“First there is god and then there is customer.” Source: Owner of every successful business.
This is the untold truth accepted by all successful businesses prevalent in the world.
Customers are directly responsible for success or failure of any business operation and shape the fortune of organizations. This is why; you should always lend an ear when they are speaking and be there for them even when they are not. More than just hearing them out just for the sake of it, you should listen to them closely and understand their every concern. Although, this is true for most businesses, the importance of listening to customers increases when you are part of customer support services.
How Listening Helps in Providing Customer Support Services?
You may find snobbish customer care executives bragging about how they treat customer with complete disdain, never listen to them and still get positive results. This may be true as far as personal scores are concerned; however when it comes to the image of the company, the overall impact is negative. The real assets of a company providing customer support services are those employees who actually care about the customers and listen to them. These representatives know the importance of listening and use every word spoken by the customer for their own advantage. How they do it? Read on…
They know where to focus and where to relax – Listening to the customer does not mean that you engross yourself in the conversation so much so that you start brainstorming even the mindless banter. It is alright to acknowledge customer’s comments at all times, however, there is no need to spend your creative juices on parts of conversation that have no true value in your endeavors.
They are judicious in dividing their time – Time division is critical for effective handling of the call. It is alright to let the customer vent out in the beginning and listen to his problems. However, once you have listened to the customer’s side of the story, you should be more assertive and direct the call flow towards the resolution of the problem. Spend more time on providing instructions and politely interrupt customer if a need arises.
They complement listening with verbal nods – How do you convey another person that you are listening while they are talking? By nodding or saying yes, ok etc., don’t you? However, in a telephonic conversation, the person on the other side isn’t watching you and hence, can’t see if you are listening or not. This is why; it is essential that you speak up or provide verbal nods at timely intervals to ensure that the customer always knows that you are listening.
There are different types of customer services provided by various organizations, which address different facets of an organization’s operations. A lot of services are outsourced by the parent organization to other countries for economic benefits. You can outsource web research services and other similar services that do not require listening without worrying too much; however, when it comes to voice support, you should make your selection carefully.