temkin Group, “A moderate increase in customer experience generates an average revenue increase of $823 million over three years for a company with $1 billion in annual revenues.” At Unboxed Training and Technology, we provide modern training solutions that get results. We would love to partner with you to create an engaging and personalized customer service training program! Contact us to learn more.
