As a Customer Success Specialist here at Uberflip, I interact with many existing and potential Customers on a daily basis. Every person that I speak to is different and, as a result, I constantly need to reevaluate and adapt the ways I offer assistance. While one Customer may be an experienced web developer using our platform to show off his portfolio, another may be a senior executive with very little technical language. Since Uberflip has so many different use cases, it attracts people from many types of careers and skill sets who understand technology in different ways. As a result, even if multiple Customers are encountering the same issue, addressing all of them with the same language is often not the most effective way to offer a solution.

Providing great Customer service takes time and practice. There are many factors that go into offering a clear solution to a problem, and each case is unique. Below are some helpful tips that will help simplify your Customer service for both you and your customers:

Patience

Since I use Uberflip every day, what seems obvious to me might not be apparent to someone new to the platform. Even though I have spent thousands of hours logged into my Account, it is essential to try to see the platform as though it is the first time I am using it. It becomes much easier to connect with a person when you understand why they are confused. Additionally, this can provide great insight for what might not be working with your product or service and guide you towards improving it.

As mentioned, always try to understand where the Customer is coming from. Learning how to use a new service can be overwhelming – especially if under tight deadlines – and so the person you are helping might come off as abrupt or impatient. In this scenario, it is always best to stay as calm as possible, which will often help put the Customer at ease as well. Never lose your cool: This will not do any good and will make the process more difficult, which neither of you want!

Terminology

Terminology can be both a blessing and a curse. Using the right words can help explain to a Customer exactly what needs to be done in order to solve a problem. For instance, rather than saying “upload an image,” saying “upload a .PNG file” is much more descriptive and might solve a problem quicker; however, if the Customer does not know what a .PNG file is, this response will only lead to more confusion.

It is important to converse in terms that are comfortable for the Customer, which will not always be the official terminology used by your service. Once you are able to get through by using language that they understand, you can then begin to educate using your preferred terminology.

The Grandma Pitch

One fun exercise to try is what’s known as the Grandma Pitch. This is often used by entrepreneurs in order to explain their business in the simplest terms possible so even a grandmother can understand it. This is especially relevant to me, since my grandmother is in her 90s and has never touched a computer. Explaining Uberflip to her in the way I would explain it to a friend is equivalent to speaking another language. Here’s how I would typically explain Uberflip:

“Uberflip takes a boring PDF file and turns it into a fun digital flipbook experience, enhances them with items like social media widgets and YouTube videos, and makes them easily sharable with a single URL.”

That explanation will probably make sense to most people reading this blog, however let’s take a look at that description with the words my grandmother would not understand crossed out:

“Uberflip takes a boring PDF file and turns it into a fun digital flipbook experience, enhances them with items like social media widgets and YouTube videos, and makes them easily sharable with a single URL.”

As you can see, this explanation clearly doesn’t work. I need to think about both Uberflip as well as technology in general from a new perspective in order to come up with an explanation that works better. Let’s try rewording the above description to say the same thing in a different way.

“Uberflip makes multi-page documents like magazines, brochures and catalogs look great on computers, tablets (like the iPad) and smartphones (like the iPhone). It can also add things to the pages that wouldn’t be possible in print, like videos and picture galleries.”

This explanation is much better. Here I have used more general terms, used examples that she is likely to know of, and taken out the points that she does not need to know about (e.g. sharing with a single URL).

When in doubt…ASK!

This leads to my final point. Whether too shy to speak up or misinterpreting a statement, you’ll never know if a person truly understands what you are saying unless you ask followup questions. After explaining a concept, follow it with a check-in like “does that make sense?” or volunteer additional details by saying something like “would you like me to explain that differently?” Remember, even if you’ve offered an answer, your job is not complete until your Customer understands what you have said!

How would you explain your company to your Grandma? Let us know in the comments below!

About the Author

Michael has always had an interest in communications technology, which led him to earn an M.A. from York & Ryerson in Communication & Culture and eventually a position as Customer Success Specialist at Uberflip.

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