Customer service is a role found in almost every industry. Why? Because no matter how good a product may be, customers are most likely to remember their actual encounter with people. Here at Salt, we have long-standing experience in finding suitable Customer Service roles at all levels.
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Customer service is the assistance provided to consumers before, during, and after they purchase and utilise your products or services to make their experience with you as simple and joyful as possible. Customer service representatives typically respond to customer inquiries via phone, email, chat, and social media interactions, and they may also be in charge of developing material for self-service support.
This means that working in Customer Service allows you to develop soft skills like empathy and patience. Still, there is also a huge opportunity to work with various communication and business management systems – from email to ticketing systems and live chats.
It’s often said that it’s cheaper to keep existing customers than to find new ones. – It’s true: poor customer service is a significant cause of churn.
Customers now can communicate with, review and affect how companies are viewed in the public eye through a vast number of online channels. Businesses are being more proactive in their customer service policies. This has more than ever opened up the doors to an increased number of customer service roles – those with relevant skills should not have an issue securing a position in this field.
Technology has influenced Customer Service by extraordinary means. One that we can’t ignore is the power of Social Media as a customer communication tool. In addition to simply responding to a customer on Social Media, we can now expect people in Customer Service to integrate with artificial intelligence tools such as chatbots to improve further the service given to customers.
Future prospects for Customer Service can be stretched across several interlinked fields, such as:
● Sales: You’ll understand the business services and products inside and out
● Marketing: You can easily branch out into marketing; writing blog content or conducting product/market research
Depending on performance, there is always the possibility of becoming a customer service/success team lead.
Customer service professionals require a high school diploma, on-the-job training, and various soft skills, such as clear communication, conflict resolution, a positive attitude, and assertiveness.
On-the-job training is required for the majority of customer service representative roles. These training sessions differ by employer and might run anywhere from a week to a month. They usually train support personnel on using computer software and CRM programs and fundamental customer service skills.
Employers will require information on your previous Customer Services roles. Include the tools you used and real-life examples of how you handled certain situations – whether it was a conflict resolution, retaining a client or even going out of your job description and upselling. Always include your key responsibilities, key achievements, and skills you picked up to benefit the potential employer.
Make sure you do your homework on the firm you’re interviewing with—being able to articulate how you’d improve their processes would be quite helpful. You should also be prepared to address previous career problems and how you manage customer expectations and meet targets.
Work experience is crucial in these roles unless you apply for a junior position where someone will most likely mentor you. Although certifications are not essential for this position, many customer service representatives pursue them to improve their skills and increase their earning potential.
"Pay attention to your customer’s experience and understand that good customer service takes empathy, active listening, and consistency. Use available data and technology to stay informed and help the learning process."
— Mia St Hill, Managing Consultant
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