Customer Service Training Module

Module 1
Describe what customer service means.
Customer service is the service provided to customers before, during and after
purchasing and using goods and services. Good customer service provides an experience
that meets customer expectations. It produces satisfied customers. Bad customer
service can generate complaints. It can result in lost sales, because consumers might
take their business to a competitor.
Good customer service involves developing bonds with customers, hopefully
leading to long-term relationships. It creates advantages for both customers and the
business alike. Customers benefit because the business is providing a service that meets
their needs. The business benefits because satisfied customers are likely to be repeat
customers. They will stay with the business. However, good customer service is not
easily achieved. It takes time to establish. It requires investment to deliver consistent
standards.
Identify customers and what they value.
Customers play the most significant part in business. In fact the customer is the
actual boss in a deal and is responsible for the actually profit for the organization.
Customer is the one who uses the products and services and judges the quality of those
products and services. Hence its important for an organization to retain customers or
make new customers and flourish business. To manage customers, organizations should
follow some sort of approaches like segmentation or division of customers into groups
because each customer has to be considered valuable and profitable.
Customers can be of following types:
Loyal Customers
These types of customers are less in numbers but promote more sales and profit as
compared to other customers as these are the ones which are completely satisfied.
These customers revisit the organization over times hence it is crucial to interact and
keep in touch with them on a regular basis and invest much time and effort with them.
Loyal customers want individual attention and that demands polite and respectful
responses from supplier.
Discount Customers
Discount customers are also frequent visitors but they are only a part of business when
offered with discounts on regular products and brands or they buy only low cost
products. More is the discount the more they tend towards buying. These customers are
mostly related to small industries or the industries that focus on low or marginal
investments on products. Focus on these types of customers is also important as they
also promote distinguished part of profit into business.
Impulsive Customers
These customers are difficult to convince as they want to do the business in urge or
caprice. They dont have any specific item into their product list but urge to buy what
they find good and productive at that point of time. Handling these customers is a
challenge as they are not particularly looking for a product and want the supplier to
display all the useful products they have in their tally in front of them so that they can
buy what they like from that display. If impulsive customers are treated accordingly then
there is high probability that these customers could be a responsible for high
percentage of selling.
Need Based Customers
These customers are product specific and only tend to buy items only to which they are
habitual or have a specific need for them. These are frequent customers but do not
become a part of buying most of the times so it is difficult to satisfy them. These
customers should be handled positively by showing them ways and reasons to switch to
other similar products and brands and initiating them to buy these. These customers
could possibly be lost if not tackled efficiently with positive interaction.
Wandering Customers
These are the least profitable customers as sometimes they themselves are not sure
what to buy. These customers are normally new in industry and most of the times visit
suppliers only for confirming their needs on products. They investigate features of most
prominent products in the market but do not buy any of those or show least interest in
buying. To grab such customers they should be properly informed about the various
positive features of the products so that they develop a sense of interest.
An organization should always focus on loyal customers and should expand or multiply
the product range to leverage impulsive customers. For other types of customers
strategies should be renovated and enhanced for turning out these customers to satisfy
their needs and modify these types of customers to let them fall under loyal and
impulsive category.
Describe the categories of customers and their needs and expectations.
CUSTOMER NEEDS
A businesss long-term success depends on its ability to accomplish its business
purpose. In fact, studies show it costs five times more to create a new customer than it
does to keep an existing one. And, an extremely satisfied customer is five times more
likely to return than one who is merely satisfied.It is a fact that as customers become
satisfied with a business, they continue to frequent it. And, as they do, their value to
the business increases. As a result, we must treat each customer from a life-long
perspective rather than as a single purchase event.There are six basic needs that
customers have:


SIX BASIC CUSTOMER NEEDS
Friendliness
The most basic need of all and is
usually associated with being
greeted politely and courteously.

Greet customer politely and courteously
Understanding and Empathy
Customers need to feel that their
circumstances and feelings are
appreciated and understood by the
service person without criticism or
judgment.

Acknowledge the problem or question without criticism
or judgment

Fairness
All customers want to be treated
fairly.

Treat all customers equally

Control
Control represents the customers
need to feel as if they have an
impact on the way things turn out.

All customers want to feel they have an impact on the
way things turn out

Options and Alternatives
Provide the customer with other
available avenues to get what they
want accomplished.

Customers need to feel there are other avenues
available

Information
Customers need and want to be
informed about products, policies
and procedures they encounter
when doing business with you.

