Customer Service

Training W1:
Communication Skills
Enhancing Interactions for
Exceptional Service
Intro Video!

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Agenda
1. Importance of Communication Skills
2. Verbal Communication
3. Non-Verbal Communication
4. Active Listening Techniques
5. 10 ways to improve customer service communication
6. Activity and Q&A Session

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 Importance of Communication Skills
● Builds rapport and trust with customers
● Clarifies customer needs and expectations
● Resolves issues effectively
● Enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty

"Effective communication is the cornerstone of excellent customer service. When

customers feel heard and understood, they're more likely to trust us and return."

Scenario:
Situation: A customer is upset about a delayed order.
Response: "I completely understand your frustration about the delay. Let’s see how we can
resolve this together."

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 Verbal Communication
● Use clear and concise language.
● Adjust your tone and pace to match the situation.
● Be polite and positive.
● Avoid jargon and technical terms.

Example Statements:
"Could you please provide me with your order number so I can assist you faster?"
"I appreciate your patience while we resolve this issue."

Scenario:
Situation: A customer is asking about a product feature.
Response: "Our new model features an extended battery life of up to 12 hours, perfect for
on-the-go use!"

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 Non-Verbal Communication
● Body language: Maintain open and inviting posture.
● Eye contact: Shows engagement and interest.
● Facial expressions: Convey warmth and empathy.
● Gestures: Enhance your message.

Example Statements:
"I understand how important this is to you." (while nodding and maintaining eye contact)

Scenario:
Situation: A customer looks confused about a service in a video call.
Response: "I noticed that you look confused. How can I help clarify this for you?"

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 Active Listening Techniques
● Pay full attention to the speaker.
● Use verbal affirmations (e.g., 'I see', 'I understand').
● Reflect back what you’ve heard.
● Ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding.

Example Statements:
"Let me make sure I understand correctly: You're looking for a refund for your purchase,
is that right?"

Scenario:
Situation: A customer is expressing dissatisfaction with a service.
Response: "I hear you saying that the service didn’t meet your expectations. Can you tell
me more about what happened?"

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 Active Listening Techniques
● Pay full attention to the speaker.
● Use verbal affirmations (e.g., 'I see', 'I understand').
● Reflect back what you’ve heard.
● Ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding.

Example Statements:
"Let me make sure I understand correctly: You're looking for a refund for your purchase,
is that right?"

Scenario:
Situation: A customer is expressing dissatisfaction with a service.
Response: "I hear you saying that the service didn’t meet your expectations. Can you tell
me more about what happened?"

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8 ways to improve customer
service communication
1. Practice patience and empathy
Show that you care for your customers even if they share their frustration. Some customers need that extra word of assurance or a higher level of
engagement to feel satisfied with the outcome. Also, being patient allows you the time to figure out the root cause of the problem and how to provide an
effective solution instead of closing the loop in a hurry.

2. Communicate clearly and concisely

Develop command over your language and product knowledge to inspire trust in your customers. Clarity requires you to break down complexities into
easily digestible concepts for your customers. For example, while they don’t need to know the nitty-gritty of what caused a bug, you may need to explain
what really happened in simpler terms.

Clear communication prevents customer frustration by ensuring that there are no miscommunications. Successful customer support reps can explain
what’s going on in simple terms that don’t leave customers wondering or confused. Check out the Reddit forum “Explain Like I’m Five” for great examples
of how this works in practice.

Ensure that you use positive language when communicating with customers. Positive language means telling your customers what you can do for them
rather than what you can’t.

For example, instead of saying, “That’s not something I deal with. Jessica is in charge of billing, and she’s not here right now,” say something like, “I
understand. Please let me find that out for you and get back to you as soon as I have this information.”

3. Active listening
Active listening ensures effective communication. Rather than passively hearing what a customer tells them, customer support reps need to pay attention
to what customers say, understand their emotions, and try to come up with the best solution. If reps listen actively, they might understand the problem,
and even if they are not able to give a solution immediately, it can help customers feel heard and acknowledged. Listen to your customers with attention
to specific details, understand their problems’ magnitude, and identify internal areas of improvement.

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8 ways to improve customer
service communication
4. Display emotional intelligence
Speak the customers’ language and acknowledge their issues by putting yourself in their shoes. Empathizing with your customer’s problem or frustration
can go a long way–customers feel better when you’re honest and genuinely care about fixing their issue.

