The Importance of Communication for Successful Customer Service - Essay Example

The importance of communication for successful customer service The importance of communication as one of the basic management functions can’t be overstressed. Effective communication includes the ability to absorb and listen to one another as well as conveying your opinions, ideas, thoughts and plans. Communication is very important because almost everything involves communication. Though it is impossible to build human relations without communication, it is also important for the success of any business. Effective communication is required in ensuring success in customer service in any organization. In the dynamic world today customers are termed as ‘kings’ and they should be put first as this is the first step in achieving effective communication. A customer service policy enables employees to know and practice effective customer service delivery. Customer service officials should focus on customers by practicing good listening skills whether on the telephone or in person. Customers should be shown willingness to be assisted and their feelings put into considerations. While talking to customers, it is important to maintain eye contact and write down notes and their comments received with gratitude. In order for communication to be effective, customers should have access to information as this is vital to them. Information should be accurate and in detail to involve and engage customers. Today’s customers want to be told what is happening in the organization. There should be information about the full range of services available to them and include how and when they can contact for the services and who is in charge of those services. For instance, if there is any charge for the service provided customers should be told and how much they have to pay and when they need to make payments. This information can be published and send to those customers. The information communicated to customers must me clear and accurate. Company policies should be explained to customers and their questions about products or services be well answered. Layman’s terms should be used when translating technical information or industry terms to those experts as they are not experts in your business. It is also important to have an open mind and not judge customers on how they dress or present themselves. Customer service staff should always mind customers’ feelings and be aware of the words they use. Mentioning customers’ names makes them feel valued and special. It is also important to mind non-verbal messages as they matter very much. Body language, good posture, eye contact and smile should always be displayed positively. Taking interest in the needs of customers builds trust and rapport. It is also important to look forward to dealing with all kinds of customers. Every organization should also measure its customer service with customers in order to evaluate its effectiveness. For instance, they can be asked how fast phones are picked when they call, how well they are answered, what their comments are about the appearance of their office and employees, and if the information they received is of high quality. Customer service evaluation can be done by calling a few customers who have interacted with staff within the stipulated time. Customers can rate if their expectations were least met, moderately met or excellently met. It is always that customers are right but it is important to know how they feel. Complaints don’t lack despite putting all the proactive and positive measures when communicating to customers. To make this success, the organization should have a customer handling complaints’ procedures which all employees must know and follow. There should be a system for recording all complaints that come in writing, phone or out of office and all employees should know how to record those complaints in the right way. In handling customer complaints you may devise a way of responding to them; immediately, quickly or make an appointment with the customer to discuss more about the problem in order to come up with an appropriate decision. Look for all sides of the issue emerging and ask the complainant to be specific of what action he or she is expecting the organization to take. The person handling the complaints should be very careful in promising solutions. There are thus important ways to apply in dealing with customer complaints. The staff member should not take the matter personally or get defensive. It is important to hear both sides of the story before embarking on the solution. Positive language should be maintained and if there is anything that the staff member isn’t sure about he or she should leave it out. Putting blame on someone else doesn’t help solve the problem. Let the complainant know what you are going to do about it and by when. However, promise only what you can deliver and ensure that you have reported back to the complainant once the problem has been solved. Effective communication is manifested when listening is done, action taken and the complainant told about the solution provided for the problem. It is also important to thank the customer for bringing up the issue. As explained earlier communication is very important in building a successful customer service as it will determine how well an organization will attract and maintain customers. While sourcing for a course to study I visited one college in town to find out what courses they were offering. There were few customers at the reception and the enquiry desk was without a customer. The customer service staff was busy with her computer and not bothered about who had entered and who had left. After waiting for a while I decided to go directly and enquire about their courses. As I was talking to her she wasn’t looking at me and stayed glued on the computer. I felt she wasn’t giving me attention and may be she wasn’t even listening to me so I stopped talking and kept quite. She noticed the silence then she raised her head to ask how I could be assisted. Since I was very upset with her I told her that I would go back another day when she is ready to talk to customers. Since then I have never gone back to that college again. This is what happens to many organizations out there that have good products and services but wonder why they loose customers or hardly attract them. The level of customer service is the face of the company and that determines the success of the company. The college I attended my computer application studies was excellent from the first day I made an enquiry to the last day I completed my course. The customer service staffs were friendly and courteous and explained everything about the course, the duration, the payment, course time, examinations, certifications and policies applying. They answered all questions I asked and most of all they had a system of receiving customer complains and providing solutions. Customer feedback was taken after every course module and it was acted upon. Any solutions found and any action taken on the feedback given was communicated. Staff of the college was friendly and always willing to help. There was a great relationship between customers and staff. To this date most of the college customers are by word of mouth. Friends and relatives recommend the college to their friends and relatives. If there is any other course I would want to study in Information Technology I would go back to that college. In this dynamic corporate world good customer service isn’t enough. An organization should be able to attract and maintain its customers and this can only be done by building on strong communication with customers. Clear and accurate information should be given to customers, their feelings should be taken into consideration, their names should be mentioned and pronounced correctly and stereotyping should be avoided. Body language, making of eye contact, good posture and smile should be displayed positively. It is also important to get feedback from customers and have a procedure of handling customer complains. Customers are of different types and one should be able to deal with all of them. Works Cited Dwyer, Judith. The business communication handbook. 8th ed. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education, 2008. Prasaad, Sai. Establishing Successful Customer Relationships Through Effective Communication: An Indian Perspective. Barcelona: Trípodos, 2009 Rosenbaum, Toni. Effective Communication Skills for Highway and Public Works Officials. New York LTAP Centre, 2005 Read More