Educate customers on policies and procedures they
will encounter doing business with you. Set realistic
expectations.
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

Customer expectations are beliefs about service delivery that serve as standards or reference
points against which performance is judged. Because customers compare their perceptions
of performance with these reference points when evaluating service quality, thorough
knowledgeabout customer expectations is critical to services marketers. Knowing what the
customerexpects is the rst and possibly most critical step in delivering good quality service.
Being wrongabout what customers want can mean losing a customers business when another
company hitsthe target exactly. Being wrong can also mean expending money, time and other
resources onthings that do not count to the customer. Being wrong can even mean not surviving
in a ercely competitive market.

To say that expectations are reference points against which service delivery is compared
isonly a beginning. The level of expectation can vary widely depending on the reference
pointthe customer holds. Although most everyone has an intuitive sense of what
expectations are,service marketers need a far more thorough and clear denition of
expectations in order to comprehend,measure and manage them.

The benefits of understanding customer expectations
Customer satisfaction is a result of the service level you deliver compared to what your
customer expects to receive.

Here are the four benefits you can get from understanding customer expectations:
It lets you know what service levels are expected to keep customers happy and
achieve high customer satisfaction
It enables employees to focus on fulfilling customers expectations
It gives you the opportunity to exceed expectations and create raving advocates
It can help you resolve customer complaints. Since complaints are a result of failing
to meeting expectations, you have the ability to quickly fix the problems and retain
the business

Setting customer expectation
Right from the first contact you have with a customer its important to set
expectations. Too many times Ive talked to customers where theyve had sales guys
over promise and set expectations so high that their poor account managers had no
chance of meeting them.
Once you now know what your customer needs, you can begin setting expectations.
Here you can tell customers what service levels they can expect to receive, what
support is available to them, what results they should be getting and what KPIs
youll be working towards. Every industry and even every customer might have a
different set up expectations. This is because there needs will be different, so you
must adjust accordingly.
Meeting customer expectations
Meeting customer expectations is the most valuable part of customer
satisfaction. A satisfied customer is one that has had their expectations met.
To do this, you must make sure you deliver a consistent level of service that
is based on the key areas and KPIs you have set for each customer when you
set expectations.
The goal here is to not just meet customer expectations; it should be to
wow customers and exceed them. When you exceed expectations, you
create an experience that the customer remembers. This experience is often
passed onto friends which generates word of mouth referrals and can help
create a positive impression of your company.
ACTIVITY: FIND THE WORD
This activity will help the participants retain and be attentive with its consumers needs.
INSTRUCTIONS: The participants will be divided into six (6) groups and will be given activity materials.
The facilitator will give letters with a question and they must form the word that answers the question.
Teamwork and coordination must be developed. They will be given 10 minutes to form the word. The
first one who can form such word is the winner.
QUESTION AND ANSWER:
a) Greet customer politely and courteously Friendliness
b) Acknowledge the problem or question without criticism or judgment Understanding and
Empathy
c) Treat all customers equally Fairness
d) All customers want to feel they have an impact on the ways things turn out - Control
e) Customers need to feel there are other avenues available Options and Alternatives
f) Educate customers on policies and procedures they will encounter doing business with you. Set
realistic expectations Information

Describe the psychological needs customers want to fulfilled.
Successful marketing persuades a prospective client to purchase the product or service
you are selling. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to appeal directly to
one or more of his basic needs. Many business students are taught to view Maslow's
hierarchy of needs as a guideline against which to target marketing efforts, arguing that
success depends on meeting one of Maslow's identified needs. Although other needs
theories also have relevance, Maslow's needs hierarchy remains the foundation for
many fruitful psychological approaches to marketing.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In the most basic sense, Maslow's hierarchy identifies five primary areas of needs
experienced by most humans. Beginning with physiological, or basic life survival, needs,
the model progresses in subsequent steps through safety and security, love and
belongingness, self-esteem and finally self-actualization. Maslow postulated that as man
meets the needs at the first level, he moves toward the next, then the next and so on.

Maslow posited that human behavior and decision-making are motivated by one of the
five need levels in his hierarchy. Applied to marketing theory, your ability to effectively
appeal to one of these motivational drivers is a key determinant of your potential
success. Non-essential services -- massage treatments or custom tailoring, for example -
- may be marketed successfully to those in the fourth or fifth level of Maslow's hierarchy
because those people are driven by the needs for increased self-esteem and realizing
their full potential. The same marketing campaign is unlikely to appeal to those on the
first level, as they are driven by the most basic of human needs: food, water and other
elements of survival.

