Customer Service Advisor
A customer service advisor or customer relationship manager is a professional who serves as a point of contact between a business and its customers.
The idea behind this position is to create a person who is responsible for customer service and the relationship with one particular customer or a group of customers. The customers have a person they can go to with concerns and problems. The company has an individual who is supposed to maintain contact with customers.
Customer Service Advisors vs. Sales Staff
The big difference between a custom service advisor or relationship manager and a salesperson is obvious. The salesperson initiates the relationship with the customer while the advisor maintains.
Part of the reason to create a customer service advisor is to reduce cost and free salespeople up so they can go out and seek more new customers. Another reason is to reduce costs because many salespeople are paid by commission.
There is also an ethical dimension to customer service advisors. They do not have the vest interest of a commission. Their role instead is to maintain a relationship rather than sell a customer more products.
Duties of a Customer Service Advisor
The main duty of a customer service advisor is to maintain contact with customers and make sure that they are satisfied with the service or product and the customer they are receiving. For example at a car company a customer service advisor will maintain contact to see how well the car is running and if customers have any problems with it.
A customer service advisor tries to spot problems with goods and services and to correct them. For example the customer service advisor at a software company can alert the technical staff to a problem with the software so they can start working on a fix. A customer service advisor can also monitor customer activity to see how effective training is.
A big part of a customer service advisor’s duties is to bring customer concerns to management before they become a problem. For example a customer service advisor can tell managers that customers are griping about the cost of a product or the length of time they are spending on the phone with the service department.
Training for Customer Service Advisors
The training for customer service advisors generally varies by industry. In some businesses the position is a very technical one while in others it can be more of a relationship role.
Not every customer service advisor will receive training but many well. In the insurance industry such an advisor may have to be a licensed insurance agent. Insurance customer relationship managers may need to get special training so they don’t give out legal advice.
An advisor may try to address special problems for example a customer at an insurance company who is having a hard time filing a claim. They may also refer problems to other departments such as the legal department.
Requirements for Customer Service Advisors
Generally customer service advisors have to be real good with people. They also have to have a strong commitment to an organization and its products. In most cases a high degree of empathy and ethics is required as well.
Persons who do not like dealing with individuals that are upset or angry should not work as customer service advisors. Persons that like solving problems would definitely enjoy a career as a customer service advisor.
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