What Is Rapport? The Definition

Building rapport with customers is all about creating a common bond of trust, particularly over the phone.

So, what exactly is the definition of rapport, and how can contact centre advisors build it with customers?

Rapport Definition

Rapport is a positive relationship built through trust, understanding and mutual connection. In customer service, it means creating a genuine connection with customers by showing empathy, listening to their needs and making them feel valued.

Building rapport with customers is important for providing good service and increasing sales.

Why Is Rapport Important in Customer Service?

Rapport can help customers feel more comfortable and confident when speaking with an advisor. When customers feel that an advisor understands their situation and is genuinely interested in helping, conversations can become more positive and productive.

For contact centre advisors, building rapport can also help create stronger customer relationships and provide a more personalised experience.

How to Build Rapport Over the Phone

• Remember that rapport is about being a friend.
• Use your active listening skills and become aware of your customer’s ’emotional driver’. It will be either a ‘movement away from pain’ or a ‘planned movement towards pleasure’.
• Excellence in communication can be achieved through putting conscious effort into your use of tonality. Be congruent in tone and words. Really mean what you say.
• Try a more upright sitting position, or even stand up to build rapport. It really works.
• Remember that ‘clean language’ is a quick win strategy for creating rapid rapport. Use keywords employed by the customer to reassure them that you have listened and are in tune with them.
• Rapport building acts as the foundation for the introduction of products and services that could benefit the customer. Without establishing rapport, you are unlikely to get the results you desire.

For ways you can build rapport in your customer conversations, read these articles next:

• 15 Ways to Build Rapport With Customers – Call Centre Helper
• 10 Catchy Greeting Examples for Customer Service – Call Centre Helper
• Building Human Rapport in an AI-Powered Contact Centre – Call Centre Helper

Reviewed by: Robyn Coppell