Influencing Customer Interaction

Influencing Customer Interaction

Duration: 1 Day

The need to manage and control the customer interface to ensure customer satisfaction is important to every organisation. However, when an organisation, as part of its remit, comes into conflict with the customer, the importance of effectively intervening with and influencing customer reactions becomes critical. This course will seek to enable staff to effectively manage customer relations by adopting a proactive approach to customer care to prevent conflict, as opposed to a re-active approach that involves managing conflict.

Course Designed for:

All front line employees (FLE) in a customer facing environment.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

• Recognise the importance of managing every customer interaction.
• Understand the role of effective, clear communication in customer interaction.
• Control the communication process.
• Adopt a proactive approach that influences behaviour thus reducing conflictual situations.
• Apply techniques that quickly diffuse customer dissatisfaction.

Course Outline:

Defining customer service

• “Moments of truth” – The principles of customer service
• Identifying customer types
• The effect of poor service

Communication skills

• The role of communication
• Positive and negative communication
• Effective listening skills
• The role of body language and non-verbal signs

Influencing customer interaction & reaction

• Adopting a positive initial interaction
• Behaviours to Influence thoughts, ideas and actions
• Positive persuasion
• Avoiding conflict escalation

Diffusing sources of dissatisfaction

• Saying no – blending assertion with empathy
• Diffusing difficult situations
• Strategies for handling difficult people
• Achieving understanding and compliance