In order to provide clients with the best customer service, it’s important that employees are highly knowledgeable about their companies’ policies, products and services. This insight is critical to the customer experience, so it’s crucial that leaders provide staff members with the education they need to be effective liaisons between the organization and its clients.

But great customer service training shouldn’t focus purely on developing technical skills. It’s equally important that staff members are taught how to step back and truly listen to customers. Only then can they gain the insight needed to take an experience from average to extraordinary, building engagement and driving loyalty in the process.

‍No laughing matter
‍Aziz Ansari, comedian and star of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, recently undertook an innovative project that emphasizes the heavy impact that communicating with customers can have on quality. Fast Company noted that Ansari launched “Work in Progress,” a series of intimate shows with its tickets awarded by lottery, in order to not only develop material for his next hour of stand-up comedy, but to get to know his audience better. To enter the drawing, fans provide identifying information such as their gender, age and relationship status, which Ansari will use to put together different types of audiences and test out jokes. The topics at each small show will be tailored to its audience.

Fast Company explained that this experiment will allow Ansari to create a better comedy routine. By listening to feedback from attendees, he’ll be able to discover which jokes work well with which types of audiences, and this insight can be used to craft his next hour of comedy to be funnier for fans.

Ansari is essentially putting a customer service spin on comedy. According to Forbes, listening to clients is one of the most important things businesses can do, especially because each individual has specific needs that must be met. The source emphasized that the best companies are not only highly aware of what their customers want, but they also make sure they spend time communicating with clients to ensure they are actually getting the right products, services and support they need to address their unique requirements.

‍Genuine connections
‍Customer relationships are extremely important to any business. If clients don’t feel as if they’re receiving individualized care, they may eventually turn to a competitor. Fortunately for company leaders, they may be able to boost results by giving employees access to a communication-focused customer service training program. Staff members must understand the importance of listening and the role it can play in successfully closing sales, solving problems and fostering ongoing loyalty.