10 Customer Service Skills & How to Develop Them

Have you ever called customer support only to speak with someone who can't help you? Or they were oblivious to your frustration? The interaction not only makes you angry at the customer service agent, but it also alters your trust in the company.

This is why good customer service & incident management is so critical. It improves customer satisfaction, retention and even revenue. And in today's competitive marketplace, when companies offer exceptional customer service, they stand out. Positive interactions and a reputation for excellent customer service can attract new customers and retain brand loyalty. That’s why it’s important to identify the top customer service skills that help agents provide above-and-beyond customer experiences.

Whether you’re a leader who’s looking for ways to improve customer service hiring and training — or a contact centre agent who’s looking to excel in the role — it’s important to know how to harness the power of both hard and soft customer service skills. Let’s get to it.

Customer service is the support and assistance businesses provide to their customers before, during, and after a purchase or interaction. It's how companies solve problems, offer guidance and ensure satisfaction with their products or services.

Your customer service team is responsible for various activities. From answering questions and resolving issues to providing product information and guidance, they're all aimed at increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty and building positive relationships. The goal is to enhance the customer experience and drive success for your business.

Customer service skills are crucial because they directly influence customer satisfaction and loyalty, brand reputation and revenue. Good customer service can turn simple questions or challenging situations into opportunities to gain customers' trust and create positive experiences.

It isn't just about resolving issues; it's about responding promptly, meeting customer needs and expectations, active listening and empathy for customer concerns. Hitting those marks creates connections that encourage customers to come back and recommend your business to others.

Exceptional customer service skills can make a big difference for your business. About 80% of customers now consider the experience a company provides to be as important as its products and services. And poor customer service can lead to damaging consequences, such as customers choosing not to buy from you again.

These changing customer expectations — 88% of consumers now demand fast, consistent and personalised interactions with every engagement — affect the types of skills required for the job. Customers favour brands that not only deliver excellent products and services but also use tools such as AI to improve their overall experience. By prioritising customer service and the skills needed to excel, businesses don't just gain a competitive advantage; they create loyal customers who feel deeply appreciated.

The most effective customer service happens when hard and soft skills come together to create an experience that leaves the customer feeling valued and understood. This combination of technical skills and a human touch can turn a simple enquiry or a more complex case into a positive interaction. Let's look at a few examples at how technology can help:

Provide continuity: Customers do not appreciate having to explain their situation over and over. They expect consistent interactions between touch points. A customer relationship management (CRM) systems helps agents and chatbots quickly access customer information, purchase history and previous interactions. They all have the same information, so your customers won't have to repeat themselves and will get seamless, personalised service.

Offer omni-channel support: It's important to offer prompt, convenient and connected support on different customer service channels. This means being available for voice, chatbot, email, live chat and social media conversations — whichever of those methods the customer prefers — and making sure these channels are connected. With the right omni-channel approach, your customers will always have a consistent experience — no matter how they contact you.

Use automation: Provide fast service to customers using automated workflows. Not only can workflows guide agents through the steps to complete a process quickly and efficiently, they can do the same for your customers. You can set up those routines on your self-service channels to help customers help themselves with simple matters. For example, use automated workflows to guide a customer through the return-initiation process.

Improving your customer service skills starts with showing empathy to the the people you're helping. The goal should always be to make every customer interaction a positive and memorable experience that encourages loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. Here are few ways to improve:

Actively seek feedback: Customer satisfaction surveys are a good way to gather candid feedback. Regularly review all forms of customer feedback; identify strong and weak areas so you can adjust your service to better meet expectations. Additionally, ask for feedback from peers and managers.

Develop your knowledge: Dive deep into product features, benefits, customer challenges, troubleshooting and more, so you can help answer questions with confidence and resolve issues promptly. Trailhead, Salesforce's free online learning platform, is a great way to build customer service skills.

Build your network: Networking is a powerful tool to improve your customer service skills. Join the Serviceblazer Community to learn tips from fellow service pros and keep up on customer service trends. You may find a mentor who can help you up-level your career with coaching.

Hard skills — often referred to as technical or specific skills — are the practical abilities and capabilities that an individual can demonstrate in a measured way. Hard customer service skills are abilities that agents can learn to perform job-specific tasks to improve the customer experience. When customers know they are speaking with a knowledgeable agent, they feel they’re in good hands. This builds trust and leads to customer loyalty.

These are hard customer service skills that have the most impact:

Having in-depth knowledge of the products or services being offered is a crucial customer service skill. This involves understanding the features, specifications and benefits of the offerings. It also means being able to address customer enquiries and provide accurate information.

The right training starts with a deep-dive on product features, benefits, common issues and troubleshooting steps. This can include virtual or in-person classes, knowledge base articles, product manuals and hands-on practice. Create a buddy system where new hires shadow experienced agents.

And if you’re an agent, ask about learning opportunities to expand your knowledge. Don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something, even if it’s during an interaction with a customer, so that you can escalate it through the proper channels. This lets leadership know you need additional training and helps to build trust with customers.

Require all contact centre employees to take training courses on your service console basics. Understanding the ins and outs of your organisation’s service console helps your agents to be more efficient, effective and productive. Familiarise agents with the tools, software and technology they will use to support customers. This includes CRM systems, ticketing systems, chat platforms, voice systems and any other relevant software or applications. Provide hands-on and shadowing training to ensure that they are comfortable using these tools. Gamify the training to add some fun and to reward those who complete it first.

