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How to Deal With Difficult Customers?

July 7, 2018

We all know that running a business in today’s world is not an easy job especially when you think you are having the most loving business of all the times. The scenario is becoming more and more genuine as the technology evolved its best and advanced of all the times. Those days have gone when people were complaining via contacting on the phone or reaching to the store/office manually. In today’s space, it’s very difficult to maintain and sustain a good reputation if you are selling online.

Difficult customers or better we can define them as the complex client are the ones who demand a lot for the cost that others are also offering for the same products or services. The question arises how to deal and handle such difficult customers? We’re offering a few points to analyze for the business owners and companies to think on such a case:

(1) Loyalty: If you are fair enough at the time of closing or dealing with the client and clarifying each of your deliverables to him i.e.terms or conditions or any hidden star, it would be great for the client to understands. If you are in a hurry of closing a deal without your customer’s conscience, you are being caught for the case and will face such a condition for sure.

(2) Perks: If you have a bad experience with a customer you are working with, there is still a chance to handle the worst. Reputation is the only food that your business eats! Never turn back if your customer gets happy with a little or an additional relevant service or product replacement makes him happy.

(3) Feedback: This is an era of rating including the customer’s words. Make sure you created enough space to live in the heart of him. If you are being failed to do so, you are left with an image makeover and generally comes more positive reviews and customer thoughts. Email your old or potential customers to give a rating or feedback on the channel where you have been trapped.

(4) Customer Research: This is orthodox and you should perform a research before closing a deal with the customer. If you find that a “company/client name check” gives you a negative taste, you can leave it from there only.

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How to Use Technology to Improve Customer Service

June 23, 2018

There’s no denying the fact that customer service is important to a small or mid-sized business. The quality of that service will either enhance or degrade customer loyalty to your brand and your business. With the economy in recession, customers have more alternatives than ever. The business that proves to be responsive to customer questions, complaints, or other needs can gain a clear competitive advantage. That’s why it’s so important to understand how new technologies can help you anticipate customer needs, tailor business processes to best serve customers, and ultimately improve the efficiency of your business – the latter of which can keep costs down.

Customer Service Technology

There are a few major areas in which technology now is able to help provide key advantages to businesses in engendering customer loyalty by improving customer service:

Websites. Providing areas on your website where customers can answer their own questions or seek answers from others.
E-mail. Using e-mail as a way to improve customer service and more quickly respond to certain needs or help requests.
Communications. Unifying communications so that you know that the customer who left a voice mail also sent an e-mail with the same request a few days ago.
Software. Better managing customer relationships with more sophisticated data-gathering tools, such as customer relationship management software.

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5 Tips for Building a Customer Interaction Management Team

June 4, 2018

Developing a great team of any type takes time, courage & patience. But, when it comes to taking care of the most important asset of a business (Of course people as customers), making sure you have the right people in place to manage these complex relationships is essential.

1) Look for excellent conversationalists – This won’t always show up on a resume, so make sure to interview potential team members in person to see how well they pick up and react to different types of language. Observe their reactions not only to what you say but also your body language and tone of voice. Non-verbal communication is just as important in business as what people say through words.

2) Lean towards prospects with a strong technology background – Even the best conversationalists are now expected to be well-versed across multiple communication channels. Being only a smooth talker on the phone with customers isn’t good enough anymore, employers now seek out team members who are concise yet thoughtful in text-based mediums including email, chat, and messaging apps.

3) Evaluate internal communication capabilities – One of the pillars of a strong customer interaction management team is actually having effective and efficient conversations with colleagues. Since many employees across various departments can interact with customers (especially in the B2B industry), it’s essential that two employees aren’t providing conflicting responses. Finding excellent internal communicators isn’t easy, but once you do you should hold onto these employees as the skill is rare and valuable.

4) Leverage a system to archive customer information – No matter how good your customer interaction management team is at creating engaging and impactful dialogue, they simply can’t remember each detail of every single conversation. A customer interaction management system that also acts as a repository for customer information is essential for ensuring conversations are frequent and effective. In addition, an archive of customer discussions is great for transitioning accounts should an employee get promoted or move to a different department.

