Customer service skills are the abilities and expertise that support teams need to ensure customer satisfaction and build long-term customer relationships. These skills can be divided into hard skills (specific, teachable abilities) and soft skills (interpersonal or people skills) . Good customer service plays an important role in attracting and retaining customers, and businesses can leverage it to boost sales. Here are some of the most important customer service skills according to various sources:
Soft Skills:
- Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
- Communication: The ability to convey information clearly and effectively.
- Active listening: The ability to listen to and understand what the customer is saying.
- Problem-solving: The ability to find solutions to customer issues.
- Patience: The ability to remain calm and composed when dealing with difficult customers.
- Emotional intelligence: The ability to recognize and manage ones own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.
- Adaptability: The ability to adjust to changing situations and customer needs.
- Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with others to solve customer issues.
- Resourcefulness: The ability to find innovative and quick ways to solve problems.
Hard Skills:
- Technical knowledge: The ability to understand and use the product or service being offered.
- Writing skills: The ability to write clear and concise messages to customers.
- Persuasive speaking skills: The ability to influence and persuade customers.
- Self-control: The ability to remain calm and professional in difficult situations[[4]](https://www.salesforce.com/ap/products/service-cloud/best-practices/important-customer-service-skills-list...