A prospective customer driven by Maslow's second needs level, safety and security,
might be enticed to buy a new car if you convince him that it is safe for his family,
reliable and well-rated in consumer studies. Someone driven by the need for self-
esteem, in needs level four, is looking for recognition and validation, so you might tailor
your marketing to convince her that acquiring and implementing your accounting
methods will bring accolades from her peers or make her look good to her boss.

Dealing with everyday people at work.
No matter your job or your workplace, dealing with people effectively is a must
for success. Dealing with everyday people successfully will make work more fun
and inspiring. Dealing with people is both a joy and a challenge.
But, dealing with people successfully is the most significant factor determining
whether you will have the impact and influence you need to accomplish
your mission at work. Dealing with people effectively is a skill that you can learn.

a) How to demonstrate respect at work
b) Trust and be trustworthy
c) Provide feedback that has an impact
d) Receive feedback with grace and dignity
e) Show appreciation
f) Build Alliances
g) Develop effective work relationships
h) Overcome your fear of confrontation and conflict
i) Hold a difficult conversations
j) Consciously create team norms

Module 2
Demonstrate successful attending skills for listening, namely:
o Presence
o Attention
o Patience
o Commitment to work
Differentiate between open and closed questions and use them appropriately to serve your
customers better.
Identify and explain the steps in dealing with customer complaints.
Customer service is the interaction a person experiences when conducting business with a
company or an individual. The experience can be positive or negative. Successful businesses train
their staffs on how to handle customer complaints quickly.
Listen to the customer concerns. Generally, concerns over an issue can be handled without it
becoming a complaint. The manner in which the concern is handled will determine the intensity of the
problem. Get the customer's name, address and phone number.
Acknowledge the problem by asking the customer to give details
Do not take the complaint personally. This could result in a biased decision.
Give the customer an opportunity to explain the problem without interruptions. Constantly
interrupting the customer will only add fuel to the problem and may end in a shouting match.
Put yourself in the customer's place. Everyone has experienced bad service at some point.
Interrupting the customer will make the person feel your concern with the problem is not genuine.
Apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding.
Contact the correct party and explain the situation in the event you are not the right person to
handle the complaint.
Don't automatically take an employee's side against the customer.
Write down information regarding the interaction with the customer and how the situation was
handled, if applicable. Give a copy of the information to your immediate supervisor.
Ask questions to clarify the problems and the causes.
Many times the problem may not be with the price, merchandise or service, but with an
employee's negative attitude while dealing with the customer.
If language is a problem, find someone that speaks the customer's language for clear
communication to expedite matters.
Explain to the customer that all feedback by a customer is valued by the company.
Find out how the customer wants the issue resolved. The resolution could be in the form of a
replacement, refund, exchange, store credit or discount on price.
If the customer's request can be met, explain the time it takes to process or what it will entail to
make it happen.
When a date is given to the customer, make sure the date is kept, or the delay is explained by a
follow-up call or email.
The three As of solving a complaint
Ask Provide customers with the opportunity to complain, give them your full attention, listen
completely and ask. Go in futher details with key questions like What else?
Agree Nobody complains without reason. No matter how absurd the complaint might be, always act
calm. Try to look at the issue from your customer's perspective. Never argue or disagree!
Apologize Resolve the problem and apologize politely. Accept the mistake and thank the customer
for bringing the complaint to your attention. Compensate your client with adequate recoupment.

Module 3
Explain telephone techniques.
Explain the Service Recovery. The common mistakes employees make with customers and what
you can do to prevent them.
Module 4
Manifesting the right attitude.
Having a positive attitude toward your customers is one of the most important ways to excel in
customer relations. It is important to have a good relationship with customers, and your attitude
toward them should reflect just how important they are to you and your company.

Remember that maintaining your positive attitude is the key element for a good experience.
Show the customers that their concerns are as important to you as they are to them.
Listen to customers needs and concerns the first time.
Stay focused on your goal and keeping the customer happy no matter what negative behavior
youre receiving from them.
Resolve any problems, and keep your word on the solutions.
Always thank the customersleaving them with a sense of value will help with customer
communication in the future.

Having a positive attitude and respect toward your customer will lead to a better future
relationship with your customers and help your company in the long run.

