The key to any successful relationship is good communication, same as with the case of a customer service representative and a customer. It is a relationship that requires proper communication. To have proper communication with the customer an active listening skill is required. Only when you can understand the escalation of your client or customer, you can help and resolve their problem.
How active listening plays a part in customer service?
When a customer, client, or consumer comes to a customer service department they expect that they will be heard and their issue will be resolved. Now, let us give you an example of spectrum customer service as Charter Spectrum is the 2nd best internet service provider but they lost most of their customers in 2018. In the year 2020, they regained a strong position in the market. They outperformed other internet service providers by making their customer service more active than ever. This is the role that customer service plays and to comprehend the issues of your clients you need to listen to them carefully.
What is an active listening skill?
There is a difference between hearing someone or listening to someone actively. When you actively listen to someone you notice all the details in their conversation. You note their tone and minute details so you may understand. Just like a student listens to a lecture in a classroom setting, that is called active listening. When you pay attention to the details you can understand the problem that your customer is facing.
The role of active listening skills in customer service:
To respond in a problem-solving manner, you need to listen to everything that a customer is saying. Many times you will encounter customers or clients who will be loud or rude. As a customer service representative, you need to stay calm and listen to every detail that your customer is giving. Before responding to the problem that your customer is facing your job or role is to listen to the will complete attention.
Helps to understand the problem of customer
A customer who is facing any issue wants to be understood. You should not make them wait or repeat their issue. If a customer is over the phone, then you need to respond in a kind tone and hear in a way that they feel understood. Customers don’t like to repeat themselves especially when they are in an angry mood. If you will listen to them in the first go, you will not have to ask them the same thing again.
You can empathize with the customer
When you listen actively and you can understand what the client is reporting, you can feel their agitation. Always remember that your attitude is reflected in your voice, when you will feel the pain of the customer it will resonate with them and they will feel important. If you can relate to the problem of your customers, you will make them feel that they are understood and you don’t take their issue lightly. When you can form a connection with your customer or the client, you will be able to calm them down. This will help you to gain the trust of your consumer.
You can ask relevant questions
Once you know what your customer is going through, you will know what steps should be taken. If you listen to them actively you will be able to ask a follow-up question that will help you to find out a proper workable solution for your customer. You might only need to give some guidance to your customer over the phone and the issue can be minor, the quicker you can access the right information, the quicker it will get resolved.
Customer feels valued
If you can form a connection with your customer upon hearing what they have to say, you will make them feel valued. It will give an impression that they can rely on customer support whenever they will face any issue. It is important to make your customer feel important because if they lose trust in your service or product, you will lose a customer.
Wrapping Up
Active listening skill is the foundation of any conversation. The role of a customer service representative or department is to communicate with the customer so they need to have active listening skills. A proper and keen focus is required for active listening so you will note down the exact and relevant information to resolve the issue that a customer might be facing. In short, everything depends on your listening skills and if you can comprehend and understand the issue or trouble that your customer is facing, you will be successful at your job. You will be a pro at your job if you are the one who knows how to form a bond with the customer.
