Sometimes perfection fails to exist at an individual level; but when individuals who are not perfect, come to work together as a team, they can create magic. For a team to succeed it does not require flawless employees with everything being perfect. It just requires a bond between workers which allows them to work together to provide fruitful results.
Customer support is an important aspect of business which helps in turning every customer into an advocate for the brand. Even for brands that do not have high sums of money up their sleeves, customer support is a method they can employ to out-support the competition they cannot out-spend.
A great customer support team is an amalgamation of numerous shared characteristics and vision.
Here are some qualities that make a great Customer Support Team:
Operate as a Company
For a brilliant customer support team, their work is just not limited to a department. They work for the company and as the company. We have seen and heard of countless instances where customer support teams have saved the day for an organization at the hour of need. A customer support team vying to achieve greatness should think of themselves as representatives of the company to the outside world.
Related:
Customer Service: Its Importance and Value
How to Do Customer Service The Right Way
It is them, who is in contact with customers 24/7. Top level management is not present at all times, and they have to make instant and result-oriented decisions in the heat of a moment. The liberty to make these decisions should be provided, which would help the team keep the interests of the customer above anything else.
Everyone Should be Kept Updated
Another important trait of a successful customer service team is to keep everyone within the team in the loop. Unity comes from clarity. There is bound to be friction and differences within team members if information is provided to only a few and hidden from the rest. Everything should be laid down in front of all team members, and all the team members should be directed towards achieving the goals in unison.
Study Data Carefully
Customer trends are every-changing, as there is no single trend which can be called everlasting. To remain on track with all recent and updated trends, it is best to study trends and reach conclusions based on the fluctuations. The latest trend in customer service is that customers want to know how their concerns and feedback are being addressed by the organization.
Many a times, organizations ask customers to give their feedback, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Customers that provide the feedback now want to know how exactly it is being catered to. Have their concerns been taken care of? Are there any incentives being offered on the feedback? These questions need to be answered for the customers to trust the organization. A customer support team, wary of all the latest trends and details will realize what the customer exactly wants and will deliver that to them. On the contrary, another team which fails to do the homework will not provide the customers with what they want and would later rue the low conversion rates.
Know How to Turn Complaints into a positive Experience
A good customer support team should know the art of turning a complaint or a bad experience into a positive experience. They should know that customers calling in with complaints are not frustrated with them but are just irritated because of the situation.
There are two ways of handling a complaint. You can either worsen the situation even more with ignorant reasoning or you can give the customer the understanding they require and go towards finding a solution with mutual agreement. The latter is without a doubt the better stance and an trademark of great support teams.
Handling a complaint might look like a hassle, but there are few directions you can follow to reach consensus. The CARP formula is considered as the best method of effectively solving a complaint and turning into a positive experience for both the company and the customer.
- Control by owning the situation
- Acknowledge problem or the issue
- Refocus the conversation
- Problem solution
Reach Out to the Level a Customer Wants
The worst customer support teams are those, which follow a script and do not do anything out of their comfort zone. A customer support team should know when and how to step out of their zone and to reach out to the customers level. This is exactly where the team’s communicative skills come into perspective. They can be developed and coherently taught during training sessions. Instead of using negative connotations such as ‘We can’t’ the team members should use phrases such as ‘Here is what we can do for you or offer you.’ With the proper use of positive terms, the customer will feel at ease and eventually adjust to the warm conversation.