The employees you have directly facing customers will have a major effect on your businesses success. Customer facing employees who lack six different behaviours in their everyday interactions will ultimately result in customers who do not return as often nor do they purchase as much. These six core behaviours are crucial and while the task of hiring customer-facing employees is often made quicker than other roles in the company, companies should be spending more time looking for these behaviours.
The six necessities of customer facing employees are:
- Conformity
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Focus
- Tact
- Trust
Conformity is an interesting necessity because different companies have different requirements for conformity. In some cases, high levels are required, in other cases one’s own personality, ideas and suggestions are preferred and lower conformity is what should be sought. In either case, a company needs to understand its needs and find a customer-facing employee that matches that need.
Empathy is key because if the employee does not know how to handle a client who may not be functioning at their best due to a recent tragedy or issue, they will be more likely to create a rift with the customer. Ultimately, understanding how to handle a customer and their problem can be very beneficial to closing a sale.
Flexibility is necessary in some companies, especially if they are going through a transition phase. Willingness to be flexible is very important. Many newer workers will be far more flexible than veterans of the company, so whenever possible, finding lifelong flexible customer facing employees is an ideal situation.
Focus is crucial because without focus, tasks will not be done in a timely manner. Distractions are never ideal when a customer is dealing with an employee. The best situation as an example, is a clothing store, if a sales person is distracted and unhelpful, is the customer likely to buy? Focusing on the task at hand is important.
Tact is critical because without it, customer-facing employees may come across as rude or condescending. It is important to be able to position anything that the customer may not want to hear in a tactful way so they understand the issue and do not feel put off.
Trust is important because it affects the overall experience that a customer may have. If they feel the employee is not being honest or is attempting to deceive them, their direct intent to buy will be reduced. People interact with untrusted individuals by being wary or sceptical compared to a uncritically and optimistically. To develop a long-term relationship with a company, the customer needs to trust that they are getting what they are paying for.