Customers want three specific things when they call an answering service and customer support contact center:
- To speak with an experienced customer service agent.
- To speak with an agent that is personable, friendly, and engaging.
- To have their problems solved quickly.
In order to provide these three things, you need to properly train your contact center agents. The training process includes many different aspects of learning to enable them to do their jobs and do them well.
Step 1: Have new agents learn about your business.
You can’t run before you can walk. The same is true in customer service. The agents need to know about your business, its products and services, company values, core culture, and other aspects before they can provide support for your customers.
Step 2: Educate them about how important they are to building relationships with your customers.
Customer service experiences have a direct impact on the relationship a business has with its customers. If customers are treated well, this can help retain them and earn repeat business.
Step 3: Provide hands-on training with experienced agents.
The best way to ensure new agents are helping customers how you desire is to give them some hands-on training with guidance from your more experienced agents.
Step 4: Enable agents to take ownership and resolve problems.
Customers don’t like being passed off from one agent to another. Make sure your agents are educated on how to take ownership and resolve problems on their own.
Step 5: Incorporate phone recordings and videos into training materials.
Both of these things can help you provide better “real life” expectations of your agents. Remember to include calls and videos that can teach them how to respond to all types of callers and situations.
Step 6: Provide agents with ongoing education and training opportunities.
Training does not stop once your new agents get on the phones. Make sure they have access to training materials, continuing education courses, and other such things so they can continue to improve their skills.
Training customer support agents is a complex and ongoing process. For expertly trained answering and contact call center agents to interact with your customers, please feel free to contact Always Answer at 1-800-606-9898 today!
