10 Reasons to Consider a Customer Support Position
I began my career at Votiko as a member of the customer support team. I was astonished to be hired for the post, coming from an arts school where the only math class taught you how to compute Seinfeld audience figures. I didn’t have a technical background, and I had no prior experience giving phone assistance.
But as my initial weeks of training progressed, I was relieved to discover that I wasn’t alone. Surprisingly, it appeared that my coworkers had more degrees in English and writing than in computer science. We weren’t a group of extroverted techies, but rather a broad mix of professionals with a wide range of talents and opinions.
From your personal service experiences — most likely as a consumer — you may have preconceived assumptions about customer service. These encounters may lead you to believe that a customer-facing position is not for you.
However, I’m here to tell you that working in customer service may be an excellent starting step toward a successful career in practically any company sector you’re interested in.
Continue reading to find out what abilities and expertise you may obtain from working in customer service, as well as how the experience will benefit you throughout your career.
Why do you want to work in customer service?
Customer service may be a very rewarding career. You assist others in achieving their objectives and have a direct impact on client satisfaction. Furthermore, the professional abilities you get in this subject can be used in any profession.
The majority of individuals consider customer service to be an entry-level position. While there are many front-line customer service positions available, there are also plenty of chances for those with more expertise. Customer service teams provide a number of distinct positions and benefits that can match exactly what you’re looking for, whether you’re fresh out of college or seeking a new direction in your career.
Are you curious as to what those advantages might be? For a list of reasons why you should work in customer service, continue reading.
10 Benefits of Working in Customer Service
1. Work on improving your emotional intelligence.
It’s a certainty that working in a customer-facing position will help you build people skills. Working on the phone with consumers all day can be challenging, but the skills and methods you’ll learn far exceed those difficulties.
You’ll be assisting customers with a variety of issues that could have a significant impact on their personal or professional lives, and your ability to empathise and use social skills to establish rapport with these people in order to obtain the information you need to assist them will be crucial.
When dealing with difficult consumers or hostile language, you’ll need to use your self-control to calmly and efficiently de-escalate the situation so you can better assist the customer. And, on those difficult days when you don’t feel like making another phone call (we all have them), use your senses of motivation and self-awareness to keep yourself on track and positive so you can buckle down and finish what you’ve started.
(Because, simply said, even if you’re a CEO, there will always be aspects of your job that you don’t enjoy, and addressing these will help you keep going forward.)
These soft talents, rather than cognitive competence, have been related to professional performance in studies, particularly when it comes to management. Starting a career in customer service puts you on the correct route to developing and honing these abilities. (They’re also useful for effective communication and collaboration in interpersonal relationships.)
2. Get to know your product or service from top to bottom.
To be effective in customer service, you must be familiar with practically every aspect of your product or service in order to rapidly answer inquiries and fix issues for your consumers. But this isn’t just good for the folks who will get the information they need right now-it’s also good for you.
Learning about your product or service can help you become a subject matter expert, which can lead to a variety of opportunities as you advance in your career (in or outside of customer support).
For example, you can specialise in training and onboarding new members of your customer support team and take on a leadership role by practising teaching them how to utilise your product or service. If you enjoy writing, you might be able to supplement one-time customer support contacts by authoring knowledge base articles or blog pieces for your company. Alternatively, you might use your creative side to create step-by-step product walkthrough films to assist your clients while also increasing your internet profile.
Whatever path you choose, having a thorough understanding of your product or service can help you become an authority in your team, inside your organisation, and in your industry.
3. Develop skills that are transferable.
Building subject matter expertise will not only help you advance within your customer service team, but it will also teach you essential skills that you may use to land a new job if you want to go even further.
Ability to Sell
Working with customers will teach you how to use your company’s product or service to help customers achieve their objectives, and you’ll be able to apply this knowledge and experience if you decide to go into sales. Social proof is a powerful selling tool, and if you can show prospects over the phone how your product or service has benefited previous customers, they’ll be more interested in doing business with you.
Marketing Expertise
Your marketing team will benefit greatly from product expertise as well. In-depth product knowledge and excellent communication skills could help you gain a place on your marketing team, whether you wish to write for a blog, perform product and market research, or handle social media support channels.
Skills in Product Development
You might be able to make it yourself if you know the product inside and out. If you have some product development skills — whether it’s software engineering, outreach, or vendor management — you might be able to use your vast knowledge to help build the product you’re servicing behind the scenes.
4. Educate Customers Without Trying to Sell Them.
Being able to teach a customer something about the product without trying to sell them on the solution was one of my favourite aspects of working in customer service.