5) Seek to hire people with different backgrounds and opinions – Most companies have a diverse customer base, meaning you should also have a diverse customer interaction management team. Try to find employees who are not only a good fit with your culture but also have unique perspectives created by their personal background and history. While lifelong “local” employees may be less transient, they also can sometimes have difficulty relating to customers from other areas of the country or even the world.

The article is sourced from Team Support. Thanks for reading. Please share it with your colleagues and friends.

5 Essentials of Great Customer Service

May 13, 2018

There is no greater value to any corporation than their customer service. Here are the top 5 needful customer service to be focused on:

1. Great customer service is caring.

Great customer service comes down to caring. Not only should the corporation care about the quality of their products, but should care even more-so about customer satisfaction. Companies should take the time to ensure the customer is delivered a product that works, and that the customer understands how to use and operate their product. Companies who pride themselves on great customer service take great value in creating referrals. To ensure this possibility, they make themselves available to their customers for any questions, repairs and or concerns, and if necessary offer to replace, compensate or refund what isn’t working.

2. Passion

Passion is the foundation of great customer service people and their organizations. Customer service is the “it” factor. It is passion which separates those individuals and organizations who excel from those who offer the customer the bare minimum to get by.

3. Communication

Solid communication is crucial when it comes to customer service. Communication requires effort, flexibility and a tremendous amount of patience and self-control on the part of the customer service agent. The customer, in most cases, should be treated as correct. And, customers are wrong sometimes as well.

4. Service-minded

Corporations that value customer service doesn’t just enforce procedures and shout instructions to their customers as an approach to problem-solving. It is the responsibility of each corporation to develop a culture of service and to see the undeniable value of serving those who purchase their products.

5. Willingness

The customer who is expressing a lack of satisfaction doesn’t become a more pleasant person when met with automated systems with unreasonable hold times, and one transfer after another once they have finally gotten someone live on the phone.

Killer Words of Customer Service

May 4, 2018

There are customer service ramifications of eight commonly used words and sayings that we’ve designated as Killer Words. These eight phrases are normally used with good intentions, yet they are damaging to customer relationships. Let’s look at how we can avoid the Killer Words and see that it’s not how you perceive the phrases but how the recipient interprets them.

#1—Killer Words of Customer Service: “CALM DOWN.”

When a customer contacts you about a problem, they generally are not happy. So, it’s not a good idea to say something that might make them more unhappy. Let’s listen in on a customer phone call.

Jessica: Thanks for holding support. This is Jessica.

Customer: Yeah, your company promised me delivery on Tuesday. It’s now Friday and it’s still not here. Do you have any idea what kind of problems you’re causing me?

Jessica: Ma’am, please: Calm down!

Customer: Calm down?!? Calm down??? Don’t tell me to calm down!!! Thanks for the advice, but if your company would have done what they promised, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation!

Did you see what happened here? Instead of handling the customer’s concern immediately, Jessica chose to change the subject. Rather than dealing with the complaint, she sidetracked it into telling the customer what to do, and all of a sudden it’s an argument. The customer went from upset to furious. This can be handled much better.

Jessica: Thanks for holding. Support This is Jessica.

Customer: Yeah, your company promised me delivery on Tuesday. It’s now Friday and it’s still not here. Do you have any idea what kind of problems you’re causing me?

Jessica: My apologies. That’s got to be very frustrating. If need be, we can overnight your order so it’s there Monday. Now please tell me exactly what happened and I will get to work on fixing this.

Customer: Yes OK. Thanks. …

That was much better. Jessica apologized and focused her efforts on solving the problem and that’s what the customer wanted in the first place. Telling a customer how to act is never a good idea.

#2—Killer Words of Customer Service: “CAN I BE HONEST WITH YOU?”

Chris: Parts. This is Chris.

Customer: Yeah, Chris. This is Darius Jones. We spoke last week and you asked me to call today to arrange installation of the new pump for our hydraulic press.

Chris: Hello, Mr. Jones. Um, regarding your new pump, can I be honest with you?

Customer: No, I want you to lie to me. Yes, of course, you can be honest with me!