Here’s an example of how to display emotional intelligence while dealing with an angry customer:
Customer: “I ordered it a month ago, and when I finally received it, it’s the wrong size! I’ve been on hold forever — you seriously treat customers this way?!”
Representative Response: “I’m so sorry you had to wait. From my understanding, you either need to exchange the product you received with the right size
or return it for a refund. Do I understand this correctly?”

Other examples of emotional intelligence you can use during a conversation are:
“I understand what you are going through.”
“I would be equally frustrated in your place.”
“I want to help you.”
“I can see why you’re frustrated.”
“Thanks for bringing this to our attention!”
“I completely understand why you’re asking for this.”

5. Be proactive in your approach

Going the extra mile with a customer is a fantastic way to delight them. Anticipating potential issues that your customers may face and providing a solution
can save them a headache.

For instance, you can communicate foreseeable issues in advance via email or chat and offer help instantly when customers show visible signs of frustration
using website widgets. You can also followup with a customer after the proactive communication. This approach will ensure that your customers stick to
your brand.

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8 ways to improve customer
service communication
6. Use data to know your customers better
Consider the following stat: Acquiring new customers is five times more expensive than retaining your current ones. Knowing this, it’s a no-brainer to find
out why customers are leaving and focus on keeping them. Knowing who your customers are and what drives them to buy your product or request your
service is crucial to business growth and success. Use data analytics for identifying customer groups, problem-solving, and troubleshooting.

7. Ask for customer feedback and fine-tune your support

Customer feedback is one of the most important aspects of improving your customer experience. When a customer picks up the phone, sends you an email,
or messages you on social media, they give you the chance to improve your product—don’t miss out. You can refine and improve your customer support by
listening to what customers are saying. Therefore, an integral part of your communication strategy should be reaching out to customers and asking for
their feedback.

8. Manage time efficiently

As the saying goes, “Time is money.” Tracking your time for different types of issues, committing to Service Level Agreements (SLAs), analyzing real-time
scenarios that cause delays, and working on them are all part of improving your customer service communication. For example, assigning a resolution SLA
with response times for when the ticket needs to be closed or resolved can ensure that the customer gets their issue resolved with quality responses and
action, not just quick answers.

You can leverage workflow automation to save time spent on repetitive processes. For instance, instead of manually reviewing tickets to keep parameters
up-to-date, you can set up an automation rule that automatically scans all your tickets every hour and automatically updates relevant properties.

Agent-facing AI and bots can also free up your time. With agent-facing copilots powered by Freshworks’ Freddy AI, you can run complex backend processes
in a single click, get smart recommendations for responses, and connect resources to your conversation with the customer. The AI flags important social
media mentions, automatically triages incoming conversations, and prevents thank you messages from reopening closed tickets, all of which are
time-consuming activities when performed manually.

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Take Note:
Communication can play a huge role in how customers perceive your brand.

For example, here are two ways to let a customer know that an item is out of stock:

“I’m sorry, this particular dress isn’t in stock and won’t be in for another two weeks.”

Or

“You can have the dress in two weeks, and if you’d like, I can place an order for you now, so you get it as soon as it’s
back in stock.”

The meaning is the same, but in the second example, there’s a sense that you’re going the extra mile for the customer
while closing a deal. It’s all a matter of how the message is communicated.

Not surprisingly, communication is the bread and butter of customer service, as every interaction between your
company and your customer is one step closer to building a better customer relationship.

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Take Note:
A single bad experience can affect how your customers perceive your brand. In fact, one-third of consumers say they
would consider switching companies after just one instance of bad customer service. Being able to convey a message
effectively is critical to offering excellent customer support.

Listening to the customer, being patient, displaying empathy, and understanding the issue or problem are skills that
help you communicate effectively with the customer and are a must-have while working in customer support.

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Activity Time!

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Activity Instructions:
Feedback Circle:
1. Participants share their experiences and provide constructive feedback on each other's communication styles,
promoting a culture of improvement.

Role-playing Scenarios:
2. Pair participants and have them role-play a customer service call where one is the agent and the other is a
dissatisfied customer. Afterward, provide feedback.

3. One Minute Challenge

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Questions?

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