5 Great Training Tips to Optimize for Customer Satisfaction

To achieve customer satisfaction, the biggest brands in every service industry, and some non-service industries, live and die by the friendliness and attitude of their staff. On the other hand, poor customer service caused over 83 billion dollars of lost sales every year in the US alone. Customers who feel appreciated spend more and come back more often. They are eager to recommend your business to their friends, family, and colleagues.

Teaching these skills is challenging. Customer satisfaction service isn’t a technical skill that can be studied and memorized. Soft skills require significantly more nuance and depth, so training around them involves more complex procedures. Many service-industry companies like banks and retail stores have used techniques like game-based learning systems and interactive assessments to encourage the problem-solving and situational thinking necessary to deliver a service or handle the specific circumstances of a customer complaint.

Let's take a look at a few of these training techniques and see how each can be used to optimize for customer satisfaction service.

Encourage Problem-Solving Through Game-Based Learning

A study conducted by neuroscientists at Carnegie Mellon University found that puzzle games activate the same parts of our brain as solving complex business problems. Good customer service demands the resourcefulness to provide a solution for customers within the confines of company policy and present that solution to the customer to promote a win-win situation. To encourage that, you can use games involving connecting customer queries to the concerned team, or connecting customer needs to the appropriate product.

Use Simulated Customers and Mock Cases

One of the best ways to encourage new customer satisfaction service representatives to think critically about customer problems is to throw them into those situations. However, risking actual customer interactions on untrained employees can lead to a loss of business or damage to your brand.

Instead, creating situations similar to actual on-job conditions can allow them to experiment and make mistakes with complex, challenging cases without affecting real customers.

Use Microlearning Techniques to Maximize Retention

While new employees can afford to learn customer service alongside technical skills and company policy, existing employees may find it difficult to balance their work schedule to train for extended periods.

One of the best modern solutions is splitting training into small segments. Companies like Google have transformed almost all of their training programs into many bite-sized episodes of thirty minutes or less. Doing the same to your training is beneficial as you train your staff for a shorter period. It relieves you from worrying about pulling away resources for extended periods when needed.

Inspire Your Customer Service Representatives to be Brand Ambassadors

Ken Blanchard, one of the most well-regarded leadership gurus in the industry, once said, "Just having satisfied customers isn't good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans." And nobody is better at making new fans than another fan. The best customer satisfaction service representatives are people who genuinely like the brand they work for and the products they sell.

Take time to make sure your employees like what you sell. Let your training encourage them to get as excited as you are about your products and services because enthusiasm is an infectious thing.

Listen to the Experts

Customer satisfaction is a complex domain with many factors and no easy answers. However, speaking with expert professionals can often be invaluable. In addition, it can be great to approach and consult third-party companies to see how they can help you cultivate your brand and grow your customer base.

Ozemio is a learning solutions provider that provides free consultations and helps you understand your options so you can get started today. We have an extensive portfolio of highly successful businesses that we helped grow and would love to speak to you about yours.