Wednesday 6 July 2016

The Benefits of Customer Service Training




Great Customer service is essential for any organisation to survive in a long run. Yes, there are a variety of elements that create a successful business; however customer service is at a centre stage of that. Organisations providing good customer service are successful in retaining existing customers and building long- term relationships with them. Therefore, I cannot overemphasise the importance of customer service training.

Some of the benefits of training customer service staff are as follow:

1.   Improved Customer Service Skills:
Although all training interventions are meant to improve the knowledge or skill set of an individual, but when it comes to customer services the focus is on improving communication, listening skills, problem-solving and managing human relations more effectively and organizational skills.

It is advisable that all employees undergo training that has the same set of competencies; this will give your entire workforce a standard process to deal with customer issues or questions and creates a sense of team spirit at the same time.
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2.   Increases profitability:
The formula is simple; improved customer service + increased customer satisfaction + increased customer loyalty = an increase in profit. Great service allows the company to achieve higher customer retention, acquire new customers, reduces employee turnover and increases sales. The training has a great impact on employee motivation and morale, which leads to increased productivity.


3.   Enhances Customer Experience:
Customer service training workshops have the potential to change the behaviors of employees consequently will help them deliver a better customer experience, these workshops teach employees to develop a customer-centric approach, encouraging them to be empathetic to customers.

A variety of training activities and games can be developed in order to enhance the customer-centric philosophy which goes a long way to deliver and improve the overall experience for customers.
4.   Increased Employee Retention:
According to a study 40% percent of employees who receive poor job training leave within the first year, to a large extent this impact on the companies' ability to maintain the same customer service standards. High turnover is problematic for the business as it adds to the cost of re-hiring and training as well.
Providing adequate training and upgrading the skills set of employees is likely to encourage them to stay with the company since it signals a potential for personal growth and development.

5.   Improve reputation and standing

Despite the fact some customers may choose to leave because of the cheaper price elsewhere, countless customers will remain because of the great experience.  There's a quote that says "Customer services inspires stories" What that basically means is if customers have bad experiences with the organisation, the news will spread very fast and potentially hurt the organisation's reputation So, if you manage to deliver an enjoyable experience, which comes about through well trained, motivated and knowledgeable staff, your customers are sure to pass on favourable recommendations and reviews.