Brilliant Support Team's Skills

John Krautzel
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A company is only as good as its customer support team, who should be skilled to masterfully handle service responsibilities as staffers deftly reassure loyal consumers having issues with products or services. There are countless ways staffers can resolve problems and dilemmas, but the best support staff employees idealize three main tenets.

1. Recognizing Its Role Is Just as Important as Sales

An awesome customer support team must realize that dealing with completed purchases is just as important as the sales aspect of the business. Customer service personnel care about the success of people who buy the company's products and services as much as the sales team does. Although it may sometimes seem like a back office operation, this department is really on the front lines, ensuring consumers are happy with the company.

2. Adding Value by Subtracting Effort

A great customer support team knows how to add value to the overall customer experience by subtracting the effort a buyer uses to solve a problem. Companies should strive to make it as easy as possible for buyers to succeed with the products they buy. Customer service must become more efficient so it saves clients' time. Businesses need to invest in training that empowers teams. Every employee in this department must know common problems, offer solutions that may not be readily apparent and recognize that a customer takes valuable time out of his day to call the team.

Putting forth the bare minimum of effort while relating to a client is not enough. A firm's customer support team should understand that spending time to get things right the first time is a valuable commodity that creates a loyal consumer base. Representatives need to know the products backwards and forwards, how to communicate with everyone clearly, and, most importantly, how to listen to a client's dilemmas. The right attitude from managers is vital to the prosperity of teams who deal with customers regularly, as leaders empower the followers.

3. Making Memorable Interactions

A fantastic customer support team makes memorable interactions, even though the overall customer experience is an everyday occurrence. This concept has nothing to do with service skills — it's about the attitudes of the company's employees. Staffers on the support side know that service is more important than the product itself when it comes to keeping customers. These experts know what to say to clients who want to get more out of the product. Staffers go above and beyond providing basic information, maintaining a ticketing system to solve an issue and writing short responses to inquiries.

Outstanding customer service can make or break a company. These individuals work with the most valuable asset a company has: returning customers. A customer support team should be at the front lines of client interactions, armed with the tools it needs to get the job done right. In this model for doing business, companies recognize that increased sales, revenue and profits depend on happy customers.


Photo courtesy of greyweed at Flickr.com

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