10 simple tips to help customer support agents deliver outstanding support!

Have you wondered why only a few companies deliver great customer support? Is it because they lack the right strategy and process? Or does it have to do with the company culture?

While there can be quite a few reasons, one of the most common ones is the quality of support agents. They are the face of your company – the employees who interact with customers the most.

If you’re an agent unable to deliver on customer expectations, it’s time to make a few changes. Read on to find out the 10 simple tips for support agents to bring their A-game to work!

Know the product/service inside out

Great service starts with deep knowledge. Know the products or services of your company inside out. Learn the nuances of how things work. This equips you to handle any sort of customer complaint or query in a timely and effective way.

Be a great listener

Humans, as a species, are resigned to being poor listeners. But that shouldn’t stop you from hearing out what your customer has to say. Pay complete attention to the customer and you’re halfway closer to solving the issue at hand. On the other hand, interrupting not only makes you sound rude, but you wouldn’t be able to grasp the entire context around what the customer is saying.

Go the extra mile

The support agents at Amazon and Zappos always standout. Want to know why? They always rise above what is expected of them. In fact, it’s second nature for them! Look at every customer call as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship and win more of their trust. If the customer is angry about an experience, offer a discount on their next purchase. If the customer wants a replacement, do it for free!

Communicate clearly with your customers

As much as what you say is important, ‘how’ you say it equally matters. Be clear and crisp in communicating your point across to the customer. Remember, they don’t have all the time in the world. Don’t have an immediate solution? Let the customer know that you’ve escalated it. A confident and clear tone of voice also makes it easier for the customer to empathize with you

Do not sound like a robot!

Gone for the days where you could look at customer calls as mere tickets. Customers today want to be treated well. Dull, uninspiring agents reading out from templates are a turn-off. Personalize the experience. Remember their first name when you do a follow-up. Ask them about their day. Show that you care. 

Have bundles of patience and empathy

Being a support agent is not a rosy job. You’re going to get severe flak from some customers whilst others are going to be quite arrogant. That being said, it’s also your job to handle all these customers intelligently without letting them get to you. Take a step back and put yourself in their shoes before you start talking. Once you understand where they are coming from, it’s become a lot easier to diffuse these tricky situations.

Be in the I-want-to-constantly-learn mindset

Feeling bored talking to customers all day? Maybe you aren’t focused on learning more and pushing your boundaries. Keep yourself constantly updated with how support is changing today. Are there new technologies that help you serve customers better? Is there a more tactful approach to handle angry customers? It’s up to you to turn the boring day job into a role where you build quality customer relationships.

Keep your personal stuff aside

Being in a customer-facing role comes with a sort of discipline that can be hard to live up to. But, you cannot let your personal feelings get in the middle of your job. Be it a fight with your spouse, a disagreement with relatives, or a lack of motivation to get to work, we cannot stress how important it is to stay focused on the customer.

Always close the feedback loop

Empathizing and replying back to customers politely amounts to very little if you aren’t able to offer tangible solutions. As a customer support agent, your ultimate goal has to be closing the feedback loop and ensuring that the customer is delighted. If this involves doing multiple internal follow-ups, and updating the customer proactively, so be it. Closing the feedback loop is also an important metric that is used to track agent performance. 

Work as a team

As much as customer support can be a lonely and tiresome job, it does involve a fair amount of teamwork. Knowing who to reach out for certain shares, share ideas with, and collaborate to solve complaints, can be extremely helpful in your personal career growth as well as in getting the customer query solved in time.

Do you tick all these qualities as an agent? If you think we’ve missed out on anything that is needed to be a top support agent, let us know in the comments below.