Positive customer interactions are critical for the reputation and sales of your business. Here’s how to incorporate stellar scripting into your customer service strategy…
Preparation and planning for any situations you could encounter throughout a customer service journey are key, regardless of whether the interaction is with a human or an automated service.
Customer service scripting can create the perfect base for your agents to work from when dealing with customers.
So, what is a customer service script, and how can you use them to improve customer relationships and agent training? Continue reading for our full guide…
A customer service script is a written prompt used by your customer service agents to deal with issues and queries.
A good script will contain the steps an agent should follow during customer interactions. It should serve as a guide containing recommendations on what to say, when to say it, and how.
They can be used in almost any scenario, including phone conversations, chat boxes and social media interactions. Because of this, customer service scripts can be highly beneficial to both the customer and a retail business.
Here are a few of the top advantages of their implementation:
Something to bear in mind is that scripting should be used lightly at this early stage. Prevent dependency by providing bullet points rather than a long wall of word-by-word text to follow. This will ensure that all team members have the same knowledge base to fall back on, while also having some freedom to provide the best possible solution and response for the customer.
Scripts shouldn’t be restrictive or get in the way of providing empathetic customer service.
Instead, they should allow for authentic and accurate customer communication. Customers often crave a personalised and human experience, which can sometimes be stilted when the conversation is too regimental.
Customer service scripts might be less useful in certain situations. Knowing where your team and the customers will benefit from them most will allow you to use them to the full advantage of your retail business.
For example, scripted empathy might seem forced if a customer is upset about something. In this case, a script might not be the best strategy to use moving forward with that customer.
Now you know when and why to use a customer service script, it can be handy to understand the basics of creating one. Here’s our step-by-step guide for you to follow…
Having a sound understanding of your customer profile is the first step to ensuring you know how to get through to them. Different language and tone might need to be adopted when approaching them depending on what type of person your typical customer is.
For example, a script aimed at customers in a high age group will use a different language than a script aimed at people in their twenties.
Once you know exactly who the script is aimed at, you should start mapping out the phases that an agent should go through. This should provide the shape for the entire interaction – from beginning to end, with all possible routes thought of along the way.
The third step is arguably one of the most important since it meets one of the primary functions of the customer service script – giving customers the key information.
At this stage, key phrases should be added to the script, including anything that agents must relay to the customer about a particular topic.
The key phrasing can also help with setting the correct tone. For example, you can set out a list of greetings or closing statements to use that will help standardise your customer service quality.
How will you know if the script works if you don’t test it?
Firstly, test it within your team to see how they feel about it. Once you have a majorly positive reaction from those who will be using it, then you can move on to testing it with real customers.
Gain feedback on the service wherever possible and pay close attention to how customers react to the language and tone choices.
Based on feedback, you can tweak the script and highlight strong points.
Adjustments may be necessary for various reasons, including policy changes or customer feedback that something doesn’t work. Whatever the reason, it’s important to keep progressing with your scripts to reflect your business’ values.
Customer service scripts can be helpful in numerous situations. Below, we’ll provide a few templates for guidance and inspiration…
First-time customers should be met with a friendly tone carrying throughout the interaction. Whether your goal is to create a loyal customer or retain custom, a friendly and helpful service should achieve this.
If the customer provides a positive response…
If the customer provides a negative response…
A large majority of questions in retail will be regarding order issues, so you should identify the customer and their order before moving on…
Acknowledging a returning customer is a best practice and reiterates the care and consideration for the brand relationship. Using a customer service platform that can provide this type of information about past interactions can help you add to the personal service.
From the initial greeting, you should remember that repeat customers are likely to expect a more bespoke service.
Any issue should be met with empathy and an apology regardless of who’s at fault. Your agents should be ready and willing to resolve issues while ensuring concerns are heard and understood.
Here’s how to handle it when…
The important thing to remember and implement, especially in a complaint response, is to bring empathy to the situation.
Looking for customer service that speaks to your contacts? Gnatta makes interactions matter, delivering quality exchanges and quicker responses that meet your customers’ expectations.
