Customer Service Skills for Businesses: Corporate Culture

It seems to be a trend in corporations these days to establish a baseline “culture” within their organization. It’s called the corporate culture and it is useful in both training employees as well as developing long term loyalties to the corporation.

In simplest terms, a corporate culture is useful in a customer service sense because it goes toward establishing consistency and it also helps to make the employees happy about working for their company. A happy employee makes work life much better and in turn makes for happier cusomers.

If you’re thinking about instituting a corporate culture in your business to help raise productivity and morale there are a few essential concepts you should try to weave into the fabric of the culture. Think of corporate culture less like the iron hand of the major corporation and more like the caressing and guiding hands of a community or organized religion. There are a few factors that all corporate cultures must have in order for them to be beneficial to the company as a whole.

1.    Goal Oriented:

The entire point of having a corporate culture is to direct the employee base towards a common goal. We want to achieve great things with our business and the way we do that is to have an goal setting mechanism that is both easy to understand and easy to communicate.

Corporate cultures must be goal oriented from the ground up. The smallest person on the totem pole needs to know that he should have the goal of setting his sites high and climbing the corporate ladder while the higher ups need to have a structured goal set to bring in more revenue.

As it is in life, it is in business. Goals are important and the best way to achieve them is to set them out in a structured way and commit to them.

2.    Team Building:

All for one and one for all, that’s the team building motto. We want our employees to try and work with each other the best they can. Team building could be part of your corporate culture by having company picnics or sports teams. The closer knit relationships you have between employees and the company the more likely it will be that employees will work hard to make the company better.

Host regular events and have group discussion meetings. Make sure that you’re company is transparent and tries to include everyone in the major processes. The more an employee feels that he is an essential part of a team the happier he will be to perform for that team. The end result is better performance all around.

3.    Take Ownership and Responsibility

It is important for everyone working in a company to feel like they are responsible for something. Empower your employees with your corporate culture and make them feel as though they can make decisions on their own. You also want to make sure that they will fess up to poor decisions they . . . → Read More: Customer Service Skills for Businesses: Corporate Culture

Customer Service Essential: Reading the Customer

Customer service is a delicate back and forth game between the customer representative and the client. Like any back and forth game there will be times when it is appropriate to attack and there will be times when it is better to defend. Of course, in the customer service world things aren’t so violent. Basically, you need to pay attention and realize when it is necessary for you to speak, when it is necessary for you to listen, and when it is necessary to end the conversation entirely.

In other articles I have discussed methods of improving your customer service skills by changing the way you use your body and language. In this article I will be discussing the ways you can read their body and language to figure out exactly what they are looking for in you.

Use these simple indicators to figure out where you stand with them you are dealing with and decide what your next move should be. Should you help them with something else? Change subjects and suggest a new product? Stop the conversation and move on to another guest? Be more concise? Picking up on your customer’s emotions will help you efficiently take care of them in a way they will be most satisfied.

1. Body Language:

Their body language can tell you a lot about what they need.

If they appear to be wandering aimlessly with a puzzled look on their face, or if they stand near a certain section items with their hands on their hips or fingers at their chin, it might be a good idea to approach them and ask if they could use any help. Chances are that they trying to make a decision about a purchase but needs to know a little more about it which is a perfect opportunity for you to explain things.

If while you’re speaking with a customer they keep turning to the side or if they gradually back away from you, its time to end the conversation. Just say something like: “Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.” or “Have a nice day” and continue on with another task. This one doesn’t need your help and bothering him further will only make things worth.

2. Tone and Temper:

It is extremely important to listen to your customers. Reading their tone and temperament will enable you to skirt sensitive issues or proceed with caution. It will also allow you to act more casually if the case is right.

React to raised voices and low tones with a calm soothing tone of your own. Stay happy and try to be as helpful as you can. Explain things slowly and try to be appreciative of the their concerns. Hopefully this will avoid any serious conflicts and the problems will dissolve.

