By: Adam Vortherms

Although many elements go into the creation of a successful business, one aspect that must be continually improved upon is customer service. The success of every interaction your customer or client has with your business, as well as the health of your business itself, depends on the kind of service your team provides.

Regardless of the kind of business, staff members are the first points of contact between your company and the customer. However, outstanding customer service isn't always an innate quality to be found in potential hires; it must be taught through diligent training. It's especially important in the construction industry; as construction spending remains steady, competition for customers and projects will only become more fierce.

Unless your employees are on the same page and know what's expected of them, and why, you are leaving it up to chance that your customers are getting the kind of experience you intend. In today's competitive market, where 73% of consumer loyalty can be directly attributed to excellent customer service, effective customer service training is more vital than ever.

Below are four secrets of customer service training that will help skyrocket your business.

1. Hire Experienced Professionals. An employee with years of customer service is worth their weight in gold. When hiring, ask questions that will allow them to highlight their skills at empathetic communication. As an added bonus, seasoned professionals can impart their knowledge to employees with less customer service experience.

2. Act With Empathy. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another's shoes. Training your employees to put the customer first will help them develop their empathy skills. Empathetic listening helps employees remember that the customer is not an expert and that it may take some patience to figure out what the customer's needs actually are.

Customer service employees who can resolve problems with empathy, positivity, and courtesy will keep customers coming back.

3. Practice Makes Perfect. Learning by doing will ensure that your employees develop a kind of muscle memory for providing exceptional service. Have employees practice with one another and commit to regularly refreshing skills, to reinforce improved tactics, and to keep employees from falling back into bad habits.

4. Personalize Training. Every business is unique; the more specific your customer service training program is to the needs and goals of your company, the better your results will be. It is well worth the investment of time to develop a training program particular to your business.

When it boils down to it, the result of effective customer service training is an increase in profits; as a result, customer service should not be considered its own department. Your business simply cannot succeed without stellar customer service, particularly in light of the current trend of service becoming increasingly important to consumers. Customers have an unprecedented array of options for nearly any service. The best way to attract and keep them is by providing consistently excellent customer service.

For expert guidance on finding top notch Sales Reps with extensive customer service skills, give us a call or visit our website to set up a no-obligation consultation today.