Week 6 Customer Care PDF

Week 6 Communications in Customer Service  Communications in Customer Service Communication: is most important part of customer service.(WHY) That is because good customer service requires listening to a customer's needs and then telling her/him how you plan to meet those needs....

Week 6 Communications in Customer Service  Communications in Customer Service Communication: is most important part of customer service.(WHY) That is because good customer service requires listening to a customer's needs and then telling her/him how you plan to meet those needs.  Communication: The process by which information, ideas, and understanding are shared between two (or more) people.  Why Good communication skills are crucial? to showing customers, you understand what they are.  What are the benefit of using good communication skills? It helps the customer understand you and your company, as well as respect it and maintain a relationship. Why do Companies Lose Customers?  During the communication the element of understanding may not be taking place.  The challenge of communicating effectively is made more difficult when providers need a better understanding of who their customers are.  One way to develop a more intimate understanding of customers is to build customer intelligence  68%of the time that organizations lose customers, it is because of poor service - a rude or uncaring attitude  Customer Intelligence  Customer Intelligence The process of:  gathering information,  building a historical database,  developing an understanding of current potential, and lapsed customers. Requires: A comprehensive understanding of customers; partial or selective data can result in a fragmented or inaccurate view. Helps organizations:  particularly customer service providers,  better understand and serve customer groups. Allows businesses to:  tailor services and approaches to specific customers based on collected data.  Track customer purchases.  Reward loyalty.  Improve customer relations by making customers feel appreciated. Involves:  identifying why customers are more loyal to one organization over others offering similar products or services.  Targeted reward programs (e.g., CVS, American Eagle, JC Penney, hotel chains) are effective methods for collecting customer intelligence while rewarding loyalty.  Customer Intelligence  Relationship Marketing: The practice of cultivating a lasting and mutually beneficial connection with customers.  Customer intelligence can:  enhance relationship marketing by providing deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences.  Businesses: often have a large amount of customer data but may not fully utilize it to improve customer relationships.  Information such :  customer purchasing patterns,  preferred times for interactions,  and expectations fall under customer intelligence.  The more businesses understand customers,  The better they can communicate and effectively serve them.  How is Customer intelligence goes beyond market segmentation?  By examining both current and lapsed customers.  It is an ongoing process, with new information and trends being continuously added to improve customer relationships.  Types of Communications  Verbal: The words we use.  Non-Verbal: Bodily actions and vocal qualities that typically accompany a verbal message  Methods of Communication All methods of communication are used in customer service. Customer service providers must continue to improve their communication skills. Listening: the ability to hear and understand what the speaker is saying. Nodding when you agree with the speaker is a sign of active listening Writing: Communicating by using the written word so that others can understand the intended message. When writing, be effective by giving detail. There will be a sales team meeting tomorrow at 9:00 am Talking: Speaking, using words and terminology that others can comprehend. When talking either in person or on the phone, it is important that you speak clearly. Reading: the ability to look at and comprehend the written word.  Listening Effective listening is a critical part of communicating—you can’t have one without the other. To listen to your customers shows them that you care about and respect their questions and concerns. It is not easy to be a good listener; it takes practice and dedication to improve your listening techniques. Listening is a skill that must continuously be developed. To hear is “to perceive or become aware of by the ear; to gain knowledge of…” To listen is “to pay attention to sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention; give consideration.” “Learn to listen. An opportunity could be knocking at your door very softly. Listening requires the listener to stop talking and hear what the speaker is saying. It is common for communication problems when the speaker tries to convey the situation, but the listener interrupts before the speaker is finished. To improve listening skills A good listener 1- Be curious about the other’s viewpoint. Conveys sincerity. 2- Focus on the message instead of your response. Do not interrupt his or her own thoughts 3- Tune into both the verbal & non-verbal cues Look at the speaker and make eye contact when possible, and Leans toward the speaker. If you are listening on the telephone, make notes as you listen. 4- Do not finish the sentence for the speaker 5- Paraphrase what was said. Open up the conversation for more clarification, making sure everyone is on the same page. 6- Share positive comments 7- Maintains good eye contact 8- Control your body language. Do not show impatience or disapproval. Non-verbal Communication Nonverbal communication: Tone and variation of voice. , facial expressions, posture, and eye contact. Nonverbal communication can contradict the message conveyed through another method of communication. ♦ only 7% of a message’s effect is carried by words. listeners receive the other 93% through non-verbal means. ♦Over 65 % of the social meaning of the messages we send to others are communicated non-verbally. 9  Voice Inflection Many communicators need help conveying their spoken message to others. If others frequently ask you to repeat what you said, cut you off before you are finished speaking, or do not take you seriously, the problem may be how you use your voice. Voice inflection is a variation in the tone, timing, or loudness of the voice. Studies show that our voices reflect our personalities. Some of A study has shown that some of the the characteristics can be most unpleasant voice revealed through the voice are: characteristics are talking in a Level of job satisfaction grumbling, complaining, or nagging Attitude, tone, noisy voice; a loud, rough voice; Education mumbling; and talking too fast. Knowledge level Speed at which you work and Vocal problems are amplified by the react, telephone. Your voice and message Confidence reveal some very important Region (or country) of origin, characteristics about the person you Energy level are. Mood.  