5 True Customer Service Roles
By: Olha Zhovtiak
Tags: Support, Helping Others, Working With Clients, Helpers, Customer Service

customer service roles

Nowadays businesses are in demand of world-class customer service professionals more than ever before. Due to the exponential digital growth, today customers can switch from one business to another in the blink of an eye. So, what would be the strategy for companies to maintain in order not to lose users of their product or services to their competitors? The very first thing that keeps customers loyal to the business is the level of treatment they receive. Thus, one of the best ways to keep existing customers and have returning business with them is to provide top-notch customer service and have each and every customer experience that personal support and extra care.

If you work in customer service and pretty much agree with the said above then you probably understand that knowing how to reply to emails and answer the phone is not enough anymore to be considered as a professional in the field of customer service.

Let’s dive into the 5 true customer service roles, why these are so essential, and what you can do to get better at each.

#1 Helper

Being a helper, a servant, a supporter or any other name you might find is the most prominent role of yours as a customer service professional. It is no doubt the very core of customer service. What is your main job as a helper? The answer is very simple: removing obstacles for your customers. By helping your customers to overcome product or service difficulties and achieve a resolution to the issue, you do not just accomplish your tasks as a helper but help your company to grow its business.

You can read more on what to do to become a better helper and deliver five-star customer service.

#2 Teacher

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. — Proverb

Working in customer service you probably know all your product ins and outs thus, it doesn’t take a village for you to solve customers’ problems. Still, if you’re constantly dealing with customers’ issues without having them involved, sooner or later you’ll find yourself in a trap: your customer would think you should do everything for them. That’s why it is so vital not to be just a good helper, but a good teacher also. It is so much easier to show customers right away how to deal with that particular situation so that when they experience it again they know how to manage it on their own instead of turning to you again.

Being a great teacher is not only going to help you to educate your customers on product or service usage but also will save so much of your and your customer time.

#3 Advocate

Working on the frontline you are the first one who gets to know how customers feel about the product or service you offer. Let’s be realistic — no business is perfect which means there are so many ways to improve and better your product. And, quite often, these ways of improvement are offered by your customers — people who actually use the product. Of course, spotting bugs, issues and reporting them to a development team for an update is something that is going to boost the efficiency of product usage. But, your job as an advocate, goes way beyond that. As you speak to all kinds of customers — happy, angry, frustrated and so on, with time you are going to develop an ability to predict how your customer is going to react to a change and this is what you need to share with a development team.

Your understanding of customers’ reactions to the new updates or changes in the product is going to help your company make better decisions in the best interest of your customers.

#4 Therapist

Customer service is not only about solving problems and fixing issues. Sometimes there are situations that are not even in your control and should be escalated to the management or product team. But, as a true customer service professional who knows about empathy and practices it as one of the most essential skills to possess — you understand how powerful you are in terms of being supportive, using positive language, and giving your customer a possibility to vent by offering your listening ear.

Being empathetic towards your customers, assuring them that you understand their situation, and letting them know you are on their side goes a long way. Knowing how to turn your customer’s day around is definitely going to set you apart.

#5 Mindreader

Customers you are going to work with (or working already) are simple people. At least, most of them. They are far from being tech-savvies — that is a fact. Most of the time it is going to be complicated for you to understand the issue correctly from the very first interaction. Thus, you will need to develop strong reading comprehension and attention to detail. Try to pay attention to every word and detail to gain a true understanding of a problem — make an attempt to “read your customer’s mind”. More importantly, be aware that every issue you hear from one customer is, as a matter of fact, affecting many more.

Learning how to spot customers who are having issues even if they keep silent — is one of the best ways to reduce churn.

Wrap up

Helping, teaching, advocating, reading customers’ minds, and being their therapist are the main roles you should comprehend to become best-in-class. It is not the end of the list though and there is so much more to learn and grow.

To reach success and deliver top-notch customer service you basically need to be a wizard. Sounds like it is beyond your abilities? It is not! With constant learning and practice, you can reach the stars in customer service and not only.