Votiko, for example, provides a product platform with a variety of subscriptions and tiers. In some support situations, the best option was to use a product that the customer did not possess. We had two options: examine the benefits of purchasing the additional product or devise a creative workaround.
The first choice allowed me to practise my sales talents without the pressure of trying to close a purchase. I could only take the case so far before handing it over to a sales rep who would finish the pitch.
Option two encouraged me to think beyond the box. I was the product specialist between myself and the customer, which meant the client was looking to me for a solution. I always felt like a bit of a wizard whenever I found a workaround to an issue I couldn’t handle directly, whether it was using a product in a new way or thinking of an out-of-the-box solution.
5. Begin working on a side project.
At Votiko, we make it a point for our customer service representatives to spend time away from the phones — on purpose.
This time away from the line fulfills several goals. It allows customer service representatives to eat, take breaks, attend meetings, walk their pets, and do other activities. Giving customer service reps time away from the phone queue, on the other hand, allows them to focus on side projects and other initiatives that may be quite beneficial to our company — and to the reps themselves.
One Votiko customer service representative who specialised in social media, for example, decided to create a specific social media channel for quick customer help on Twitter. They used the information they gleaned from clients over the phone to do research and launch an initiative they anticipated would have a big impact — and they were correct.
While you’re on the phone, you’ll learn a lot about your company’s clients, so make sure you’re recording those insights and applying them to a side project or effort that might add a lot of value to your company — and to your benefit.
(Plus, anyone with a pulse on the customer’s voice has a lot to give their team and other teams — so it’s another benefit you may bring up during a promotion or transfer discussion with your boss.)
6. Learn how to solve problems effectively.
Customer service is all about reacting to your customers’ needs and fixing their problems. Every client problem on your plate will demand creative thinking, people skills, and knowledge to address, whether it’s a quick fix or a multi-step procedure.
The capacity to solve problems quickly, effectively, and compassionately is essential for every career, whether or not it involves customer service. The capacity to prioritise, project manage, and resolve conflicts is built on the ability to problem-solve, and these skills are essential if you want to get promotions, lead a team, and use your influence and expertise to achieve your goals.
7. be able to communicate in a variety of ways.
Many customer care departments expect representatives to work across many support channels. This means that one day you’ll be on the phone with customers and the next you’ll be emailing them. You’ll eventually master the art of digital interaction if you continue to bounce between the numerous communication media your firm offers.
You’ll be exposed to the following support channels:
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Social Media
- Community Forum
Understanding how to speak effectively on these platforms will assist you in forming relationships with people you have not met in person. This is an extremely useful skill to have, particularly when looking for a new job.
8. Work with a diverse group of people.
Customer service departments aren’t necessarily comprised of techies. Many are full of interesting people with distinct personalities and viewpoints.
That was, in fact, one of my favourite aspects of working on the Votiko Support Team. When you work on a case with someone, you always discover something new about them.
This is also beneficial for your professional development. Being exposed to a variety of viewpoints can assist you in identifying answers to problems you may not be aware of. It can also cause you to reconsider your position on an issue after considering it from a different perspective. Situations like these, in which our perspectives are challenged, help us grow not only as professionals but as humans.
9. Acquire the ability to work from afar.
Remote work is a developing trend in customer service. In fact, this year, 40% of US businesses offered more remote work than they did five years ago. More customer care teams are taking advantage of this opportunity as customer service technology allows reps to work from home.
Remote work, on the other hand, isn’t merely a great perk. It’s a skill you’ll need to master no matter what job path you choose. As the cost of office space rises and more jobs become remote, you may soon find that your function is totally remote as well. While this may not affect what you do for a living, it will undoubtedly alter how you do it.
Getting experience working remotely in a customer service capacity is beneficial to any career. It tests your ability to master your daily workflow without the immediate support of your coworkers. You learn how to troubleshoot difficulties on your own and teach yourself solutions when no one else is around to assist you.
10. Create a network within your company.
You may not always have the solution to a customer’s query if you work in customer service. It’s possible that you’ll have to share client feedback with key stakeholders. Alternatively, you may have information to give that will influence how your company’s leadership views your target consumer persona.
To do any of the above, you’ll need to tap into the knowledge of those around you-your coworkers. Not only will you be able to get your job done quickly and effectively if you can form a network of coworkers with different skill sets and knowledge than you, but you’ll also be able to create a network of new opportunities for growth and professional development.
Whether you want to work in customer service for a long time or just want to get your foot in the door at a cutting-edge organisation, a position in customer service can teach you vital skills that you’ll need again and again throughout your career.
