Active Listening in Customer Service: 6 Ways to Implement It

Aashika Suresh, on behalf of Sprinklr, shares six ways to develop active listening skills in your customer support teams alongside practical examples of organizations that listen actively.

Recall the most memorable conversation you have ever had. Whether it was with a friend, a colleague or a brand representative, chances are that the person you engaged with didn’t just hmmm, aah or smile politely at you.

Rather, it must be a two-way dialog led by genuine curiosity, probing questions and shared experiences – termed as “active listening”.

In customer service, active listening lays the foundation for long-term customer relationships and positive brand perceptions.

A simple shift from transaction-led to customer-led interaction handling is all it takes to foster customer satisfaction. Customers are human: they don’t want to be just a ticket on your queue.

They want to be heard, understood and validated. Catering to these emotional needs can help influence 95% of customers who make purchase decisions based on emotions alone.

The benefits of active listening in customer service aren’t limited to long-term customer loyalty and retention.

A company that listens with the purpose of understanding its customers better gets a treasure trove of insights that can be leveraged to improve offerings, streamline processes and innovate ahead of time. It’s a win-win!

What Is Active Listening?

Active listening is a multifaceted communication technique that involves fully concentrating, understanding, engaging and remembering what a person says.

It goes much beyond just hearing the words – an active listener must empathize and respond appropriately.

In customer service, active listening plays a vital role in establishing trust between customers and brands. For more than 50% of retail customers experiencing urgent issues, call centres remain the preferred resolution channel and they expect agents to listen to their issues actively.

By going beyond predefined call centre scripts, agents can identify the root cause of problems and provide solutions that actually work. It’s a surefire strategy to drive customer centricity and competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.

5 A’s of Active Listening

1. Attention

Focus 100% on what the customer has to say without distractions. Silence other apps or notifications and employ active listening to fully comprehend what the customer has to say.

2. Acknowledgment

Customers need to feel you’re listening actively. Use verbal cues and reassuring statements like “I see” or “I understand”. However, be careful to not interrupt them while they’re speaking.

3. Appreciation

Validate the customer’s emotions empathetically. This will reassure them that you understand their problem and think it is important.

4. Asking

To engage more deeply, ask questions to clarify anything that is unclear. You can also summarize points from time to time to ensure you comprehend their concerns correctly.

5. Answers

After listening and understanding a customer’s problems, provide thoughtful solutions that address the issues directly. If needed, skip scripted responses and provide personalized guidance.

After or during issue comprehension, ask leading questions using the prescribed customer service tone.

However, be careful to not confuse active listening and customer empathy. While active listening involves empathy, there are subtle differences between active listening and empathetic listening, which are worth exploring.

Empathetic Listening vs. Active Listening in Customer Service

Aspect	Empathetic Listening	Active Listening
Definition	Focused on understanding the emotions of the speaker. Looks like putting yourself in the customer’s shoes	Involves completely focusing on and understanding the customer with the intention of providing a reasonable solution
Focus	Feeling and validating the customer’s emotions	Comprehending customer frustrations, needs and demands to serve them better
Goal	Build trust and establish connection with the customer	Improve communication, identify concerns and provide effective solutions
Benefits	Emotional support, higher trust, conflict management, customer loyalty	Better communication, improved problem-solving, efficient issue resolution, customer retention, better brand reputation, long-term loyalty
Use Case Scenario	Best used when customers are upset, frustrated or feel undervalued	Best for understanding issues more deeply, troubleshooting and providing practical solutions
Example	Verbal Cues: “I understand that can be frustrating for you.” “I’m sorry you had to experience that.” Non-Verbal Cues: Warm tone of voice, nodding.	Verbal Cues: Summarize, “Did I understand that correctly?” “Would this solution work for you?” Non-Verbal Cues: Eye contact, taking notes

Importance of Active Listening in Customer Service

Now that you’re familiar with the concept, let’s get into the benefits of active listening in customer service.

Active listening for customer service is what a foundation is for a building. Without it, the whole edifice is at risk of collapsing.

The benefits of it in customer service have far-reaching impacts both for customer satisfaction and for your bottom line.

When customer service agents actively listen, they can provide more accurate and personalized responses.

Customer experience statistics show that a high degree of personalization can lead to a 1.5x increase in brand loyalty compared to those who don’t provide it.

Moreover, positive customer experiences can reduce customer churn by almost 15% and boost win rates by 40%. That says something about satisfied customers, doesn’t it?

