Customer Training 101: Definition, Benchmark, Examples, Best Practices

Have you ever had a bad experience with customer service? Unfortunately, most people have, and it's no wonder. While some businesses are doing their best to ensure their customers get the best possible treatment, plenty of companies still need improvement in this area.

Nothing is more important than having happy customers who speak highly of your business to others. 

It does not matter whether you are a customer service representative or a startup founder; you have to know that customers are the number one priority for each and every business. 

The first step to ensuring that your customers are satisfied is to provide them with adequate training. Training is crucial for new hires and current employees who might not be familiar with your company policies and procedures. No matter what kind of business you run, customer training is a must-do to ensure that customers get the best experience they can while visiting your business.

Training is the most efficient and cost-effective way to minimize customer churn and maximize customer satisfaction. However, training can quickly become too narrow and not impactful if it does not consider the needs of the employee and the needs of the customer. Customer training is a crucial part of any business. It helps you retain customers and keep them coming back for more. It also increases the likelihood of referrals, which can be the best source of new customers.

What is Customer Training?

Customer Training is a process by which people become familiar with the services and products of a company. It allows them to learn more about them, know how to use them, and their features. We all want to get the most from our customers. To do this, we need to build customer relationships that are based on trust, built upon a solid foundation of knowledge and experience.

Most businesses find themselves in these situations:

• The customer is not using the product properly 
• The customer does not know how to use the product 
• The customer does not understand why they should use the product

It helps customers get better acquainted with the company they are buying from or are interested in working for. 

Why is it Important To Train Customers?

Training your customers is a great way to help them better enjoy and appreciate your product. But it can also be an effective way to allow them to replicate your success for themselves. By training people how to use your products, you're not only teaching them how to get more out of the product, but you're also showing that the process is easy enough for anyone who tries.

Customers need to be trained to use a product or service because the lack of knowledge in a customer can lead to a bad experience. Training is used when customers are not familiar with how a product works, what it does, and the requirements for using the product.

Training is also used when customers want to know more about a specific topic. For customer training to be successful, it must provide relevant information accessible for customers to use and understand. When training fails, it will reflect in collecting data from the customer.

What should be included in customer service training?

Customer service training is a critical component in customer satisfaction and retention. Training can be done in person, over the phone, or through technology. All training should cover:

• How to use the company's customer service system
• How to deal with difficult situations
• Common customer complaints and how to address them
• Courteous behavior and how it applies in a customer service situation
• The vision and values of the organization
• How to provide proactive customer service

What are the customers' training tools?

The customer training tools enable the customers to get the most out of their products and services. They also enable the company to interact with their customers and provide them with additional services.

Customer training tools can be in many forms, such as:

Live chat: The customer service representatives will be able to reply to any queries and help guide the customer in a personalized way. 

Videos: It is an excellent way for the customer to watch how they can use products or services step-by-step without investing much effort into it. E-learning platforms and video tutorials must be provided for the internal use of employees.

- Guides: Guides are usually text pages that will give information on how products or services work, what they entail and how best to use them.

What are the three essential facts of customer service?

 1. Customer Service Represents Your Company

To provide the best possible service, you need to represent your company well. In any customer interaction, you represent your company and show how they would handle the situation.

2. Customer Service Shows Value

One of the easiest ways to show value is through customer service. If a customer has a problem and feels like their voice is heard and their issue was resolved, they will be highly loyal and likely make future purchases from your company. So, all staff members must take care of customers in a kind manner and work quickly to resolve any issues.

3. The Better Your Customer Service Is, The Fewer Complaints You'll Receive

The best way to provide good customer service is to train your employees and get them familiar with its policies and procedures. This will help them answer questions and solve problems more efficiently and effectively.

What are the three qualities of customer service?

The best way to compete in the marketplace is to provide your customers with a level of customer service that they can't find anywhere else. This can be accomplished by developing a unique approach to customer service.

Three essential qualities make up an excellent customer service team: flexibility, efficiency, and accountability. 

