Business owners have a long list of priorities when it comes to running their companies, such as budget allocations, marketing efforts, recruitment, and more. However, many fail to recognize the need to invest in another equally important area: customer support.

Qualities-of-Customer-Support

It’s no secret that having and maintaining a great relationship with your customers is one of the key ingredients to your business’ success. Since support reps they are your direct connection to your users, they’re responsible for ensuring a flawless customer experience.

Globally, 96% of consumers say customer service is one of the greatest influencers of their loyalty and trust with a brand. If you don’t perform the way they expect you to, there’s a considerable risk that they’ll leave you for someone who can treat them better. If you’re excellent, they will naturally speak positively about your business. Plus, customer acquisition is 6-7x more expensive than customer retention.

Customer service is especially crucial if you run a tech or software company. Crashes, bugs, and defects should be addressed by your team quickly and efficiently while making the user feel heard and valued.

 

Qualities of Great Customer Support Officers

So, what does it take to breed great customer support officers in your company? Here are some of the top qualities they should have.

 

  1. Clear Verbal and Written Communication Skills

It’s not easy to articulate what you have to convey on the fly, especially when 82% of consumers want real-time replies and solutions to their concerns. Whether your customer service agent is on the phone or responding via email, they should have the ability to be concise and clear with the help that they’re going to provide.

They should use simple, positive language and answer queries to the best of their abilities. Pay attention to how they present themselves during the interview and even their email etiquette during active correspondence.

 

  1. Active Listening Skills

When conversing with your customers, your reps should make sure they listen to the whole complaint or concern while picking up keywords to pinpoint the problem. They tend to be detail-oriented and pay attention to the little things that many otherwise overlook.

By being attentive, your customer support officers will be able to notice trends as to what your users are inquiring about. For instance, the design and UX of your website or app may be preventing users from finding where they need to go. These notes are crucial for improving your product and giving your customers a better experience.

 

  1. Empathy

Customer service agents should understand where their users are coming from. It’s a challenging yet critical skill to recognize another person’s emotional state. Ask your customer support officers to put themselves in the customer’s shoes: What most likely happened to cause their frustration? How would you like to be treated if you were in the same position? Listen for the most caring and understanding answers.

Empathy is indeed a complex skill. However, by engaging with customers regularly, this particular quality can be honed over time.

 

  1. Product Knowledge

In a survey done by American Express, 62% of consumers reveal that service insight and knowledge are two critical components in customer satisfaction. How is this figure important?

There are times when complaints or concerns may arise due to the consumer’s lack of knowledge about the product. In these cases, they may either be furious, frustrated, or confused as to how things work. If your customer support officers show intelligence and competence, the customers will have an immediate sense of ease that the agent can solve their issues. Confidence goes a long way in customer service.

 

  1. Patience

Your customer service reps will talk to a lot of people in one day, and some conversations will be easier to handle than others. They should master the art of being patient when listening, communicating, and responding to customer queries. Patience will allow them to power through all their ticket requests with grace and tact.

 

  1. Flexibility

There will be times where your customer service team gets thrown with issues that they did not anticipate. During these moments, your agent should know how to think and act quickly while on his or her feet. Processes like escalation and rerouting should be second nature to them, so they know when to tap other members of the team for faster problem-solving.

According to a recent study, 12% of Americans say lack of speed is their top frustration with customer service. If they fumble or keep the customer waiting for too long, it could cause dissatisfaction. Check how well they work under pressure and how they delegate, prioritize, and manage their time.

 

Conclusion

A single expert customer support officer can drastically change the image of your company versus a few subpar ones. Invest in the right people that will represent your brand’s image to your customers and give them the proper treatment they deserve. After all, fantastic customer experience will translate to more loyal customers and higher customer retention rates—and this is what it takes to propel your business forward and achieve higher sales and ROI.

Never underestimate the power of great customer service. In the age of globalization, it’s the single added value that truly sets businesses apart!

 

Find out if you should build an in-house customer support team or outsource to an expert provider today!