10 Incredible Ways on Best Listening Behaviors to Satisfy Customers

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10 Incredible Ways on Best Listening Behaviors to
Satisfy Customers
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Introduction

• Customer service is one of the most important
  elements of running a successful business.
• Customer relationship management is a priority
  for the managers of all companies looking to
  sustain themselves in the competitive market of
  today.
• In order to carry out the customer service
  effectively, it is imperative that the call
  center employees who has been assigned the duty
  of direct interaction with the customers possess
  certain skills and are trained in certain
  mannerisms.
• The key to successful customer retention is
  keeping the every individual customer satisfied.
  One of the most crucial aspects of this is active
  listening on the part of the call center agent.

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• You have the  to aid you in understanding the
  client and data procured from his buying history,
  previous call logs, profile, etc. are a great
  indicator of what sort of concerns he is likely
  to have and how he wants to be heard.
• Agents must follow these indicators and take
  data-driven decision to thoroughly understand the
  queries of the customer and keep him satisfied.
• Businesses today are more customer centric than
  ever before. In the market of modern times,
  a happy customer is a loyal customer, and a loyal
  customer is a profitable customer.
• Most companies undertake surveys to gauge the
  level of satisfaction they are meting out to
  their clients, and shape their policies according
  to those results.

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• Management guru Peter Drucker says The most
  important thing in communication is hearing what
  isnt said. This is exactly where active
  listening comes into play, understanding the
  deeper implications of what the customer is
  actually saying and acting accordingly.
• Active listening is a skill acquired over the
  period of time through dedication, exposure and
  practice. It involves being completely focused on
  what the customer has to say, interpreting what
  the customer means and then responding
  accordingly.
• This sends out the message that you consider
  whatever the customer has to say as being
  important enough for you to dedicate your
  complete attention, which is important to
  establish trust on a personal as well as
  professional level with the customer.

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Avoiding distractions when conversing with the
customer is the key first step

• Ensure that while on-call, you are not in charge
  of any other duties, or bothered by anything else
  happening around you.
• Listen to your customers requirements intently,
  since you will have to keep these in mind
  throughout the problem-solving procedure.
• Try to keep your personal phone or pager away
  when you are performing on-call duties as these
  may also lead to your mind wandering when it
  should be focused on comprehending everything
  that the customer is saying.

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Listen to understand, rather than to reply

• As the customer is speaking, try and gauge
  exactly what are his concerns, rather than
  focusing on how best to reply to him at that
  given point.
• Focusing on your response would lead you
  inevitably missing out on the details of the
  problem that the customer is describing leading
  to inefficiency down the line in solving that
  requirement.

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Try not to interrupt the customer as he is
speaking

• If there is something he has misunderstood, wait
  for him to complete speaking before bringing it
  up.
• People do not appreciate being cut off in the
  middle of their call, and they expect a customer
  service executive to listen to their queries
  rather than being more concerned about pointing
  out the errors in his interpretation.
• You should also encourage the customers to be
  willing to talk to talk to you as much as they
  see fit, because the more details they describe,
  the better you will understand where the
  challenge lies with that individual.

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Following Peter Druckers words, try to
understand what the customer is looking to
communicate beyond his mere words.

• Identify aspects such as the tone of speech and
  body language, and draw valid conclusions from
  their variations.
• Body language can be just as revealing as the
  words themselves, because the involuntary actions
  betray true feelings of the customers.
• This is also an excellent metric for a call
  center agent to judge whether what he is saying
  is being clearly understood by the customer.

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One of the most effective ways to practice active
listening is paraphrasing what the customer says
occasionally.

• This is beneficial, both for the agent as well as
  the customer. It instills in the customer a
  belief and assurance that the agent is indeed
  listening intently to what he has to say.
• For the agent, this helps because he could frame
  the same grievance in a manner that highlights
  the main point of concern, thus making the
  conversation far more clear and concise.

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Take comprehensive notes while the customer is
talking.

• This ensures the retention of key points that
  have been discussed in the conversation.
• Further, this allows the important points
  discussed in the call to be circulated amongst
  all the employees, so that whoever is responsible
  for correcting those measures can be called into
  action.
• Noting down key points is an indicator of how
  willing you are to listen properly and follow up
  on the demands placed or queries made.

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One of the most important scenarios to consider
in terms of adopting the best listening practices
is when the customer is registering a complaint.

• It is impossible for any company to come up with
  a product or service that has no blemishes. You
  will always have customers who are left wanting
  and you need to listen to their problems calmly
  and carefully to rectify them.
• You must remain courteous even if the customers
  tone is rude. Only consider hanging up if the
  customer persists with abusive language even
  after being asked to refrain repeatedly.
• There is no other excuse acceptable for hanging
  up on a customer who is voicing a complaint.

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Do not shy away from asking for a clarification
from the customer if you did not understand
something he just said.

• It is better that you ask and attain clarity now,
  rather than have it become a bigger issue
  further, down the line after you have promised
  some solution to the problem outlined.
• Ensure that you get the whole picture from the
  customers point of view as well as the companys
  perspective.
• This is important for you to think of ways to
  solve the problem that would be acceptable to
  both the parties.

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While listening to the customers, combine
customer satisfaction with sales figures to
provide a more personalized experience.

• Using analytics, you are able to understand your
  customers data.
• Using listening skills, you are able to
  understand your customers emotions. Combine the
  two to act upon a solution that would be most
  effective for that particular customer.
• Providing individuality in a world of mass
  production is a unique selling point to have, and
  you can implement it if you can adopt the
  listening skills.

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 Asking that one extra question is often the key
to really understanding the problem being
discussed

• For the sake of clarity, always ask probing
  questions that lead to the right information,
  until you think you have all the information you
  need.
• Once that is done, it is easier for you to
  suggest a resolution that would be agreeable to
  the client.
• After a resolution is agreed upon, it is your
  responsibility to see that the resolution is
  carried through as soon as possible.

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