9 tips and psychological keys to improve customer care
Keys to improve the quality of communication in customer services.
With the possible exception of donations and subsidies not linked to their own performance, each and every business that exists can survive solely and exclusively thanks to its customers, whether they are individuals, companies, organizations or even governments.
The products or services offered must be sufficiently attractive for the customer to want to come to us, but the truth is that a sale is not only achieved thanks to the product: the attention that the user receives or the perception and image of this one on it also has a great influence at the time of obtaining or maintaining the clientele.
Thus, customer service is at all times a fundamental pillar of any company, being in many of them a pending and very improvable subject. That is why in this article we are going to see a series of tips and a series of tips and keys to improve customer service..
Tips to improve customer service
To attend to the clients can seem simple, but the certain thing is that it can manage to enclose a major complication of what could be expected generally.
Although some people have the advantage of having a certain innate mastery of social and interpersonal skills, this is not enough to know how to serve customers correctly. In this sense, it is necessary to take into account a large number of aspects and key elements, which are summarized below in a total of 9 tips and keys to improve customer service.
1. Listen and empathize
Regardless of the type of business we are in, two of the main keys to maintain an optimal customer service are active listening and empathy skills.
First of all, it is essential to know how to listen to what they tell us, to be able to interpret it and even go further and try to detect what they need and why. But not only listening is important: we must put ourselves in the other person's place, empathizing with him and trying to detect how he feels, something that also helps us to understand him and establish a good relationship with him. also contributes to understanding and establishing a good bond with the other person.. We must treat our customers as we would like to be treated ourselves, being as authentic as possible.
On the other hand, we must also bear in mind that the client is not us and may not have the same tastes or needs as us, so we need to be flexible and, although we are empathetic, we should not merge mentally with him or her.
2. Keep a good relationship with the client
Another element to take into account is the fact that the customer will appreciate much more a good treatment and the presence of kindness (as long as it is not excessive and false) and cordiality in the treatment. In general, an optimistic and positive an optimistic and positive tone is recommendedThe customer will be more appreciative of a good treatment and the presence of friendliness (as long as it is not excessive and false) and cordiality in the treatment.
Even in cases where the customer goes into detail on aspects that are not relevant to the transaction itself (something usual in many customer service calls), you can not be rude, proclaim that his life does not matter to us and stop attending to him without further ado: in that case you should redirect the situation by directing the conversation towards the aspects that interest us or lead to the termination of the contact but always maintaining cordiality.
3. The customer is always important
They say that the customer is always right. Although this is not necessarily true, what is true is that the customer should always be important to us: before the sale in order to know their needs and provide them with what they need, during the service or sale itself and after the services have been used or the goods have been purchased, in order to assess their satisfaction (something that can allow us to improve our product), correct and attend to possible complaints and incidents and to contribute to a good impression of us and of the institution we represent. and of the institution we represent.
It is a matter of making the client feel valued above all else, and that he/she is not seen simply as someone who pays us and is no longer of interest to us after that, but as a complete and valuable person in his own right, whose well-being is of interest to us. In this sense, it may be necessary to restructure the vision of the user or customer that many professionals have regarding their relationship with users. In addition, in a secondary way, this can create loyalty and even cause a good image of our business that can generate even more customers.
4. Clear and concise messages
An interminable message or one that does not make clear what it pursues or what it can be useful for is a bad message: information should always be clear and as concise as possible.The information should always be clear and as concise as possible, highlighting the main elements without being redundant and not giving rise to confusion or different interpretations. In addition, a concise message is more easily retained and interesting than a long one, being necessary to reduce as much as possible (but without exceeding) the content of the message we want to try to get across.
5. It is not only the words that matter
Many customer services focus a lot on the oral message they transmit to the user or customer, but the truth is that when offering a good service and that our message is credible, it is essential to take into account that everything we do is communicative.
That is to say, not only we have to watch the message but also we have to take into account that our gestures accompany and enhance it, the look, the posture and even the physical distance we put with the subject (which should be neither too little resulting invasive nor excessive resulting distant). Our tone of voice, the formality or informality we use or the volume we use, among others, are also very relevant. or the volume we use, among others. Likewise, not only us but also what the business or company does as an institution is relevant: how it behaves in general with customers, the reliability of its services...
6. Security and trust are key
Uncertainty and doubt are a major obstacle when it comes to maintaining a business. We must project an image of strength, security and reliability that must be based on a well-planned and executed performance. We must also be able to offer and defend our product as something of great quality and usefulness, knowing its advantages and disadvantages.
However, we must not confuse safety with arrogance, However, we must not confuse security with arrogance and stubbornness, and we must be able to be flexible.We must be able to be flexible when the situation requires it and be able to accept and learn from possible mistakes.
7. Offer solutions and be prepared
Another aspect of great relevance comes from the fact that when a client or user comes to us or to our business, he/she does so expecting a quick and valid response. It is very important to be prepared and to have a plan of action in order to be able to solve possible problems that may arise with our product or service, by decisively assessing different alternatives..
8. Persuade but without harassing
Many of you reading these lines have probably found yourself on more than one occasion answering phone calls from companies that keep trying to contact you and convince you over and over again of the advantages of their services.
This type of behavior can harass the potential customer, generating anger and repulsion, even to the point of turning down offers that under normal conditions could be interesting. When we are in front of a customer we must try to be persuasive, but not tiresome..
9. Personalize
Closely related to the previous point is the fact that slogans and texts are often used slogans and texts that are learned by Heart and quoted verbatim (especially if the message is long). (especially if the message is long), something easily perceived by the potential user and that usually generates a quick mental disconnection and disinterest on the part of the user with respect to what is being said.
That is why it is very important to personalize the message offered to each user. Obviously we can and will need to tell him or her about the product's features, but first we must make them meaningful to him or her.
(Updated at Apr 15 / 2024)