9 tips and psychological keys to improve customer service

With the possible exception of donations and subsidies not linked to its own performance, each and every one of the businesses that exist can survive solely and exclusively thanks to their customers, be they individuals, companies, organizations or even governments.

The products or services offered must be attractive enough for the client to want to come to us, but the truth is that a sale is not only achieved thanks to the product: the attention that the user receives or the user's perception and image of it also has a great influence when it comes to getting or keeping the clientele.

Thus, customer service is at all times a fundamental pillar of any company, being in many of them a pending subject that can be greatly improved. That is why in this article we are going to see a series of tips and keys to improve customer service.

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Tips to improve customer service

Serving customers may seem simple, but the truth is that it can be more complicated than what might generally be expected.

And it is that although some people have the advantage of having a certain mastery of social and interpersonal skills in an innate way, this is not enough to know how to attend correctly. In this sense, it is necessary to take into account a large number of aspects and key elements, which Below we will see summarized in a total of 9 tips and keys to improve customer service. customer.

1. listen and empathize

Regardless of the type of business we are in, two of the main keys to maintaining optimal customer service are active listening skills and empathy.

In the first place, it is essential to know how to listen to what they tell us, to be able to interpret it and even go further and try to detect what they need and why. But not only listening is important: we must put ourselves in the place of the other, empathizing with him and trying to detect how he feels, something that also helps to understand and establish a good bond. We must treat our clients as we would like to be treated, also being authentic as much as possible.

On the other hand, we must also take into account that the client is not us and may not have our same tastes or needs, being necessary to be flexible and even if we are empathetic not to mentally merge with him or she.

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2. Maintain a good relationship with the client

Another element to take into account is the fact that the client will appreciate a good treatment and the presence of kindness (as long as it is not excessive and false) and cordiality in the treatment much more. In general an optimistic and positive tone is recommended, focused on advantages and positive aspects and not only of the product but also of the interaction itself.

Even in cases where the client goes too far and goes into detail in aspects that are not relevant to the transaction itself (something common in many customer service calls), you can't be rude, proclaim that we don't care about his life and simply stop taking care of him: in that case, you would have to redirect the situation directing the conversation towards the aspects that interest us or leading to the end of the contact but always maintaining the cordiality.

3. The customer is always important

They say the customer is always right. Although this is not necessarily true, what the client should always be important to us is: before the sale, to know their needs and provide you with what you need, during the actual performance of the service or sale and after the services have been used or purchased goods, in order to assess your satisfaction (something that can allow us to improve our product), correct and attend to possible claims and incidents and help you get a good impression of us and the institution we represent.

It is about the customer feeling valued above all else and not being seen simply as someone who pays us and who ceases to be of interest to us after that but as a complete and valuable person in itself and whose well-being we interested. In this sense, it may be necessary to restructure the vision of the user or the client that many professionals have regarding their relationship with the users. In addition, in a secondary way, this can build loyalty and even cause a good image of our business that can generate even more customers.

4. Clear and concise messages

An endless message or one that does not make it clear what it is after or what it can be useful for is a bad message: the information should always be clear and as concise as possible, highlighting the main elements without being redundant and not giving rise to confusion or different interpretations. In addition, a concise message is more easily retainable and interesting than a long one, being necessary reduce as much as possible (although without exceeding) the content of the message that we want to try to get across.

5. It's not just words that matter

Many customer service services focus a lot on the oral message that they transmit to the user or client, but the truth is that at the When it comes to offering a good service and making our message credible, it is essential to bear in mind that everything we do is communicative.

In other words, not only do we have to monitor the message, but we also have to take into account that our gestures accompany and enhance it, the look, the posture and even the physical distance that we place with the subject (which should not be too little resulting in invasive or excessive resulting in distant). Our tone of voice, the formality or informality used is also very relevant. or the volume that we use, among others. Likewise, not only us but also what the business or company does as an institution is relevant: how it behaves in general with clients, the reliability of its services...

6. Safety and trust are key

Uncertainty and doubt are a major obstacle when it comes to maintaining a business. We must project an image of strength, security and reliability that must be based on a performance that is up to the mark and well planned and executed. We also have to be able to offer and defend our product as something of great quality and utility, knowing its advantages and disadvantages.

However, security should not be confused with arrogance and stubbornness, having to be able to be flexible when the situation requires it and be able to accept and learn from possible mistakes.

7. Offer solutions and be prepared

Another highly relevant aspect comes from the fact that when a customer or user comes to us or to our business, they do so expecting a quick and valid response. It is very important to be prepared and have an action plan in order to be able to solve possible problems that may arise with our product or service. decisively evaluating different alternatives.

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8. Persuade but don't harass

Probably many of those who read these lines have found themselves on more than one occasion answering calls phone calls from companies that keep trying to contact and convince you over and over again of the advantages of their services.

This type of behavior can harass the prospective client, generating his anger and revulsion in him even to the point of rejecting offers that under normal conditions could be interesting. When we are before a client we must try to be persuasive, but not tiresome.

9. personalize

Closely linked to the previous point, we find that it is often use slogans and texts that are memorized and quoted verbatim (especially if the message is long), something easily perceptible by the possible user and that usually generate a rapid mental disconnection and lack of interest on the part of it regarding what is being saying.

That is why it is very important to personalize the message offered to each user. Obviously we can and it will be necessary to tell him or her about the characteristics of the product, but first we must make them meaningful to him or her.