How to connect with customers over phone and email

When I think of customer service, I don’t get the warm fuzzies. Call me crazy but every time I have to make one of those dreaded calls to get help I feel like it’s an inconvenience to me and the person I’m speaking with.  I feel like customer service has gotten a bad rep lately.  So let’s change it!  I’m so glad you asked how…

Building Relationships with Your Customers

The more you know about your customer, the more you can help them and the more you can build a relationship.  I speak with customers on the phone and in emails every day.

Making a friend out of a customer is rewarding.  When an issue arises and they contact you but aren’t upset simply because they know you are going to take care of them. They trust you.

One of my favorite parts of knowing my customers is that you can avoid that awkward “how’s the weather” chit chat and actually feel like you’re catching up with a friend.  Who doesn’t like that familiar feel?  It’s like the bartender knowing you’re name.  You just feel so welcome and at home. Remember those details on what you talked about too!  They will come in handy in the future.

Getting to know your customer can be challenging sometimes especially through tickets and the phone.

You always have one benefit when speaking over the phone rather than a ticket. That’s the tone.  A lot can be said from the tone.  You can tell a person’s age, learning curve, unfamiliarity to the software, urgency, and preferences. Use these to your advantage!

If you know that someone isn’t the most computer savvy, spend a little time trying to understand their goal and then don’t just help them with their immediate problem.  Go ahead!  Solve future issues, teach them an easier way to accomplish their goal and show them capabilities that they never would have thought about using.

When it goes bad, flip the customer! One of the biggest challenges everyone faces in customer service are those upset customer calls. Thank them. Customers don’t just call to ruin our day!  They have to be pretty upset to take the energy to call us and vent their frustrations.  Take advantage of it. This is your time to shine and flip the situation.

When someone calls and is upset I do my best to understand and empathize. If you empathize, listen, and then tell them specifically what you’re going to do to fix the error the customer will love you forever.  Especially if you follow through, follow up, and find a way to wow them.  They just want to know that you’re on their team and you’re going to do everything you can to solve their problem.

After the problem is fixed, don’t let the relationship die. Follow up and make sure things are still going good.  Give them a call, send them a love note, or a Zing.  Remember those conversations I told you to remember?  Include something personal from them and you are guaranteed to wow your new friend.

Email Tone

E-mail tone can be a pretty touchy subject!  It’s so hard to interpret the tone of a customer as well as for them to interpret your tone. Read. Read. And reread.

They are pretty close to the same sentence if you ask me, but which one looks more inviting?  The second one looks a little less robotesque and canned.  Remember, we can change expectations and give customer support some fun and light! Use those little tools. I’ve found myself using smiley faces, punctuation and sometimes gifs to show some personality.

Keep it interesting!  I feel like when you send a support ticket in to any organization you automatically expect a boring blah answer.  Why not spruce it up?  This also creates room for the customer and you to build a relationship.  One of my favorite fun customizations is to create custom surveys with a corresponding video showing them how to use our survey tool.

Start the conversation!  I always try to use my miniature dachshund Zeus in those surveys, profile pictures, and other help videos.  He’s always a great conversation starter.  Quotes from your favorite musician or TV show, anything to spark up a conversation is helpful in getting to know your customer.

Thank you for reading!  I hope this has been helpful and fun.  I’ve included a picture of a unicorn I drew for a colleague…  because well you know internal customer support is important too.