How to satisfy customer needs.
Having a great product or service is not enough. Customers, and especially repeat customers, are
not guaranteed. This means you must take action in order to attract and retain the consumer. Consider the
following information:

Customers Need To Be Acknowledged
Customers need to know that their requests or concerns are important, and will be taken care of. Employ-
ees can quickly build rapport, and acknowledge customer importance, by opening the call with a friendly
greeting and a cheerful tone of voice that expresses a willingness to serve.

Customers Need To Be Listened To and Understood
Customers need to know that they have been heard and understood. How employees demonstrate their
understanding is essential to providing great customer service. After customers describe their reason for
calling, encourage employees to paraphrase what customers say, and use words that express empathy and
a sincere desire to help.
Example:
Customer: I followed the installation directions, but Im not getting the screen messages that the manual
says I should be getting.
Employee: Youre following the installation directions, but its not working? OK, lets walk through it
together.

Customers Need To Be Treated With Respect
Each customer wants to be treated with respect, and regarded as a very important person not as a prob-
lem. How employees phrase responses and their tone of voice can make or break a successful interaction.
Customers are generally not as well-versed in product or service knowledge as employees. Be sure
employees use the most simple terms to describe products or services, and repeat instructions as many
times as necessary to guarantee customer satisfaction.
Successfully satisfying these three human needs is a proven method to increasing customer satisfaction
and customer loyalty.

Think like a customer
As flirted with in the introduction, you must have the mindset of a customer. Walk in their shoes to
understand how your product/service is perceived, what is alluring about it, and how it ranks amongst the
competition.
Putting a product on the market, promoting it, and waiting to make money is not good business. The
public will not buy anything and everything because it is at their disposal. They must have a need and the
product must serve that need exceptionally well.
The only way you will engineer a product that serves the public is to empathize with their situation.

Whats in it for them?
Incentives may come to mind when thinking like a customer. Do you ever pose the question of What is it
in for me? Well, most people do. What extras can you attach to your products/services?
Engage customers by enforcing their allegiance to your brand or to prolong the amount of time they use
your products or services. For instance, offer a membership card that provides discounts on products or
grant coupons on other services when one service is purchased or offer free articles on your Web site to
help them make educated buying decisions.
Offering incentives captivates consumers and reinforces their decision to use your products/services.

Out of sight, out of mind
It is a pressing matter to frequently communicate with your consumers. This can be done through direct
mailing, emails, blog posts, newsletters, etc. People are confronted with a myriad of information all day,
so they need to be reminded of your company and what you have to offer them. Advertising and
marketing is an interminable process. Regardless of how popular your brand, services, and products
become, it is necessary to always remain on the lips, eyes, and minds of current and potential customers.

Know their thoughts
Customers are one of the greatest sources of information for any business. Those within your company
will provide accolades and competitors will relay caustic sentiments, but your customers will give an
objective account of you.
Have you ever considered using surveys to discover the thoughts of your consumers? This is the
population you are serving; doesnt it make sense to know their thoughts? You will gain insight on what
they like and dislike about what you provide as well as the same regarding your competition.

Keep them engaged
You may have a great product or service and satisfy the customer. You may think that the task is
complete then and there that they will continue to use your business further. Logic such as that is not
always sound. You must keep your customers engaged in your company. That means sending them
literature, approaching them with promotions, offering resources on your Web site, etc. You need to
create a lasting relationship.
Amongst day-to-day activities, people become in need of a product or service. When this happens, they
may call on your business, your business suits their need, and the episode comes to a closure. We as
businesspeople, may assume that the next time that person (or someone close to them) has a similar need,
they will again think (or recommend) us, but this is not always the case. You need to keep the customers
exposed to your company and brand.

Share the vision
Companies will train their marketing and advertising departments to emulate their sentiments regarding
their customers. They train them to value the customer and understand the consumers are the cornerstone
of the business. This mentality needs to be shared by all employees of your business. Whether they are an
IT worker or one devoting their energies to customer service, there must be a universal sentiment instilled
in each worker to satisfy the customer and promote the tenacity of the business brand.

Keep data
As mentioned, customer data is vital to any business. Whether it is feedback or specific information
on your target market, it is hugely important to retain information. CRM software is implemented by
businesses to help with customer service and house information to be used for marketing and
advertising purposes. Each consumer desires personalized service. Keeping data on consumers
ameliorates the reality of individualized service.