Customer Service Today: Respect Diversity

The world is shrink­ing. Thanks to rapid advances in tech­nol­ogy, dis­tance is no longer a decid­ing fac­tor when mak­ing a deci­sion to pur­chase or reach out for sup­port. Just as quickly as the world is shrink­ing, it is also becom­ing more diverse.

The con­cept of diver­sity is com­monly used to define demo­graph­ics such as gen­der, age, and cul­ture. But it can also be used to define pref­er­ences, learn­ing styles, and approaches. When cus­tomer ser­vice and sup­port rep­re­sen­ta­tives acknowl­edge and respect diver­sity, they will be able to pro­vide bet­ter ser­vice and sup­port, and increase cus­tomer satisfaction.

Acknowl­edge Diver­sity to Build Rapport

When cus­tomer ser­vice or sup­port employ­ees acknowl­edge diver­sity, they quickly build rap­port with cus­tomers. Build­ing rap­port is a crit­i­cal step in the ser­vice or sup­port process. Mak­ing the effort to build rap­port shows a sin­cere inter­est in the customer’s sat­is­fac­tion, and it is much eas­ier to sat­isfy a cus­tomer once good rap­port is estab­lished. Cus­tomers are very diverse. They have a wide vari­ety of per­son­al­i­ties, beliefs, val­ues, and expe­ri­ences. It is impor­tant to note the unique­ness of each cus­tomer and adjust the cus­tomer expe­ri­ence to best suit the individual.

How to Acknowl­edge Diversity

Acknowl­edg­ing diver­sity is the quick­est way to build rap­port and show cus­tomers that their sat­is­fac­tion is impor­tant. Here are three easy ways to quickly and effec­tively acknowl­edge diver­sity, and build rap­port with customers.

1. Lis­ten Actively.

Lis­ten­ing and hear­ing are not one and the same. Lis­ten­ing is the process of absorb­ing infor­ma­tion and under­stand­ing what is heard, so that the cus­tomer expe­ri­ence can be tai­lored to the customer’s needs. Hear­ing is sim­ply the act of per­ceiv­ing sound. Cus­tomer ser­vice and sup­port rep­re­sen­ta­tives with good lis­ten­ing skills will be able to quickly build rap­port, diag­nose the issue, and rec­om­mend a timely solution.

2. Mimic the Customer.

Cus­tomers relate best to cus­tomer ser­vice and sup­port employ­ees who dis­play sim­i­lar com­mu­ni­ca­tion traits as they do. Employ­ees who slow or speed up their speech rate to match the customer’s, and use the same ter­mi­nol­ogy as the cus­tomer to describe an issue, quickly set the cus­tomer at ease and increase the effec­tive­ness of the interaction.

3. Be Authen­tic.

Cus­tomers quickly sense when a cus­tomer ser­vice or sup­port employee is not tak­ing their request seri­ously. Cus­tomers also sense when an employee is not being sin­cere in his or her efforts to aid them. An easy way to acknowl­edge diver­sity and build rap­port is to show under­stand­ing and con­cern by para­phras­ing the cus­tomer. Para­phras­ing shows the cus­tomer that his or her needs are being heard, are impor­tant, and will be addressed appropriately.

Acknowl­edg­ing diver­sity and tai­lor­ing the cus­tomer expe­ri­ence to meet each indi­vid­ual customer’s needs is a key com­po­nent to pro­vid­ing world-class cus­tomer ser­vice. Arm­ing ser­vice and sup­port employ­ees with the com­mu­ni­ca­tion skills nec­es­sary to effec­tively build rap­port will increase cus­tomer sat­is­fac­tion and reduce cus­tomer attrition.