• If an agent thinks something is trending south during an interaction , have them reach out for help or flag the discussion once it ' s over so leadership can follow up .
• Consider having someone in leadership — a vice president , if possible , or at least another senior manager — call the client if something has gone wrong so you can personally vow to make it right .
• Review any data you collect from surveys , especially if the responses show a negative experience . The messaging afterward must always be the same . Reinforce that you value having them as a customer and that you ' re committed to getting things right .
And , at the most fundamental level , make sure how you ' re assisting a customer has been outlined as part of any sales agreement : and that their request doesn ' t go against the terms of the deal . This protects you from discrepancies in how support is provided or potentially damaging demands that could be costly or impossible to fulfill .
If Sales and Support are on the same page , you ' ll know what ' s being sold to whom and be in a position to back it up with excellent service .
When customers get what they ' ve paid for — and the quality service that goes with it — you become indispensable .
SATISFACTION ALWAYS STANDS OUT
It ' s no secret that a satisfying experience with a business can keep customers coming back for more , but what is often overlooked is how pivotal your support team is to client retention .
Some buyers may require a formal and professional tone , but others may prefer a personal and friendly touch . Some
CUSTOMER RETENTION
are going to rely on you frequently and some will only reach out periodically . Some may prefer to contact you via a specific support channel , while others may want a multichannel approach .
YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM HAS TO KNOW HOW TO DO IT ALL .
Your customer service team has to know how to do it all . And if it does , you ' ll stand out from your competitors , satisfy your clients , and repeatedly maintain that business relationship .
Rod Brownridge is the Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Fusion Connect , a leading global managed communication service provider ( MCSP ) and Microsoft Cloud solution provider . He brings two decades of operations , engineering , and customer success management to the role .
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We would rather work for an empathetic leader and want those around us to be empathetic to us . This means the importance of empathy will only continue to rise .
But while we believe these things to be true , we still focus on gaining more skills and not honing our ability to connect and empathize with others .
We , particularly those of us in the contact center industry , ignore that is our peril . And not just for our existences as employees versus AI and ML .
54 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
Customers care about empathy first and foremost – they want to be heard ! — and once they feel you are actually listening to them they want to be served well .
KINDNESS AND RIGHTNESS
The speed at which technology changes and advances can leave your head spinning . What we were ignorant of just a few years ago can feel commonplace and known by all now .
It ’ s because of the rapid pace of change that I believe focusing on being right or correct is a losing battle . I ’ m not saying that there aren ' t right and wrongs or things to stand for , but simply that it ’ s more important to focus on kindness than rightness .
When what you know to be true is turned upside down because of new knowledge it is disorienting , to say the least . You begin to question a variety of things , and normally people will point out your wrongness at the same level of intensity that you fought for your rightness .
WORKING WITH MACHINES
But by focusing on kindness in your discussions , you will stay relevant and engaged , even as you ’ re proven wrong . Rightness can justify you today , but kindness will keep you in the conversation tomorrow .
The importance of soft skills like curiosity , empathy , and kindness has been growing in popularity for some time .
I believe these skills are critical not just in our current environment but also in the one to come , where so many of our jobs are automated .
It will be uncomfortable as we go through this change , but if we start to prepare now and make the adjustments when the machines finally become our overlords ( or simply do most of the heavy lifting for us ) we will be ready to continue to add value by focusing on what makes us uniquely human .
Dan Smitley is a leading WFM expert who helps organizations think critically about leveraging WFM and their Contact Centers as strategic assets . He is passionate about people-centered approaches to WFM and asking great questions . You can reach Dan at danielrsmitley @ gmail . com .