Customer service is hard sometimes but it is pretty easy to improve on your customer service skills if you put in that little bit of extra effort here and there. Today I'd like to talk about verbal communication because it is one of the most important aspects in customer service. What you say and how you say it is what's going to generate a sale for you and it's what the customer is going to take away from your interaction. If you fail to communicate effectively with your customer you are going to lose money; simple as that.
Tone is almost 80% of verbal communication. It is incredibly important because it tells people what the intentions are behind each word used. If you take a strict or sarcastic tone with a customer they aren't going to like you very much so it is best that you use happy tones. Accepting and helpful tones are the best possible ones to use when speaking with a customer. Lull them into a state of ease and they will be more prone to buy something off of you. Trust is money, friend.
The words you choose to use in your sentences go a long way in changing a customer's attitude. If you say things like: "No problem." You may not think that there is anything wrong with that but really, that phrase implies that there might have been a problem at some point and the customer is going to get a negative feeling about that particular interaction. It is all about perceptions you see, subtle changes in words here and there will go a long way to subconsciously changing the minds and feelings of your customers as you deal with them. You want to guide them toward happiness.
If you've ever tried acting on a stage you know that if you don't project your lines the Audience is never going to understand what's going on in the play. The same thing goes for face-to-face customer interactions. You need to project your words so that they can hear them clearly. Everyone has a different hearing range, and I'm not telling you to shout or yell at your customers, but if you consistently project to them you are going to get a higher percentage of people who understand and like you.
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is this: Don't mumble! The clarity of your words is everything! If you can't be understood, you can't help your customer, and that is going to make them angry. You won't like customers when their angry, trust me. A confused and disoriented customer isn't going to buy what your selling so make sure that each word that comes out of your mouth is clear and concise and understandable.
Just follow some simple rules of verbal communication and you will start to see some drastic improvements in your customer service interactions. Speak loudly but don't yell. Speak clearly and use simple terms and no slang. Use happy tones to share the love and above all else reiterate your phrasing if they don't understand what you mean.
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