We all know that customer service can make or break a business, but what does excellent customer service actually boil down to? We’ve created a ‘recipe’ of tips to provide an excellent customer service experience. (We hope these food idioms aren’t too cheesy.) No matter if you’re a voice support agent, a chat support agent, or even an in-person customer service representative, these tips will help you sharpen your skills. With a bit of practice, customer support will be a piece of cake!
7 customer support tips to provide excellent experiences
1. Know the product
The meat and potatoes of excellent customer support is a masterful understanding of everything related to the business and its products. To truly go above and beyond in providing an all-encompassing experience, knowing every detail about a product or service enables agents to provide an accurate, easy-to-understand answer that will go a long way to making customers happy and fulfilling their requests.
2. Use a positive tone and clear language
Walk on eggshells, i.e. choose your words carefully and professionally when talking with customers. Not only does what you say matter, but your tone helps to steer the conversation in the right direction (especially true for unhappy customers). Avoid monotonous, flat-as-a-pancake responses and add some fluctuation to your voice. The power of voice inflection can either indicate boredom and disinterest to helpful and caring.
3. It’s all in the details
Like any good customer support agent (or chef) a five-star experience is dependent on every small detail. From the first interaction to the moment a customer hangs up the phone or closes the chat (and in some cases, even after an interaction) is a representative’s opportunity to go above and beyond. Truly excellent experiences come down to the small details because those will leave an impact. Good customer service is about solving the problem. Excellent customer support goes past expectations.
4. Use emotional intelligence
Being able to interpret and decipher what other people are feeling is a vital skill for support agents. Agents shouldn’t sugarcoat things because it’s important to be completely honest. However, understanding that many customers reach out when they have an urgent need and can get frustrated more quickly allows agents to act accordingly and with empathy.
5. Express gratitude
Showing appreciation is the cream of the crop when it comes to making someone feel seen. Even in the most stressful support situations, a well-placed thank you can go a long way. Steal these short messages to create stronger relationships with customers.
- We know the world is full of choices. Thank you for choosing us!
- Thank you for your purchase from (company name). Please let us know if we can do anything else for you!
- Thank you for being our valued customer.
- Thank you for the feedback.
Each conversation is a chance to treat the customer like a VIP and give them a meaningful experience. If agents have to give support, it’s because customers believed in the product or service and wanted it enough to purchase. And that alone means being grateful for the opportunity to serve them.
6. Stay open to learning
Providing customer service is not a simple task. Dealing with irritated - or even furious - customers can wear on you. But you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, meaning things that are worthwhile may require some adversity. Being receptive to consumers’ candid comments and listening to them may produce insightful data that can enhance the whole customer experience. This enables agents to make improvements that satisfy customers and win their loyalty for many years to come.
7. End the conversation clearly
The icing on the cake is wrapping up the conversation with no questions left unanswered and all problems sorted out. Although this is ideal, sometimes problems are not always immediately resolvable. If this is the case, let the customer know what the next steps are, when they can expect to hear back, and any other key piece of information they need to know that will prevent them from stressing. At the end of the interaction, a customer should know what’s been done, why, and what will happen next.
If you’re looking for more on customer support, check out our other helpful blogs!
- Customer support guide
- How to provide 24/7 support
- Key strategies to scale your support team
- Your complete guide to customer support training
- How to build a good customer support team
Customer support, done
In a nutshell, mastering customer support (like anything else) takes time, practice, and patience. Not every business has the time to recruit, train, and manage a customer support team - especially when you need support as soon as possible. Influx support teams are ready to go in under a week and we’ll help you flex and scale your business as needed with support on demand. With simple month-to-month pricing, we’ll give you the support needed to bring home the bacon. Browse our support solutions to see how Influx can benefit you!
