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10 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How much does your customer service training cost?
This is always the first question I am asked, "How much will It cost?", and it is alwayss a tricky one to answer because some business owners/managers just think in terms of training the front-line staff.
For some training companies who have a stock-standard off-the-self one-size-fits-all approach, the answer is simple. But, at Bravo Communication each course or training session is tailored to fit:required learning outcome
- current competencies
- includes current processes/procedures
- timeframe considerations
- any budgetary requirements.
So the answer will always be….
At Bravo Communication the prices we quote are cost effective and we welcome the opportunity to work with your business to ensure a positive ROI.
- How long is the training course?
In all my years of studying and training in communication skills, there is one truism that business owners should be totally aware of:
“It is impossible to improve the communication skills of another individual through training without their commitment, engagement and some level of understanding”.
When an individual is committed, engaged and understands, a 1-hour session can be as beneficial as a 1-day session.
- How do I get my people to answer the phone properly?
Often I have business owners who can’t understand why some of their staff members don’t have the same level of courteous and polite interaction with customers as they do. Another truism that may be useful in this situation:
“People have different competencies in regard to social interaction”.
The only way to get everybody in your business answering the phone “properly” is for you to define and describe what “properly” means to you and the business. Have a written process, step by step, in which every employee is trained. This is how we do it here. For Example:
- Answering incoming calls:
- Pick up the phone (within 5 rings)
- Smile and say:
- Good morning/afternoon
- Acme Packaging,
- This is ................ (name).
Have a written list of telephone etiquette requirements – the way we do it here. And train all your staff members according to these processes and procedures.
This then becomes the professional standard for your business. It also becomes a tool for checking, monitoring and evaluating your staff, when they are not interacting appropriately:
- Are they following the guidelines?
- Which elements are they doing well?
- Which elements do they need to improve?
Set the standard, and stick to it.
- I’ve got someone who’s a really good worker, but they’re hopeless when they talk to customers, how can I get them to improve.
How do we know whether or not we are communicating effectively? Often we don’t, we go through life with our quirky ways of interacting and for most of us we get by. But when our communication skills let us down and we are not communicating appropriately, we need help. This employee needs help to understand that he/she is not interacting appropriately. The thing for an employer to recognise is that most likely, the employee thinks they are doing nothing wrong.
The process for getting this staffer up to speed will require monitoring his behaviour, identifying the specific improvements needed and helping them to integrate these improvements into their communication schemas and behaviour models. A program of one-to-one communication coaching sessions over several weeks would be beneficial.
- Why do I need a customer service strategy?
If you consider that without customers you don’t have a business, then it is also important to remember that if you can keep your customers coming back, your business will continue to grow. To keep customers happy and satisfied, you need a customer service strategy.
A customer service strategy ensures that there are systems and standards in place for interacting and dealing with customers. This will ensure consistent levels of service throughout your business.
- How do I make sure customers keep coming back?
Customers that continue to buy from you over and over are your loyal customers (raving fans). To keep customers coming back every interaction they have with your business should be a positive one. You should be providing a consistently high standard of service, and should also have the capacity to deal with issues or problems quickly and efficiently, eg complaints. When a customer has their needs and expectations met, knows that any problems will be dealt with promptly and can trust your product/service, they will come back.
- I’m always talking to my customers, why should I ask them what they want?
Customers don’t always offer information about how they really feel about your business and your product/services. Formally asking customers for their opinion through structured surveys or interviews can be very enlightening for you and your business. The results can also help you to develop products and services that will align with customer requirements.
- How do we make our customers less demanding?
Contrary to the old saying, the customer is not always right. Sometimes customers are demanding, and have unrealistic expectations of what, when and how we can deliver. It is at these times that we need to be able to manage our customers’ expectations through the use of effective communication skills. Find out what it is the customer wants/expects, how they see the problem, and how you can find a solution that will be satisfactory.
- How do we get rid of the complaints?
Complaints are a gift. The only way we know how we’re performing as a business is through the feedback we receive. We should never consider complaints as bad feedback – rather they re the opportunity for us to make our business better, to fix processes that are not working well or to improve our products or services.
A structured complaints procedure is a ‘must’ for every business and all front-line staff should be well trained to handle complaints in a positive manner. When a customer’s complaint is dealt with quickly and efficiently, you can turn an unhappy customer to a ‘raving fan’. How do I cut the time it takes to attend to every complaining customer that walks through the door?
We should always treat complaints with the respect they deserve. It is often not easy for customers to officially complain, it is much simpler, and much more usual, for them to just walk away and never come back. This is what the vast majority of unhappy customers do (around 90%). So when a customer complains, get all the details of the complaint and follow through with fixing the problem or issue as quickly as possible.
If you find that you are receiving a lot of complaints all relating to one issue, perhaps you need to address your processes and procedures around the issue. Monitor and evaluate what is currently happening and design a better strategy for a customer focused approach at handling any future complaints.
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