Going beyond the script; can your support do it?
How many times have you called into a customer support center and just known without a shadow of a doubt that the person that you were talking to was reading off a script?
While scripts, charts, diagrams, FAQ etc are great….what happens if none of those apply to your situation? They just keep flipping from page to page, reading off random responses but never actually answering the question that you asked. How frustrating is that?
Now here is another question; how much does your support staff know about your products? Do your clients call in with questions about your products that can not be answered unless that exact question is spelled out on a FAQ sheet somewhere?
Does your staff take the time to get to know each of your products or programs so that they can intelligently address your client’s questions?
Most people have a least one company they will not do business with again. Here are some scary statistics:
Let’s extrapolate that out a bit. If you have had 10 expressive dissatisfied clients, they have told 120 people that your service is poor.
If you have had 100 expressive dissatisfied clients, they have told 1,200 people that your service is poor!
Looking at that, can you really afford to have an uninformed or under informed support staff?
Here are a couple of very basic but effective tips to combat this:
1. Have your staff review your programs themselves. If you have a large inventory, start at your best
sellers, and then work your way back.
2. Inform your staff of any new promotions and any accompanying materials.
3. If you are releasing a new program; give your staff at least a digital access to review before the questions start coming in.
4. A well educated staff is an excellent selling tool. It is very easy to cross sell or upsell a customer if you know what they are looking for and what you have in your inventory that will fill that need. (One of my mantras: A client that is given a good recommendation will come back for more. A client that is given a bad recommendation will come back for a refund)
Remember, 1,200 people turned against your services from possibly 1 mistake, the under education of your staff. Can you afford that?
* Meredith
P.S. Get more customer service tips at: www.surefirecustomerservicetechniques.com. Learn exactly what to say to customers to double your sales.
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