Customer service centers can get a bad rap. Things like long hold times, bad music, and transfers between departments, to name a few of the reasons why customers hate calling contact centers, can put people on edge before they even talk to your representatives.
Some of this is exacerbated by a culture of high expectations from consumers.
“Influenced by social trends and empowered by technology, customers are better informed, less patient, and more demanding than ever before,” said Laura Shear, a Bay Area freelance writer and consultant. They expect high quality, personalized service from every business they interact with, no matter their size or industry.
So if someone is contacting Customer Support, whether online or on the phone, somewhere along the line you haven’t met their expectations. So how can you make sure when they interact with your customer support, they are left with a positive feeling? You do that by making sure your representatives have the tools and information they need to handle the issue quickly with the highest of quality.
Knowledge is power
A good customer service representative should have in-depth knowledge and be an expert for your customers. InfinitContact, a customer service outsourcing service, says that customer service reps need to be able to answer all frequently asked questions and do it quickly. A well-organized, robust knowledge base can be your customer service representatives’ greatest ally. When the answer is right at their fingertips, they can provide even the most obscure of questions quickly and without transferring to a supervisor. Representatives can also offer articles, tips, and other information pieces to customers, all centrally housed in the Knowledge Base.
When you provide your customer service agents with the tools they need to be successful, you’re giving them the confidence they need to be productive, happy employees. Success magazine lists seven techniques to help build a more confident, competent team, including helping them be prepared. If you’re representatives are fully prepared to answer any customer’s question or problem — or know how to find the answer in the knowledge base — they can have the confidence to handle tough situations and earn the trust and respect of your customers in the process.
Knowledge is better when it’s fast
As technology advances, more and more methods of communication are available and are overtaking voice calls: texting, social media, and live chat are all ways to communicate with your customers, and for customers to communicate with you.
Millennials want to communicate faster, and voice calls are going to become a less and less efficient way to do that, according to John Brandon in Inc.
But just because your customers may not contact you by phone, doesn’t mean they don’t want to interact with a real person, via live chat, texting, or social media engagement. A knowledge base can be invaluable in these situations because your team can use it as a reference to answer questions, provide literature or articles and other pieces of information that are appropriate to the situation.
A fully fleshed out knowledge base can empower your customer service representatives to give your customers the experience they expect and provide them with the information they need.