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Customer service agents need a set of skills to provide efficient customer service. They are necessary for interacting with customers, understanding their issues, and resolving their problems easily. Some of these skills include problem-solving, communication, active listening, product knowledge, and more. But good writing skills are also crucial for every customer service representative. In this article, we’ll discuss writing skills in customer service.
Why does good writing matter in customer service?
Most communication with customers is in written format, such as websites, emails (email marketing campaigns), text messages, social media, chatbots, and online resources like blogs, FAQs, tutorials, and resource libraries. Good writing allows written materials to convey your message effectively. It enables you to carefully select words that stimulate the right kinds of emotions in your audience.
When it comes to customer service, your agents should be able to write good email and chat responses. They need to respond to customers using words that convey empathy, a positive outlook, and professionalism. They should be able to write well-edited and grammatically correct responses. This is necessary to pacify customers, pass your information across, and resolve their complaints easily.
How can poor writing create a poor brand image?
More than 61% of people are more motivated to purchase from companies that publish content online. Customers’ perception of your brand determines whether they would buy from you or stay loyal. This means that images, written content, and video content must be top-notch.
To maintain a good brand image, you should ensure that written content is clear and concise. It’s crucial to check for bad grammar, spelling errors, punctuation, and poorly constructed sentences. Your business should always be seen as professional, trustworthy and credible.
How can a poor brand image drive customers away?
A poor brand image repels customers, reduces sales, and can potentially kill the business. Poor content can make the public and prospects see a brand as unprofessional. Existing customers also wouldn’t want to interact with service agents who can’t express themselves properly.
Poor communication can create the perception that the company is mediocre and not at the top of its game. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, a good brand image can set you apart from your competitors. You should also note that customers are smarter and they expect the best.
How can you improve writing/communication with customers?
Brands are expected to engage customers at every point of their journeys using copy and content that works. You should not publish poorly written materials or send awful responses to customers. Below are some of the ways to improve writing and communication in your company.
Hiring a copywriter or outsourcing to a copywriting/content agency.
If your current employees aren’t excellent with words, you should hire a copywriter or outsource to an agency. This allows you to create professional website copy, social media content, email marketing campaigns, help articles, and others. You’ll be able to write quality communication materials that can resonate with your target audience.
Leveraging editing and grammar tools
It doesn’t look good on the company’s part when the staff decides to release subpar written content. Support agents should also cross-check their responses before sending them to a customer. This is possible when they use built-in spell-checks in MS Word and tools like Grammarly. They should re-read their messages or emails before sending them.
Implementing customer support software that features generative AI
Customer experience can be improved with customer support software that contains useful tools. If you want to create responses quickly, you can install Generative AI such as ChatGPT to spin up texts. This can help customer service agents to draft better communication and reduce the amount of time required to write long-form content.
Training customer service agents
It’s a good idea to boost the writing skills of your customer service agents. You can provide training courses that help improve their written communication. Depending on their level of expertise, you can assign writing tasks to support agents. Provide feedback and help them refine their writing and communication skills.
Conclusion
Good writing skills are important to customer service and the overall brand image. You shouldn’t publish content or respond to customers using poorly constructed sentences and bad grammar. While using technology such as customer service platforms, you should ensure that written materials are proper. Written communication is crucial and needs to be done carefully to boost sales and revenue.