Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, said it best when he said, “There is only one boss. The customer. And [they] can fire everybody in the company … by spending [their] money elsewhere.” Mr. Walton was exactly right. Unhappy customers fire entire corporations all the time. That’s why customer satisfaction should be your company’s top priority.
Great customer service isn’t something that magically happens, nor is it something you can simply hire into your company. It’s something that has to be ingrained in your company’s mission and an integral part of its culture. It’s something you train into your workforce until it’s self-perpetuating. Continue reading to get some tips for training your staff to provide the ultimate customer experience.
Hold regular employee training sessions.
Repetition is the mother of learning, so it’s a good idea to provide continual training for new employees and those with years of experience. Think of it like this: Do professional athletes ever stop training simply because they’ve been doing the same job for years?
The best way for employees to work on their professional development without interfering with their jobs is with online learning courses. Online training is effective for businesses of all sizes, and you can get great course content at an affordable price. Furthermore, with an online training platform, you can provide eLearning course content for downloads and host live webinars. Do your research to find the best eLearning platform for your small business. Many online course platforms offer a free trial to let you test their training management system for yourself.
Monitor customer interactions for quality management.
Every conversation your call center agents have with callers affects your brand. Your customer interactions will either help your business soar or cause it to sink, which is why your supervisors should use the available tools to monitor support team customer interactions.
Contact center software solutions feature quality management tools that allow supervisors to monitor phone calls, social media messages, and web chat threads between customer service teams and patrons. Data analytics enable you to track agent productivity and find solutions to enhance agent performance.
Cultivate positivity as part of your company culture.
Improving customer service is a matter of creating the right company culture. It starts with how people in your company communicate with and treat each other. Moreover, it starts at the top and works its way down to the entry-level personnel.
Part of creating a thriving culture is about creating an environment where everyone feels valued for what they bring to the table, recognizing excellence and providing opportunities for advancement based on merit. Indeed, the customer and employee experiences go hand in hand. Happy employees provide better customer service.
Acknowledge and reward great service.
People are more likely to go the extra mile if there’s something in it for them. One of the best ways to improve customer service in your company is to offer incentives. Use a workforce management tool to track agent performance, and openly acknowledge and reward excellence.
Some say your customer experience is your brand, so it should also be a core tenant of your company’s ethos. Repetition is key to learning, so it’s a good idea to hold regular training sessions. Also, your supervisors should monitor customer interactions to watch for teachable moments. Cultivating positive vibes as part of your workplace culture will enhance everything from agent performance to the customer experience, and it’s also a good idea to provide incentives for excellence.
Providing better customer service and creating a great customer experience come from creating the right company culture. The kind of change it takes to shift the culture must come from the top and work its way to the entry level, meaning it starts with you. Be the change you want to see, and you’ll notice that the positivity of your company’s leaders in combination with the right tools and training will revolutionize your customer service. If needed, you can even use a global employment agency to gain the best talent available for your services!