To possess a customer-first mindset is not a new concept by any means. However, the past year has exacerbated many of the vulnerabilities that organizations had within their CX organizations, and some businesses lost sight of their customer-centricity.
CX teams have always, to some degree, been the face of a business. But with the recent shift to digital-first behavior, organizations were suddenly flooded with a higher volume of inquiries and a surging obligation to manage more critical touch points within the customer journey. By now we all know that consumers demand real-time information, and CX organizations need to ensure that their customers are heard, happy, and receiving the best customer experience possible with every interaction.
The pandemic illuminated the fact that there is a lot more work to be done, and we are only at the beginning of a long road to become truly customer-centric. So now that you’ve accepted there is an opportunity to adopt an even stronger customer-first mindset, how do you get started? With your team. Given the importance of their role, you’ll want to make sure that the people you are bringing on board are able to exemplify some, if not all, of the following top customer service characteristics:
1. Resilience
Not all customers are happy when they interact with customer service representatives, so it is crucial that your team is able to withstand the heat of the moment, push through the tough conversations, and provide a dynamite experience no matter the circumstances. Measuring sentiment through your CX software will greatly help segment out the unhappy customers and take specific action on them to allow for more positive interactions in the future.
2. Multitasking Skills
The ability to juggle multiple priorities is crucial for customer service agents. Luckily this conundrum can also be solved with stellar CX software that allows for intelligent queues & routing, and the prioritization of specific customer profiles or channels. But your team still needs to manage their time appropriately, ensuring that they are responding thoroughly to the task at hand so they can seamlessly move from one conversation to another.
3. Thorough Understanding
Knowing the history of every customer will enable your team to better understand the frustrations being brought to their attention. With a quick assessment of the customer’s order history, previous CSAT scores, general sentiment, or loyalty status, agents have the tools at their fingertips to provide more immediate and personalized responses. This fosters more empathetic conversations that help resolve the issue at hand swiftly and efficiently.
4. Meticulous
Having all of the history of your customer’s relationship with your brand is just the beginning. Being able to be personable based on social cues presented by the customer will take the conversation to the next level. Customers want fluent conversations, not just transactional interactions. By giving your team the tools to pay attention to the details and personalize interactions, you’ll build a more engaged and loyal customer base.
5. Positive
Positivity ties back to resiliency in many ways, but with the increasing importance of CX, and the weight these teams hold in terms of customer loyalty and increased revenue, you need positive energy to be present in every interaction with your customers.
All of these top customer service characteristics are equally important, and they all can be enhanced with the proper set of technology tools. Having the right information, at the right time, quickens response rates and eases tensions with your customers. Knowing that your customer had a bad experience last time they interacted with your brand gives your team the knowledge to be even more empathetic and understanding when engaging in a conversation with them in the future. The examples are endless, but ensuring that you set up a foundation that allows you to automate miniscule tasks, organize conversations based on complexity or priority, and understand why customers are reaching out to you in the first place, will help your team’s best qualities shine through, because they will face less blockers in their day to day. With fewer barriers in their way, agents can adopt a customer-first mindset, and prioritize the customer in everything they do.