Encourage your agents to use digital collaboration tools, which eliminate the go-between in case management. Agents can directly route cases to the right experts to reduce the escalation or tiers in handling cases.

It's important that your agents are proficient with your technology. Encourage them to share their experiences to identify any blockers that may be affecting their success.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used to improve the customer experience and create more efficient interactions. Automation and chatbots can help streamline workflows, address customer requests faster and proactively anticipate customer needs.

AI tools make routine tasks like service responses and knowledge article creation more automated, which in turn give agents more time to focus on complex cases. Agents need to be comfortable with this technology, especially as it evolves.

Help your customer service agents stay relevant with AI by continuing training on their own software as it develops and conduct their own self-development through courses on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform.

Customer service is not just for phone calls, it’s now an omnichannel experience. Agents handle a variety of synchronous and asynchronous engagement channels and learning the proper etiquette for each type of channel is important for each platform.

For example, social media and text messages are more informal and agents can use emojis, while email communication should state full sentences for clarity. Provide ongoing training for agents about new and emerging platforms and the appropriate communication styles for each to improve the online customer experience.

Many companies operate in diverse markets and cater to customers from different language backgrounds. Multilingual skills allow customer service representatives to communicate effectively with customers who prefer or require assistance in their native language. This enhances the customer experience and builds rapport.

In addition, using a customer's native language allows agents to provide a more personalised and tailored customer service experience. They can engage in meaningful conversations, ask relevant questions and offer assistance specific to the customer's cultural context and preferences. This personalised approach builds trust and strengthens the customer-agent relationship.

While technical knowledge will always be important, soft skills — or interpersonal skills — are equally essential. These customer service skills determine how an agent interacts with customers and makes them feel. For example, was the agent empathetic and understanding? Were they respectful throughout the interaction?

To improve customer service soft skills, here’s what to master:

According to recent research, 60% of customers say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate departments and 66% often have to repeat or re-explain information to different representatives. To make sure your agents are hitting a high note during every interaction, coach them to use clear, straightforward language and stay focused on the customer throughout the conversation. One way to hone this skill is to review and evaluate recorded customer interactions as a training exercise.

For agents: keep every interaction positive. Sometimes a customer is angry or feeling defeated, so it’s important to approach every engagement with an open mind. It’s your job to steer the conversation toward a positive outcome, while acknowledging the customer’s concerns. What does this look like in practice? Thank them for their patience, understanding and continued loyalty. Connect with them using customer data like where they are from, tips on their purchases or advice on how to use your service better.

No one likes to repeat themselves, least of all frustrated customers. Active listening helps agents gather relevant information and address customer needs quickly and accurately.

To improve this critical customer service skill, practice makes perfect. Conduct group activities where agents practise active listening with their colleagues. This can help them to develop their skills and learn from each other's experiences. Encourage agents to provide feedback to their peers on their active listening techniques.

You can also share examples of active listening in customer service scenarios. Use role-playing exercises or video demonstrations to illustrate how active listening can positively impact customer interactions. Highlight both verbal and nonverbal cues that indicate active listening, such as nodding, maintaining eye contact and summarising or paraphrasing the customer's concerns.

In customer service, empathy is the capacity to affirm a customer's feelings and understand their frustration — even if the problem is out of your control. In fact, 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations, yet 56% say most companies treat them like numbers.

Demonstrating empathy is an essential customer service skill. Train agents on understanding customer emotions and handling difficult or irate customers. Share strategies and techniques for de-escalating conflicts, managing complaints and turning negative experiences into positive ones. For example, provide agents with a list of empathetic phrases like, “I understand how you feel” and “I hear you,” while offering a solution and next steps. Use results from sentiment surveys after service interactions to see if agents are making customers feel heard.

Adaptability is a soft customer service skill that means easily adjusting to changing circumstances. Every customer service agent must be able to adapt to change.

As a leader, foster a positive team culture that encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing and support among agents. Conduct team-building activities, encourage open communication and create an environment where agents feel comfortable seeking help and sharing experiences.

And agents: remember, your managers are always there for support. Make sure that you ask for additional customer service training on adaptability if needed and also keep leaders in the loop if you need to escalate an issue. Part of honing soft skills is bringing in your team for help.

Effective time management allows customer service representatives to respond to customer enquiries promptly and efficiently. By prioritising tasks and allocating time effectively, representatives can provide timely assistance, minimising customer wait times and reducing frustration. This is especially important as service teams often face high call volumes or a large influx of enquiries. Yet, 78% of agents say it’s difficult to balance speed and quality.

As a leader, set realistic goals with your contact centre agents up front. Make sure you are clear on important metrics — whether that’s first-call resolution or customer satisfaction scores. Then agents will know if it’s more important to stay on the line and resolve the issue or to quickly escalate the case and move on.

Customer service is an evolving field and it’s important to keep up with the latest developments. Encourage your agents to participate in continuous training and professional development opportunities to keep their customer service skills fresh. This can include workshops, webinars, industry conferences or online courses to enhance their skills and stay updated with industry trends.

In addition, use this list of customer service skills in this article as a checklist when hiring new agents. Although all agents have different strengths, the ones that tend to be strong in the above areas are more likely to turn out to be high performers.

For agents, the biggest takeaway for you is to work to improve these critical customer skills, so you can excel in your role. This will not only help to improve customer experience, it will also help you to advance your career. Your skills can only take you so far if you don’t have the right technology in place. Use My Service Journey to discover the right service products based on your business goals.