There is a lot of stuff that goes into making an ordinary business a successful one, a business is comprised of different departments that handle different aspects of a business and the working of all these departments should be streamlined, even the slightest hiccup in any department has the ability to tumble down the complete operations infrastructure of any firm. Since so much goes on in making a business successful entity, that is why managing a business is considered a tough task as compared to any other 9 to 5 job. These different departments that make up a business are usually accounts, finance, procurement, manufacturing, quality assurance, human resource, marketing, and probably the most important one out of all, customer service. These are some of the main departments in a business, however, there are several more.
Just like the number of departments their hierarchy and importance also varies, for example, there are certain departments in a business that attract a lot more attention and resources as compared to some others. These decisions do not always originate from analysis or strategy, and sometimes they are just taken out of pure convenience or in the light of one’s own knowledge. This is the case that we see with customers service, being one of the most important departments, it generally receives little to no heed. And the reason is that many “pseudo” business analysts consider investing in customer service a waste of time, effort, and resources, claiming that this department offers zero to little contribution to the operations of a business, a claim which is not only far from the truth but can have devastating consequences for any business in the long run.
Importance of Customer Service
Customer service is an important aspect of any business and its importance now has soared to the sky post-pandemic. That’s because today a customer has very little means to spend on products, even the necessary ones. That is why consumers of today put in extensive research before buying any product or service in order to avoid any problems or inconveniences in the future. Because currently, customers want to stick to a brand for a long time which is one of the main reasons behind such intensive market research. One of the core deciding factors in this research is customer service as customers can compromise on the product quality and even on price, however, what can’t be compromised is how they are treated by their respective service provider in case of a problem or any issue.
Many brands have achieved great success by following the model of providing good customer service. One such is Cox Communications, a company that started out as a small cable company is now the third-largest cable provider in the US, and all this has been possible due to the Cox customer service, which has been exceptional for the most part in providing swift and meaningful responses to their customers, something which is evident in all the positive reviews that the company receives. The example of Cox gives us an idea regarding the importance of customer service and how it plays in uplifting a brand’s image, while subsequently creating a loyal customer base, and as a result, opening countless new revenue streams. This makes it essential for every business to equip with at least basic customer service skills so that they can perform the least of it in order to provide customers a basic and satisfactory after-sales experience.
Important Components of Customer Service
This article is formulated to shine a light on some of the core aspects of customer service, these are the absolutely necessary components and must be possessed by every customer service team.
Patience
Every client interaction job requires a certain level of patience, and by that certain level, we mean a great deal. As a customer service agent, you will deal with a lot of customers sometimes hundreds of them, and most of those who reach out to customer service have some kind of issue and are not exactly polite. Frustrated customers are the ones usually calling customer service and the agent on the other side has to bear the brunt of all this frustration, in this situation patience becomes a key component. A customer service agent must be patient with the customer and should connect with the customers understanding their situation and knowing that their frustration is towards the company and the products not with the person themselves. With patience, agents can better communicate with their customers and understand their problems in a better way in order to provide an effective solution.
Problem Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills are also an important aspect of customer service. Since many customer service interactions are centered on some kind of a problem that a customer is facing. So if a customer service team doesn’t possess the necessary problem-solving skills they won’t be able to cater to the needs of the customer and in the worst-case scenario will only increase the customer’s frustration. So it is essential to equip your customer service agents with necessary problem-solving skills that they can use to solve basic problems of a customer that contacts them, without wasting their time or referring them to other departments and increasing the fuss.
Empathy
Empathy means to resonate with another person’s emotion, this is something very important in a customer service environment. Through empathy, agents can feel the pain of the customers, their anger, and frustration. Through this, they can get a better understanding of where the customer is coming from. This will automatically generate patience in the agents as they will be able to better understand why the customer is angry. Empathy can also go a long way in calming down the customer so that they can explain the problem that they are facing in a clear way which will help the agent in solving the said problem.
Conclusion
Customer service is quite an important aspect of the success of any business, which is why your customer service team must understand the core principles of customer service. Understanding these principles will help them master the customer service skills which will in turn reap great benefits for your business.