Seven Steps to Answer a Call Successfully When you are on the telephone, Seven Steps to Answering a you are selling yourself. Call Successfully 1. Smile! Your voice will sound A large percentage of customer friendly when you have a service interaction takes place smile on your face! by phone. Due to this fact, 2. Answer with an enthusiastic customer service providers must and professional greeting. have outstanding telephone 3. Ask questions if something is skills. not clear. 4. Give answers and assistance When communicating with as quickly as possible. And if customers by phone, the you can’t resolve the problem, tell the customer what will advantages of face-to-face happen next. communication do not exist 5. Thank the caller. because there are no visual aids or body language. 6. Conclude the call in a positive manner. Instead, the communicator must 7. Follow up on the call. To depend on listening skills, the ensure that the customer is satisfied and the promise you ability to respond effectively to made is delivered. questions, and voice inflection.  The power of Words When dealing with customers, some words are more positive and appropriate to use. Many of us use very negative and demeaning words when we speak with others. If we interact with customers, we must rework our vocabulary so that we use words to create a positive environment. Some customer service providers find it helpful to list Words to Use/Words to Avoid, on a card, so that it is available for easy Words to Use Words to Avoid reference. Please Vulgarity Yes Love slang (honey, etc.) May I/ Would you like We’ll try Consider this Haven’t had time Let’s discuss Hang on for a second Will/Can Can’t/ Don’t Thank you/ Appreciate Never/ Won’t Us You have to the customer’s name Don’t tell me no Opportunity Not our policy Challenge Not my job Regret  Power Phrases By using power phrases, we can send the message to our customers that they are very important and that we value their opinions. Here are 10 examples of power phrases: Due to your What a I’d like your specialized unique considered Please knowledge suggestion! opinion If I could You are As you, of borrow just absolutely May I? course, a moment of right! know your time I would I’d like your appreciate advice it if  Eye Contact: Eye contact: Visual contact with someone else’s eyes is always important when we are communicating with others. Eye contact can convey sincerity, interest, compassion, and caring or a lack of concern or a lack of honesty. When dealing with people from other cultures, we should be aware of cultural differences. In many cultures, eye avoidance is a sign of respect. Be sensitive to others but use eye contact whenever possible.  Improving Nonverbal Communication Skills When leaving a message on voice mail: When receiving Speaking clearly and slowly, messages identify yourself, your company, Don’t automatically the day and date, and the time. assume State the reason for your call. Consider gender, culture, Suggest to the customer what and individual differences the next step should be. Is he Pay attention to all or she to call you back or wait aspects of nonverbal for more information? communication Leave your name and the phone number where you can be reached. Close with a positive farewell.  E-Mail Etiquette E-mail, in many cases, eliminated the need for paper documents that clutter employees’ mailboxes and desks. It has also shortened the time spent on communications between people and departments. E- mail is probably most beneficial when we are interacting with both internal and external customers. Documenting the interaction is a major part of an excellent customer service system. Customer service providers must strive for the quickest response time possible. When using e-mail, users should become familiar with the usage policies of their organizations. There are several practices that are considered appropriate among all e-mail users. The following are some of the most common: Never type in uppercase. Using capital letters is considered poor etiquette and is harder to read. Remember to periodically clean out your mailbox. By cleaning out your mailbox, you will be sure to discard old mail and be reminded of what is current and pending. Check your junk mail periodically. Some e-mail filters may direct important correspondence there incorrectly. Avoid sending personal messages over the system. When you are communicating electronically, you are usually using someone else’s resources. Since e-mail has no provision for voice inflection, it cannot show emotion. Some users like to use emoticons, or icons that add emotion to the screen, to add personality to their messages. Most e-mails can ask for confirmation that mail has been received. Use this feature whenever possible.  Texting An emerging method of communication that businesses are using at an increasing level is texting. Customers’ use of their cell phones as their personal “communication central” has gone up dramatically over the last few years. One more way to serve customers in the manner that they wish to do business. Businesses need to create a method to help customers to communicate in the method that they prefer. Numerous businesses have identified effective methods of incorporating texting into their business system. Ex: The local pharmacy may send customers a text to indicate that their prescription is ready. A customer may request or confirm an appointment by text. A bank may text customers their available balance regularly. Businesses should never assume that all customers want to communicate in this way. Since not all customers wish  Quick Quiz 1. Customer service providers must be proficient Communicators. T or F 2. Customer intelligence is the process of gathering information; building a historical database; and developing an understanding of current, potential, and lapsed customers. T or F 3. Relationship marketing rarely has a positive impact on business. T or F 4. Identifying why a customer is lost can help the business to make a positive change. T or F 5. A good listener plans his or her answer while the speaker is talking. T or F 6. The way you use your voice does not significantly impact how a message is received. T or F 7. Taking notes during a phone interaction can be helpful in becoming more organized as you attempt to address customer concerns. T or F 8. Can’t, never, don’t, and you have to, would not be considered words to use. T or F 9. Eye contact can convey sincerity and interest. T or F 10. E-mail is replacing face-to-face communication with both internal and external customers. T or F  1. T 2. T 3. F 4. T 5. F 6. F 7. T 8. T 9. T 10. T