If ever there was a useless saying, it’s the Killer Words “can I be honest with you?” The customer assumes that you’re always going to be honest with them. They expect that. There are several variations of these words that needs to be dropped as well, such as:

Let me be perfectly frank.
You want the truth, right?
Look, I’m going to level with you.
Can I be candid with you?

Always choose correct words so that your customers can be fair and polite to you as well! If you liked this blog post, please share it with your friends! Thanks

5 Ways Artificial Intelligence Revolutionizes Customer Service

April 19, 2018

One of the most disruptive technologies of our time is Artificial Intelligence (AI) which makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks. With the capacity to drastically change our entire world, early adopters are already experimenting with the lucrative functions of AI, especially within the contact center world.

As AI continues to perform outside the ways of human capacity, its implementation will only continue to grow as more than 62 percent of businesses plan to integrate AI-fueled solutions this year.

Here are five ways AI harnesses the power to revolutionize the customer experience:

Delivers proactive customer experiences

AI helps customer service teams further distinguish themselves from competitors in today’s highly-saturated marketplace by leveraging new customer data to deliver more personalized customer interactions. AI-fueled technology such as chatbots can fluently translate the information from various channels while determining patterns in customer behaviors to pinpoint customer needs and improve customer service operations on an individualized basis.

With this knowledge, AI conducts more productive conversations as well as anticipates needs based on context, preference and prior queries. As organizations accumulate more data on customers, predictive accuracy will increase and deliver proactive customer service that anticipates and acts prior to an issue arising.

Discovers new revenue streams

AI is the fuel that takes businesses to the next level by streamlining inquiries, assistance and outcomes. By extracting useful information from conversations – whether voice, digital or even an image – AI can predict trends and customer sentiment that could influence retention, loyalty and purchase inclinations.

Data examined by AI can help businesses uncover patterns companies can use to create entirely new and monetizable services for customers. In addition, insight delivered by AI can drive advanced levels of service at a fraction of the cost, saving some call centers as much as 60 to 80 percent in costs while helping them stand out in their industry as the “gold standard” for customer experience.

Increases contact center productivity

AI is not the sole driver of customer service, but it takes contact centers to the next level by streamlining inquiries and capturing resolutions. By extracting useful information from voice and digital conversations, images and machine-to-machine communications, AI can quickly predict trends and customer sentiment that may affect retention and loyalty. AI-infused automation also improves the experience of live agents, allowing them to resolve problems faster, waste less time handling routine inquiries and provide a better customer experience.

Enhances real-time agent training

In contact centers, managers can spend more than 50 percent of their time per week tackling administrative tasks, which drastically reduces the time they spend developing agents. As a result, managers struggle to support their employees who become increasingly frustrated with difficult processes and demanding KPIs. This frustration causes them to leave, pushing turnover rates higher.

AI can mitigate these concerns. By gathering and processing information from employees as well as customers, AI can provide real-time updates to supervisors as well as present in-line training for agents. Managers also can receive at-a-glance coaching objectives based on agent performance, allowing employees to gain feedback and training directly. The cycle of monitoring calls, training agents and improving for the next call is quicker and more insightful because of AI’s ability to gather and aggregate staggering amounts of data.

Improves human interaction

More than 40 percent of contact center decision makers are exploring AI’s uses, amplifying the theory that AI will replace human-powered jobs. Although it greatly enhances data collection and reporting tasks, customer service experts report AI solutions are only able to resolve 10 to 35 percent of customer inquiries without a human touch. As a result, customer service teams must refocus their agents on higher-level customer concerns rather than allowing AI to tackle every role. With these new skills, agents will be better equipped to handle interactions that require more complex insight and analysis to deliver faster and more effective customer experiences.

Final Thoughts

AI is a crucial part of improving both agent and customer experience. It does hold the key to greater customer insights and enabling real-time decision making but contact center leaders will need to cut through much of the hype surrounding AI to determine its real-world value in their settings. Once you assess and research how AI can streamline your business operations, the right vendor is ready with technology and guidance for bringing your vision to life.

