The Voice of Customer Service
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Business -> subcategory Customer Service.
The Voice of Customer Service
Summary
Customer service goes beyond just saying what customers want to hear. It involves using the right emphasis, a pleasant tone, and empathic emotion. Your voice can make customers feel heard, valued, and cared for.Article
In today's age of advanced customer relationship management tools, let's not forget the power of an older, yet timeless, tool: your voice. It's a versatile asset in customer service, capable of conveying concern, care, and compassion?"or, if misused, boredom and neglect. Your mission is to ensure that your voice matches the quality of service you aim to provide.
Effective customer service requires more than just saying the right words; it demands sincerity in your voice. Here's an exercise to test this: call your own voicemail and leave a message meant for your customers. When you listen back, ask yourself: Do you sound convincing? Does your voice ring with sincerity, or does it come across as just mouthing clichés?
Depending on your tone, you can sound:
- Compassionate or Condescending
- Confident or Insecure
- Knowledgeable or Ignorant
- Attentive or Disinterested
- Focused or Scattered
- Energetic or Lifeless
Try this: recite one of the following phrases to a colleague or friend:
- "Thank you for calling. We’re excited to serve you."
- "Welcome back. It’s so nice to see you again."
- "We’ve missed you. Thank you for coming in again."
Ask them how you sound. Does your voice convey warmth and sincerity, or does it fall flat? Notice how your tone changes when you're expressive or when you're tired. Smiling while speaking often conveys friendliness and warmth, even over the phone.
Mirror, Mirror on the Desk
Many telesales and customer service representatives keep mirrors on their desks. These aren't for vanity, but for a purpose: reminding them to smile while speaking. Though listeners can't see the smile, they can feel it. Smiling loosens the jaw and relaxes the speaker, resulting in a voice that sounds more friendly and open. The act of smiling activates muscles that alter our disposition for the better. In essence, what you see is what they get.
The Power of Inflection
Inflection plays a crucial role in how your message is received. It's not just about which words you use, but where you place emphasis. The same sentence can deliver different messages depending on the inflection. Consider the phrase, "It's all over my friend." Depending on the accent and pause, it could either reflect the end of something or comment on an unfortunate accident.
Even a simple statement like "What's that in the road ahead?" can change meaning entirely with a shift in inflection: "What's that in the road, a head?"
Inflection guides information delivery, so ensure your voice supports the intended message. Actors play with emphasis on different words to alter meaning, such as in the phrase "To be or not to be, that is the question."
Let's revisit our sample phrases to see how different inflections change their impact:
- THANK you for calling. We're delighted to serve you.
- Thank YOU for calling. We're delighted to serve you.
- Thank you for CALLING. We're delighted to serve you.
- Thank you for calling. We're DELIGHTED to serve you.
- Thank you for calling. We're delighted to SERVE you.
Experiment with accentuating different words in phrases like "Welcome back. It's so nice to see you again" and "We've missed you. Thank you for coming in again" to find the inflection that best conveys your sentiment.
Voice Your Concern
By using a pleasant tone, effective intonation, and empathic emotion, your voice becomes a powerful tool to help customers feel heard and valued. As the saying goes, it's not just what you say, but how you say it.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: The Voice of Customer Service.
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