“…And then we’ll have also a Q&A session with the audience..” That’s an excerpt from the typical conversation that I have over the phone when I get invited to a conference as speaker or panelist.
Last week, I participated in two customer service conferences, so had the chance to listen to and answer many questions. Most of them, however, were focused on one main topic: new competencies and skills. Which skills, in particular, have become essential for a customer service manager to have in order to deliver effective support thru digital channels? Read on to learn more about this.
Conversations with Customers are Business Seeds
If you are a good customer service manager, you are able to prioritize, manage your team and be a great listener. However, in order to keep on doing the same great job also thru digital channels, you need to adopt a new business model. Smarter companies are already doing it, having switched from a traditional customer service perspective towards a customer success approach.
Infographic: slideteam.net
Are You Skilled Enough To Embrace Change?
If you are a customer service manager, you need to be equipped to deal with new business scenarios. So, get to know how to achieve your new goals in terms of:
- New skills to have (e.g., knowledge of digital tools/platforms)
- New competencies to develop (what / how are you able to do something)
Now, in this article let me focus on competencies.
To help you visualize this concept enjoy this table that I’ve recently shown during a meeting with a client. You’ll find 5 major competencies that have become paramount for a (digital) customer service manager. ↓
| The new traits of a Customer Service Manager |
| 1. Excellent Negotiator – liaising with other departments in a collaborative and assertive way. S/he is recognized as a leader and develops internal communication as well to get maximum collaboration from his/her team. |
| 2 Coach – in addition to managing the team, he/she motivates them to always improve. The manager spurs them to provide constant feedback and suggest improvements to processes and procedures. |
| 3. Ambitious & Entrepreneurial– He/she wants to make customer service the competitive differentiator. S/he is willing to invest in technology (digital omnichannel platforms) and people (training). |
| 4. Strategic Vision – moving from reactive towards proactive customer service requires a big change. Take care of and harness every digital conversation with customers. Therefore the customer service manager needs to develop cross-department communication with Marketing and Sales to help them develop and boost cross-selling activities. |
| 5. Promoter – he/she is constantly looking to spread and develop a customer service culture throughout the entire organization. |
|
By Paolo Fabrizio – CustomerServiceCulture.com |
Over to you
Like it or not, today’s customer has become digital and impatient. So if you want to deliver consistent and excellent customer experiences turn your customer service into a business pillar and co-operate with Marketing and Sales with a common business goal: retain and attract customers harnessing every digital conversation with customers.
Are you equipped to take on this challenge?
Featured image: Copyright: ‘https://www.123rf.com/profile_texelart‘ / 123RF Stock Photo
Paolo Fabrizio
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