The top 4 Customer Service Skills for 2021

Bad customer service costs you. In fact, it costs businesses more than $75 billion a year. Shocked? Probably not. Customer experience has become the driving force behind most product development and business strategies. Customer service can offer valuable differentiation in the marketplace. 

But truly great customer service can be challenging to maintain over time. The challenges of maintaining the right combination of people, skills, processes, and technologies can be overwhelming for many businesses. Since the pandemic, one thing has become painfully obvious – human connection matters.

When a customer reaches out to customer service, customer service representatives can solve problems and provide information, but more importantly, they create a human connection.

While there are many different platforms and channels that allow customers to get in touch with businesses, telephony may seem like a thing of the past (spoiler: it isn’t), but in fact, it is a popular last port of call for most customers. 

Often when a customer calls customer support, their level of frustration is likely at a peak and requires agents to have a certain set of skills to defuse the situation. Here are four customer service skills that are important for 2021 (and beyond). 

#1 Adaptability

More than ever, the past year has shown us the importance of adaptability: the willingness to learn and grow and the ever-evolving nature of customer expectations.

The competitive landscape is shifting. As a result, every employee who engages with a broad range of customers needs to have the passion (and curiosity) to learn new skills, grow and change with the ever-changing environment.

#2 Active Listening

Customers need someone to listen to them or solve a problem for them. They contact customer service with the expectation that you will do this for them. If an agent is not actively listening to the customer or is not fully present, why would this customer bother calling or engaging?

Customers often complain more about not being ‘heard’ than anything else. When customers are not heard, it is difficult – almost impossible – to resolve the issue quickly or efficiently. 

Active listening requires someone to focus on what the customer is saying, interpret what they are saying, and then respond appropriately to demonstrate that they understand the customer.

#3 Empathy

The skill to see things from the customer’s point of view is beyond valuable for customer engagement. Letting customers know that you understand their situation and their emotions can help effectively resolve a customer’s situation.

For most customers, how they remember an experience is mostly based on the feelings they experience in the interaction – not the facts.

Whether someone is ‘naturally’ empathetic or not, they must learn how to leverage empathy to engage with customers. For example, to make sure that each customer feels heard and valued – regardless of the outcome.

#4 Communication Skills

Communicating clearly, concisely, and confidently is crucial in customer service (and in any department, really). For example, 33% of customers say that efficiently answering questions is the most essential skill a customer service agent can have.

Fortunately, many businesses have moved away from Average Talk Time as a critical measure of success and have replaced it with First Contact Resolution. The move away from ‘speed’ enables CSRs to take the extra time needed to clarify and resolve the customer’s issues effectively. 

Experience customer service agents or representatives understand how to adjust their communication style to match that of the customer. This skill allows a complete understanding of the issues at hand and gains the customer’s confidence.

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