Customer service language: It’s more than just the words you speak

A company s customer service language speaks volumes about how well it knows the market it serves. Using it effectively even does a better job of building a certain image for a brand more than any other strategy could. It s the same reason behind many businesses’ decision to partner with a multilingual call center—to provide the kind of customer service that s familiar and comfortable to customers.

Successful communication, however, isn’t simply about speaking the same language that your customers use. The best language for your customers is the one that they can understand. It s more about choosing the right vocabulary or slang, and being able to present ideas and deliver assistance in a manner that s easy for your audience to grasp.

Adapting a service language starts from within the confines of your company. Since we’ve previously tackled how your multilingual call center agents can do so, here s how they can apply it when communicating with your customers, no matter where they are in the world:

• See and explain things from their perspective

Efficient customer service representatives come equipped with a deep knowledge about your product and its specifications. Since this can be too technical for the common user to understand, your agents, especially those under tech support, should be able to break down complex instructions into easily digestible steps. This also applies to the billing statements, emails, and other formal documents. It takes skill to be able to do this, and it starts with seeing the problem from the customer s point of view.

• Use forms and interfaces that don t need explaining

This is even more ideal if your website or customer service platform serves customers from different countries. Instead of having different versions for each country, why not design your online properties in a way that doesn’t require long texts to be grasped? Simple universally understood images like the envelope icon for your email button or the magnifying glass in place of the word “search” will do.

Your customer service language is as important as any of your branding or marketing efforts, so it should be chosen and adapted well. Understanding how your approach can impact the quality of customer service is only half of the journey; the language should be embraced by everyone in the company and understood by everyone who contacts you.