3. Subject Matter:

Listen to your customer. I cannot stress this enough. Sometimes they will ask you something when they really just want some general information. . . . → Read More: Customer Service Essential: Reading the Customer

Customer Service Essential: Consistency

As companies grow and the number of employees and departments expand exponentially it becomes a difficult task to get everyone working and thinking in unison. Consistency is one of the most important weapons in the customer service arsenal. Without consistency everything starts falling apart and confusion abounds. Stay consistent on the inside of the business so that you remain consistent on the outside where it’s most important.

Why is consistency so important? Why should we care so much about it? Well, it’s simple. One of the most aggravating complaints one can have is: One hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing in this place! When the departments of a business aren’t working together to produce a quality product it drives customers crazy. They have to deal with being routed and transferred all around the company in order to get what they are looking for and if one department does one thing and another department does another, it becomes incredibly difficult.

For example: in the hotel industry one of the most common problems is making a reservation. Hotels brands are huge these days, they are worldwide and they have a countless amount of people working for them in different respects. When they want to make a reservation they have a few different options and all of these options must remain consistent with each other.

They can go online through the brand website to make a reservation, they can call central reservations to make the reservation, or they can speak directly to the hotel to make a reservation. If any of these has a different procedure or quotes the customer a different rate than one of the others, they are going to pick up on that and wonder what is going on. Consistency makes routine easier, it enables them to feel that the company is reliable because they work the same way no matter who he is talking to.

Major companies these days are perfect examples of consistency in action. A brand and all the restrictions that come with it are the ultimate consistency mechanisms. Brands lay out a simple easy to follow set of rules for all employees to follow and these rules and procedures are enacted in the same way every time.

The Marriott brand is a great example of consistency. When you step into one Courtyard by Marriott hotel you have practically stepped into them all. Each hotel franchise is built with a specific template and that template is followed across the entire globe with only a few exceptions here and there. Everything from the way the lobby looks, the uniforms the employees wear, to the words each employees uses to speak to you with is consistent world wide and the company is stronger for it.

When they know what to expect with a business, they are more inclined to use that businesses service. The business world is all about trust and disciplined consistency will build that trust in the customer base. However, you want to . . . → Read More: Customer Service Essential: Consistency

5 Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills with Verbal Communication

To be successful in the customer service industry it is important to understand that customer service is all about perception. They need to feel that the server knows what they are doing, is happy to be doing what they are doing, and most importantly glad that they are there.

One of the biggest problems out there in the market today is verbal communication. Everyone knows how to speak but only a few do it skillfully. Here are a few quick tips to improve your verbal communication that will make you sound better and more professional for your next interaction.

1.    Choose Words Wisely:

Half of customer interaction is about speaking to them. We must choose our words carefully so as not to offend or dismiss them. Remember, we always want to give the impression that we care about them and that they are important to us.

The basic rule is to speak naturally but properly. Avoid using contractions if you can. Don’t say things like “Yeah, whattya want?” and try not to use any idiomatic expressions or regional words. Not everyone will be from the region you’re working in so words like bubbler, grinder, clicker, and others might not make sense. You want to try and avoid having to explain yourself because confusing the client is the last thing we want to do.

2.    Have a Script in Your Head:

It is a good idea to prepare a script or outline for frequently asked questions or information you know you will have to give out on a daily basis. For example: while working at the front desk of a hotel I would constantly have to give directions and suggest restaurants. We also had a shuttle service that needed some pretty lengthy explanation that I had to tell every guest when they checked in.

What I would do is think of about four sentences worth of well packed information and I would say the same thing over and over. With the script in my head I wasn’t stumbling over my words and I had tailored it so that I knew the guests were getting all the information I wanted to give them. Scripts help you to keep consistent and once you get used to them it makes it easier to focus on other aspects of communication.

3.    Avoid the use of Slang:

This one ties in to choosing your words wisely. Slang terms vary across culture and geography and some people might have no idea what you’re talking about. The best thing to do is try and be as formal as possible whenever you can. Don’t greet customers with phrases like: “What’s up?” or “Yo, dog.” And sometimes even a “How’s it going?” or “You’re all set.” can be problematic. Stick to the basics of the English language and you should be fine. “Hello,” “Good Bye,” and “Have a nice day” are your fail safes. You can never go wrong when using words or phrases like that.

4.    Watch Your . . . → Read More: 5 Tips to Improve Your Customer Service Skills with Verbal Communication