“Hi, I am calling to enquire about …” – Customer Service Tips from a Communicator
If you are or have been in the customer service line before, you would be well-acquainted with the trials and tribulations of interacting with customers. From easy, polite queries to difficult, rude customers, each interaction represents a communication opportunity. Even from a public speaking/communication angle, there are various techniques you can apply in terms of how you approach customer service scenarios (be it sales queries or complaints).
Like how a speech/presentation considers both content and delivery, what you say and how you say it can matter to a customer. An unclear response can be the cause of repeated questions or, worse still, a misunderstanding. We have also seen customer service scenarios descending into a screaming match, with both sides unappeased. That need not be the case for you!
Today, let us share three quick tips on how you can boost your customer service delivery!
Tip #1: Make the Need the Priority
The best customer service experiences tend to place the customer at the centre of attention. The time-honoured adage that the customer is always right does not mean you need to agree with a customer all the time. Instead, it challenges front-facing personnel to place the needs of the customer at the forefront. You can achieve this with communication techniques to help unlock your customers and encourage them to share!
*** They want to feel like you_ ***
One method is to start with open-ended questions to initiate the conversation. Aside from the usual “how can I help you?”, focus these questions on the product they are keen on (e.g., What would you be using this for?). After establishing the core details of the customer’s need, start narrowing down the decision-making process by offering leading options or close-ended questions. Instead of leaving the answer open, provide your customer with a framework to decide (e.g., Are you looking to use this at home or at work? If it is the former, we recommend …). The motivation behind this approach is to help the customers ease their way into a decision.
Tip #2: Build Rapport With the Customer
An often-neglected aspect of customer interaction is the rapport-building process. Most of us may feel that this only applies to a sales setting. However, rapport-building can be a powerful tool to use when faced with a general query or assisting with service recovery. Solving your customer’s concern/issue is only one side of the coin – being able to offer that solution and leave your customer with a smile is the goal.
*** Pinpointing the “Why” behind the problem/need is another level ***
Start the rapport-building process by showing a genuine understanding of your customer’s query or concerns. You can try summarising or clarifying the query to ensure that a two-way conversation ensures:
Customer: Well, I am looking for a bicycle that I can use for short-distance rides.
You: Ah, that helps to build a healthy lifestyle! May I check the frequency and distance for your likely bicycle usage?
The subsequent clarifying questions are more likely to show a genuine interest in the customer’s goal or concern from the example above. You may have also noticed the “healthy lifestyle” response – this is the process of acknowledging a need or appreciating a concern. When you agree with the customer’s goal or concern, you help build a rapport bridge between you. You can even experiment with empathic statements (e.g., “I understand that this may be difficult for you to …”)!
Tip #3: Keep Calm, and Keep Your Customer Service Going
With all that said, the most vexing customer service scenarios consist of that small group of possibly rude or unkind customers. The key challenge in such a high-stakes, high-stress communication scenario is keeping calm and continuing to place the customer’s needs at the forefront. This goes beyond emotional calmness – if you can extract or tease out the customer’s issue, you may be able to turn the painful experience into a long-term customer!
In terms of body language, start with a deferring tone to reduce the barrier to communication (e.g., imagine apologising to someone – that is the tone to adopt!). While you are not conceding your position, the objective is to side-step the emotional minefield and resolve the matter efficiently. Keep open-ended questions as your priority as this would place the impetus on the other party to vent and respond more – the more they share, the more likely they are to run out of content. With all that said, know when to disengage or retreat, especially if the communication scenario ends up being abusive or dangerous!
Make Your Customers Happy!
Being part of a customer service role is no easy feat – it is not surprising for us to see queries from our students asking for advice on customer interaction. While there are other aspects (e.g., product knowledge) that remain important, it is important to professionally and effectively take charge of a customer service scenario. We hope that you can be that warm, charismatic, and stellar customer service provider with the three tips above!
By The Way…
If you are keen to take your public speaking skills & presentation skills (either business/corporate presentation / kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that you may communicate and deliver speeches with greater flair and charisma, feel free to check out our public speaking/ presentation skills course for adults and public speaking course for children below!
For more about our (weekly group classes) Public Speaking/ Presentation Skills Course for Adults :
https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/courses-and-programs/group-classes-for-adults/
If you are looking for a 2-day intensive public speaking/ presentation skills course for adults instead (for our adult learners who can’t do weekends), learn more about our presentation skills training course here: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/presentation-skills-training-course-by-world-champion/
If you are looking for Public Speaking/ Presentation Courses for Kids / Children:
https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/
If you are a human resources manager/ business owner in your company…
We want to help you bring out the best in your team, organization, and company. Public speaking and communication skills for the workplace, such as persuasion, remain a priority for most corporate training out there. We believe in staying ahead of the curve in sharing the contemporary communication skills to help you and your team remain relevant, competitive and nimble. Through our customized corporate training programmes, your team will benefit from an in-depth, hands-on, and potential-maximising public speaking & presentation skills training programme!
Feel free to reach out to us to curate your own public speaking corporate training programme for your team, company, or organization! Let us help you develop them into highly effective public speakers at work, empowered with effective presentation skills & storytelling skills – them giving speeches with charisma, influence and impact is something you can look forward to!
For effective presentation skills training Singapore & public speaking training for corporates/ employees: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/corporate-public-speaking-training-workshop/
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