The team needs to work efficiently - performing tasks quickly, accurately, and with a sense of urgency. They also need to have the flexibility to handle both simple questions and complex issues and provide accountability for their actions.

Top Customer Training Statistics You Need to Know

We've put together some of the most critical customer training statistics and facts that you need to know. Customer service is a top priority for businesses worldwide, and these stats prove just how much they are struggling to meet those needs.

• 81% of Americans report that businesses are either meeting or exceeding expectations regarding customer service.
• Globally, 54% of all consumers say that they have higher customer service expectations than they did one year ago.
• 52% of people around the globe believe that companies need to take action on feedback provided by their customers.
• Around the world, 96% of consumers say customer service is an essential factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand.
• 70% of consumers say they have already chosen to support a company that delivers excellent customer service.
• Attracting a new customer is 6-7 times more expensive than retaining a current one.
• 67% of customer churn is preventable if firms resolve issues the first time they occur.

3 Examples of Great Customer Training 

We have researched the best customer service companies for you, and the winner is by far Trader Joe's. There are dozens of stories about Trader Joe's customer service and community support. They have regular meetings about the diversity and inclusion of Trader Joe's; A high-level group of Trader Joe's leaders continues to come together weekly to discuss how they can support their Black Crew Members and customers. The former and current employees selected them as the best places to work, ranking 23 on Glassdoor.  

The average American supermarket employee will leave their job after just 17 months. Comparatively, a Trader Joe's employee stays with the company for an average of six years. The secret to keeping employees committed is training and benefits that help them feel valued.

The second one is also exceptional, Buffer. When you visit their website, you see a menu for "Transparency." They have their salaries and revenues published on their website, which is a business policy I have never encountered before. They also have LGBTQIA, disabled non-native employees in their business. Their benefits for their employees are also noticeable. They are all working remotely, have four-day workweeks- which they take Friday off for every week- and offer health insurance to all employees. They also have a "Support" menu for their customers, including tutorials, webinars, and a help center.

The following example is from Wistia.

"We're committed to embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) into everything we do at Wistia, making sure everyone is respected, treated equally, and celebrated for who they are—no matter what. "-Wistia.

Wistia also has a high value to their customers and employees. They also publish statistics about their employees to hold themselves accountable. They also have a Help Center where they answer hundreds of questions that might occur in their customers' minds; they also have a ticketing system along with chat.

Customer Training Best Practices

Customer training is one of the most effective ways to ensure that your customer service meets expectations. If you want to improve the success of your business, there are a few best practices that you should consider implementing in your company's training regimen:

1 - Always use realistic training materials when teaching new employees how to provide excellent customer service. Nothing will derail an employee faster than using unrealistic scenarios or examples during training. 

2- It's no secret that training your customers to use your products or services can be a time-consuming process. The key is to establish measurable goals and objectives for each training session. Not only will this cut down on the amount of time spent on training, but it will also ensure that your customers have the necessary skills to engage with your business actively.

3- Customer training software is vital for any business that needs ongoing customer support. The key is to choose the appropriate customer training software that will help your business achieve success. Customer training software comes in many applications, from live chat and virtual sales assistants to email marketing automation and SMS APIs.

4- Received an email complaint? Before you respond, consider your response from the customer's perspective. 

5- Track customer satisfaction and engagement metrics for the best customer service.

6- Make sure all communication with the client is done via email or phone call. This way, you can record everything that has been said, preventing miscommunication and lost information in the future.

Customer service is one of the most important aspects of any business. Unfortunately, customers are fickle, and a bad experience can make them never want to return to your store or engage with your brand again. If you're going to keep customers coming back for more, it's in your best interest to improve customer service strategies.

 A customer training program can be a very effective way to optimize the performance of your employees, but it's essential not to overlook this vital component when building your staff. If you want to get the most out of your staff and provide outstanding service for your customers, you need to make sure that everyone on your team understands how they fit into the big picture. We've provided some helpful tips in this article to help you develop an effective customer training program for any business. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns! : -)