In today’s fast-moving, competitive market, it is more important than ever to ensure customer delight, gaining a competitive advantage and staying ahead of the game.

So, do your employees have the customer service skills required of them to ensure customer delight and gain that vital competitive advantage?

1. A lot of patience

   When dealing with customers on a daily basis, stay patient when they come to you stumped and frustrated, but be sure to take the time to honestly figure out what they want.

2. Good focus and attentiveness

   The ability to really listen to customers is crucial when providing excellent service. What are your customers telling you without actually saying anything?

3. Clear communication skills

   When it comes to relaying essential points to customers, keep it clear, simple and leave nothing to doubt.

4. Product knowledge

   Without knowing your products inside out and back to front, you won’t understand how to help customers when they have problems.

5. Use of positive language

   The language you use is a hugely important part of persuasion, and customers will create perceptions about you based around the words you use.

6. Good acting skills

   Every good customer service representative will have the acting skills they need to maintain a cheery persona when dealing with grumpy people.

7. Excellent time management

   Don’t spend time going above and beyond for a customer if you’re just going to end up wasting both of your time.

8. Ability to ‘read’ a customer’s mood

   Look and listen for subtle clues about their current mood, patience level and personality then mirror the way they are talking to you.

9. A calming nature

   The best customer service reps know that they cannot let an angry customer makes them lose their cool. It is their job to be calm for the customer who thinks the sky is falling in.

10. Very goal oriented

    The goal is to delight the customer. Sometimes, this means making decisions on the fly, so support the caller with pre-planned options and guidelines for their use.

11. Able to think outside the box

    Sometimes, you’re going to get a customer with an issue that hasn’t been heard of before, and there are no guidelines to deal with it. This is when you need to be empowered to make a decision on best how to help the customer and run with it.

12. Good at persuasion

    It’s not about making a sales pitch in every email or call, but it’s about not letting potential customers slip away if you can’t create a compelling message that what your offering is worth buying.

13. Determined

    A great work ethic and a willingness to do what needs to be done is a crucial skill when providing the kind of service that people talk about.

14. Good at closing

    Ending a conversation with a happy customer is essential in the drive for customer delight. Ok, maybe you can’t solve every issue there and then, but you can strive to get as close as possible.

15. A willingness to learn

    Whether it’s building products, marketing businesses, or helping customers, if you don’t invest in yourself you will get left behind by the people who are.