6 secrets about customer service training that will boost your team’s results

April 4, 2018

While training and preparing your employees is clearly the first step taken by a good management team, it is nevertheless advisable to focus on what type of training they need and how to implement it. Below we will give you 6 secrets that will help you improve your customer service training and provide a significant boost to your business.

1. Train ALL your employees

Customer service is something that interests and concerns the entire company, not just a single department. In one way or another, the work of all your employees resonates with the end customer. For this reason, it is essential to provide customer service training instruction to your entire staff: not only will they be prepared to meet (or exceed) the expectations of users, but you will also be transmitting a consistent message across the company regarding the importance of customer service.

2. A coherent message: the customer comes first

While customer service training could include numerous technical aspects and personal skills, the essential message should be loud and clear: the customer comes first. These few words should waft throughout the organization as if they constituted a religious mantra. If your training is built upon this principle (which should be repeated until exhaustion), the foundation you are laying will help everything else run smoothly.

3. Practice, practice and continue practicing

If you want successful training, you have to commit to practice. Numerous studies confirm that experiential learning and learning by doing increase brain activity and the ability to memorize knowledge. Have your employees practice everything that they are learning so that they will never forget anything.

4. Exercise attitudes, positivity, and empathy

Many customer service training programs forget to teach the basics: kindness, empathy, positivity and courtesy. While many of these skills could appear naturally, the reality is that they must be reinforced and fostered throughout the company. Make sure that your courses drive home the need to be positive, smile, refer to the customer by name, remain calm, have patience and walk in our users’ shoes. Never assume that your employees are capable of doing all this in their day to day tasks.

5. Personalize your training

Every company is its own universe, and every customer support service is different. For this reason, if your company has some particular processes that you want to implement (welcome greeting, presentation of a product, packaging, closing a sale, returning an article, etc.), it is worth investing time into personalized training that satisfies the needs of your company and business.

6. Ongoing training: reinforce, reinforce and continue reinforcing

Customer service training should be a never-ending learning experience. Running a course during a month or two will neither significantly impact your staff nor improve your business’s figures. Employees (just like everyone else!) forget what they have learned and easily fall back into their old habits. It is thus essential to hold regular training courses (e.g., changing formats) to continue shoring up all the new knowledge and skills learned.

7 Powerful Customer Service Phone Tips

January 16, 2018

The phone is one of the oldest and most personal customer service channels. Its unique nature calls for a unique approach. While a phone call can feel like you’re talking directly to someone, it lacks the visual feedback of face to face contact. What’s more, you’re not able to reread what was said – as in, say, live chat support.

Let’s keep these unique qualities in mind as we go through these 7 customer service phone tips.

1 Stand up calling

One of the best tips I’ve received for handling important calls was to stand up and walk around. On your feet you’re naturally more energetic than when seated. It’s a simple matter of heart rate and blood flow.

Unfortunately, most people working in call centers are seated all day long. When you get one on the phone, they sound like they could fall asleep anytime.

Tip: Stand up to sound more energetic on the phone.

2 Calling blind

When we’re listening to someone face to face, politeness forces us to focus our eyes on the other person. But on the phone, we lack visual feedback.

This, combined with a world of distractions at your fingertips, makes wandering thoughts a real danger. We tend to overestimate our multitasking skills, so we think we can push in a quick email check and… *blank* What is she talking about again?

Worse, when you lose track, you’re not able to read over the transcript to pick things up again.

One tip for maintaining full focus while calling is to close your eyes, limiting your sensory input almost exclusively to your hearing. Be the Daredevil of phone support.

Tip: Close your eyes to focus fully on what the other person is saying.

3 The smile effect

Smiling isn’t only nice on the eye, it’s nice on the ear as well. Your voice sounds different when you speak with a smile. A study by the University of Portsmouth showed that people can hear whether a person on the other end of the line is smiling.

A laughing voice sounds warmer, making the customer feel welcome. By putting on a smile when you pick up the phone you’ll notice your calls become more friendly.

Tip: Smile to get a warm and welcoming voice.

4 The “Happy to see you!” technique

Phone service reps are generally taught to pick up the phone with warmth and enthusiasm. “Hi! This is Bob, how may I help you?!”

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Tag: Client Resource Managenet