Active listening also helps address customer-specific concerns and makes them feel heard. This, in turn, can soothe frustrated customers and is effective in conflict resolution as well as in problem-solving.

A study among credit card users showed that a frazzled customer who speaks to a skilled and empathetic contact centre agent is less likely to abandon their credit card usage.

As for your bottom line, 94% of customers with prior positive customer service experiences are more likely to purchase from you again.

Happy customers are also willing to shell out more: 42% of customers will pay a premium for warm and welcoming services.

To summarize, instituting active listening as a core element of your customer experience strategy is no longer negotiable if you want stronger customer relationships, higher brand recall and long-term business success.

Step-by-Step Guide to Applying Active Listening Skills in Customer Service

Listening is a skill, not a talent. Active listening is a customer service skill that can be taught and improved over time with intentional practice.

To encourage your customer service agents to engage better with customers, equip them with all the resources needed to become better listeners. Start with these steps:

Step 1: Give Customers Your Complete Attention

Any meaningful conversation requires the people engaging in it to be attentive. To be a good listener, you must listen to your customers with 100% attention and 0% distraction.

Avoid interrupting them mid-sentence with solutions. Instead, pay heed to their frustrations and wait till they finish to give you the full picture.

Example: A customer calls upset about a delayed order delivery. Instead of telling them to check the order status or your shipping policies, which they may have already done, wait for them to finish explaining their concern.

Once you have the full picture, you can then suggest appropriate solutions. Fight the urge to rush them or give scripted responses. Attentive listening is a skill that needs rigorous practice and extreme patience.

Step 2: Validate the Customer’s Emotions or Concerns

In customer service scenarios that involve conflict or negative sentiment, the first step towards active listening is giving validation.

Validate the customer’s negative feelings instead of trying to reason with them or push the blame. This will instantly placate the angry customer and make them feel understood.

That’s where empathy comes in: use verbal or non-verbal cues for validation depending on the medium of communication.

The former work well for phone conversations while the latter are appropriate for in-person or video conversations.

Verbal Cues	Empathetic Listening
Regular agreement to confirm you are following with statements such as “Okay”, or “I see”	Nodding to show you are following
Phrases of acknowledgement such as “Your concern is valid”	Leaning slightly towards the customer to show your attentiveness to them
Empathetic statements like “I understand how frustrating that must be”	Maintaining eye contact
Reflective listening through summarizing or paraphrasing	Appropriate facial expressions
Validating and reassuring statements to solve the problem	Uncrossed arms and relaxed shoulders to show non-defensiveness

Example: Circling back to the customer complaint about a delayed order, responding with “I can imagine how that is bothersome for you, especially when we promised a delivery within XX days,” can make them feel understood and de-escalate the issue a notch.

Step 3: Ask Appropriate Questions

One of the key skills of an active listener is asking the right leading or follow-up questions. Research says that people who ask more questions are better liked by their conversation partners as it signals interest and active listening.

Lack of two-way dialog, on the other hand, signals apathy and disinterest. As a support agent, ask open-ended questions to gather more context about the problem. This will help avoid misunderstanding and give you time to craft more thought-through responses.

Pro tip: Ask about the “What,” “How,” or “Why” of the issue, to encourage customers to share their experiences in more detail rather than simple questions that elicit “yes” or “no” answers.

Example: If a customer complains about being unable to log into their account, asking a question like, “Would you be able to help me with what error message you’re getting on trying to log in?” will help you get to the bottom of the issue sooner.

10 Questions to Demonstrate Active Listening

• Can you walk me through what happened?
• Could you clarify what you mean by [specific point] so I fully understand?
• When did this problem first present itself?
• How has this issue impacted your experience with our service/product?
• What steps have you already taken to resolve this issue?
• What would be the best possible outcome for you in this situation?
• How can we make this right for you?
• Would you like me to explain the next steps in the resolution process?
• Is there anything else about this issue that I should know?
• How would you rate your overall experience with us so far?

Step 4: Paraphrase to Aid Comprehension

Before you jump into resolution delivery, take a minute to summarize the key points of the conversation. This will confirm that you have understood the problem correctly and give your customer the chance to correct you if you didn’t.

Example: To clarify with the customer, you could ask a question like, “To confirm, the package was expected to arrive yesterday, but it did not, and the courier service shows that it has been delivered. Am I understanding that correctly?” This will ensure you have understood the key points.

Pay attention to your tone and body language while communicating. Avoid getting defensive and use empathetic statements.

