Customer service matters. Even in our time of technology, convenience and competition among several companies offering the same product, customer service matters. Some would argue that it matters more now than in the past especially because of competition.
No matter the product or service, you can count on other companies to compete for consumers along with you, and there will always be someone who offers your product cheaper, faster and with more perks than you. When that happens, you must find a way to set yourself above the rest. Customer service is a great way to do that.
Additionally, excellent customer service improves customer retention and helps your bottom line. One study found that 85% of consumers don’t mind paying more for better customer service, and when asked what was the key for greater sales, 66% stated that improved customer service encourages them to spend more. On the flip side, 82% left a company due to poor customer service. So, excellent customer service is critical!
Why Customer Service Training Videos are Such a Great Option
Once you’ve decided you want to train your employees to provide customer service with an air of excellence, the question becomes: How best to train them? Do you want to implement face-to-face customer service training? Do you have the financial resources for it? Or are your organization’s finances such that the cheapest route is the best?
If you’d like to deliver quality training and minimal cost as well as offer your employees convenience and flexibility, then customer service training videos are your best option. You can create your own videos and run the risk of offering low-quality training videos, or you can choose to work with a company that provides training videos and benefit from their expertise and proven systems. Below are some of the most pertinent issues in customer service. These topics should be the foundation of your customer service training videos library.
Topic #1: Customer Service 101
You should always have a basic primer in your customer service training videos library. This video should include information and advice that many would consider unnecessary and assume it doesn’t need to be explained. Don’t make that mistake. You must clearly explain to your employees simple things, such as:
- How to answer the phone
- Don’t keep the customer waiting (in all its variations)
- On the phone, don’t let the phone ring and ring; instead, pick it up quickly
- In an online help session, never allow a customer to wait too long
- When face-to-face, never to let the customer stand there and wait
- Be courteous, friendly and respectful
- Be positive and smile
- Face-to-face
- On the phone (a pleasant, happy demeanor comes across over the phone)
- Be extraordinarily helpful. (Even if the customer has a question that doesn’t pertain to that employee’s specific department, they still should go out of their way to help the customer)
- Go out of your way to help the customer obtain what they’re seeking
- Be appreciative and thank the customer for their business
- Remember the customer’s name and say it during the conversation
- Be knowledgeable
- and more
These are just a few ideas that need to be covered in a “Customer Service 101” video. If your employees follow them, they will deliver much imporved customer service.
Topic #2: Delivering Excellent Customer Service the First Time Around
How well do your employees treat your customers? Do they always remember, and act upon, the reality that if it weren’t for the customer, they’d have no job? The customer is always of utmost importance, and it’s imperative that your employees show it. The aim of your organization should be to provide exceptional customer service at all times. Your customers should come away from an interaction with your organization feeling great and thinking, “Wow! They really treated me special!”
But what does treating a customer special entail? The best way to explain it is through the acronym ART, which is short for giving Attention, Respect and Time. Your employees must lavish all three qualities upon your customers. Everyone wants the full attention of another, to be treated respectfully and to be given focused, undistracted time. They want it all the more when they’re paying for a product or service. Make sure that your employees deliver memorable service to create a better customer experience.
Topic #3: All Customers are Created Equal and Must be Treated Equally
“It’s bad business to mistreat your customers,” states Ojmarrh Mitchell, a professor at the University of South Florida. In an ideal world, this topic wouldn’t have to be addressed. Unfortunately, it must. This is a hot topic and can turn out to be extremely expensive to your company in terms of litigation if your employees aren’t properly trained. There is no place for discrimination in an organization – in whatever way, be it race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, gender, sexual orientation or age, among others.
Many companies are facing legal repercussions due to discriminatory practices against various minority groups. This can have a tremendous effect on your company’s name or brand, which in turn will impact your bottom line as you lose the business of various minority groups once you’re believed to have discriminatory practices. For example, people of color accounted for 92% of U.S. population growth from 2000 to 2014. During that time, this group’s buying power leapt from $661 billion to $3.4 trillion. By 2019, the buying power of African Americans alone is expected to hit $1.4 trillion. Given such buying power, plain business sense would argue that these groups should be treated extremely well. Yet one study found that African Americans were 10 times more likely to feel they had been profiled while shopping than their non-black counterparts
There’s no denying that some businesses, security firms and loss prevention agencies may have discriminatory views toward certain groups, however, these views mustn’t find their way into your organization. Regardless of how your employees may feel personally, they can’t show any sort of negative feelings. Train them well in equal treatment for all customers. Further, make sure that your loss prevention and security team never engages in any sort of discriminatory practice. Training videos addressing this will help.
View this Anti-Discrimination DVD: Different Like You: Appreciating Diversity In The 21st Century
Use Training Videos To Improve Your Company’s Customer Service
Opening up the door to customer service training is a great direction for you to head with your company. You can’t go wrong with this decision. Choosing to use workplace training videos can only help by offering convenience and flexibility at a reasonable cost. Get started today with your customer service training videos and see the benefit in greater customer relations, customer satisfaction and sales.
For more help finding a training system that is right for your company, contact Edge Training Systems today at 800-305-2025.
You may also be interested in these employee development posts:
- 5 Workplace Ethics Training Activities For A Perfect Workplace
- Retaining Millennial Employees Through Leadership Development
- 5 Leadership Training Videos You Need For A More Unified Workplace