Also, make a note of critical events in the case history so that the next handling agent has complete context, which will prevent a scenario where the customer must repeat themselves. Consider leveraging the capabilities of generative AI software for notetaking.

Step 5: Provide Thoughtful, Personalized Solutions

Active listening in customer service is geared towards problem-solving. The goal of listening intently is to fully understand the customer’s issue and provide solutions that are personalized and effective.

After confirming the issue, provide tailored solutions. Avoid generic, templated responses that disregard the unique challenges of the customer.

Pro tip: Provide the customer with multiple relevant options to resolve the issue. Empower customers with choices to make decisions that are more suited to their needs.

Example: The customer with a delivery issue says they are going out of town for a week and need the package for the trip.

In such situations, you could provide an alternative solution such as offering to deliver the package to a different address or changing to a product available nearer to the date can help.

You will have to apply thought and consider the customer’s unique predicament, devising resolutions that work and show you’ve listened actively.

Did You Know? 77% of consumers will choose to buy from a brand that provides personalized customer service. They will also recommend or pay more for such brands.

Step 6: Demonstrate Accountability

Customer service, especially in B2B and enterprise segments, is all about fostering sustained customer relationships. To go beyond immediate transactions, listen actively to customer feedback and stay accountable throughout the customer journey.

There are two broad ways to do this:

1. Once the customer has accepted a solution, immediately check whether they are satisfied with it. This reinforces your commitment to problem-solving and accountability.
2. After the issue is closed, follow up in a few days to see if they need additional assistance. Additionally, collect feedback on their experience. This will help us understand what could work for future interactions.

Example: On the date of delivery of the delayed order, you can reach back to the customer with a message or an email that says, “Checking in to see if you have received your package. We apologize for the delay and will work on avoiding an experience like this in the future. Hope our assistance was satisfactory. Let us know if we can help you in any other way.”

2 Examples of Brands Acing Active Listening in Customer Service

The best way to get better at something is to emulate someone/something else who’s already done it exceptionally well.

Of course, you can add your own spin to it. If you want to ace your active listening skills, you only need to take a leaf out of the book of some of the world’s best examples of customer service.

Disneyland – The Happiest Place on Earth

No matter who enters Disneyland, they leave happy. That’s because the company puts its all into customer focus. “Cast Members” are trained to optimize a magical experience for everyone who enters its property.

Here’s an example: Keith and Nancy Sharon took their two children, one of whom was on the autism spectrum, to Disneyland. Upon arrival, the boy took to a purple Mickey Mouse balloon.

The parents promised to get him that as a present if he behaved all day. While the day ended up being the boy’s “happiest of his life,” the purple balloon was sold out.

Nancy turned to a Cast Member frantically trying to find the balloon for her son. Instead of dismissing her, they found an extra one in one of the back closets.

Fenty Beauty – Beauty for All

Rihanna’s cosmetic brand, Fenty Beauty, defines standards in the personal care industry. And now it’s changing the idea of customer service too!

Fenty Beauty was one of the first cosmetic brands to launch foundations in 40 shades to match all skin tones. By making inclusivity one of its top priorities, it automatically solved a big customer problem. After launch, it rolled out 10 more shades to fill gaps in skin tones its existing products didn’t match.

The company also listens to its customers on social media, launching new products based on customer requests and improving many of its pain points such as delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Passive Listening Differ From Active Listening in Customer Service?

Passive listening involves hearing the customer but providing no real interactions or solutions. Active listening in customer service is geared toward understanding, engagement and problem-solving.

How Can Customer Service Representatives Improve Their Active Listening Skills?

Some ways to improve active listening skills in customer service are to stay focused on the conversation without distractions, provide verbal and non-verbal cues of acknowledgment, validate customer emotions with empathy, ask questions and provide tailored solutions.

What Are Some Common Barriers to Active Listening in Customer Service?

Often, customer service agents struggle with active listening due to preconceived notions and an inability to understand what the customer really wants. Stringent KPI requirements, lack of time and a high volume of requests can also compromise active listening.

How Can Active Listening Help in Resolving Customer Complaints?

Active listening in customer service can help agents deeply understand the issue, build a rapport with the customer and offer reasonable solutions to fix it. Active listening also helps with conflict management, which can expedite grievance redressal.

What Are the Key Components of Active Listening in Customer Service?

The key components of active listening in customer service can be summarized by the 5 A’s: attention, acknowledgment, appreciation, asking and answering.

This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Sprinklr – View the Original Article

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Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Author: Sprinklr
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson