Customer service training courses can help boost customer satisfaction rates, enhance employees’ confidence in their roles, and increase overall sales.
I’m no stranger to customer service courses. Over three decades, I’ve worked in a host of client-facing positions, each of which needed its own approach to customer service and support.
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Not sure where to get started? I’ve compiled a list of 14 top certifications and courses to help take your customer service to the next level.
Table of Contents
- 7 Types of Customer Service Certifications
- Best Customer Service and Support Training Programs
- Why do you need a customer service certification?
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Customer service training is essential because it helps your business retain and satisfy what keeps your business running — your customers. If support reps couldn’t communicate with customers, answer questions, find solutions, and be there for general support, customers would go to a business that met their needs and expectations.
When applying for customer service jobs, a great way to demonstrate your expertise in customer service and solving for the customer is with a customer service certification.
Why do you need a customer service certification?
A customer service certification gives employers confidence that whoever they hire has a higher-than-average ability to do the job, and a certificate from a reputable organization demonstrates competency in customer service that a non-certified rep wouldn’t be expected to deliver.
Certifications aren’t a one-time commitment. They typically require ongoing training to stay up to date with the latest best practices and trends.
Aside from the professional competence associated with certifications, many employers and hiring managers also place a monetary value on them. If you’re looking for a raise or seeking new opportunities, I recommend certifications as a tool you can leverage to negotiate pay, benefits, and responsibilities.
7 Types of Customer Service Certifications
- Customer Service Certification
- Help Desk Certification
- Call Center Certification
- Client Services Certification
- Client Services Manager Certification
- Customer Experience Certification
- Customer Service Leadership Certification
1. Customer Service Certification
Whether you’re new to customer service or an experienced rep, a customer service certification offers a real-world environment to hone your skills. Many certifications are offered online or in person with instructor-led classes tailored to your organization's specific goals. This certification helps you become a better problem solver and communicator through role-playing exercises and group discussions about concepts you’ll rely on to serve customers.
Earn your support services certification from:
2. Help Desk Certification
When choosing a help desk certification, prioritize options offered by your help desk software provider. It’s a tactical certification with an immediate return on investment as you’ll be able to apply what you’ve learned fairly quickly and spread that knowledge among your team.
Once you’ve mastered your help desk software, you can take advanced courses like HDI-CSR which explains the strategy behind using customer service tools to enhance soft skills in communication.
Earn your help desk certification from:
3. Call Center Certification
Many customer service professionals begin their careers working in call centers, and a call center certification validates the technical, communication, and service skills of reps working with inbound and outbound calls.
To earn this certification, you’ll establish a baseline assessment of your skillset, improve your performance, and substantiate your skills with an assessment. Companies like Microsoft use this certification to manage call center metrics, implement best practices, and increase performance within their teams.
Earn your call center certification from:
4. Client Services Certification
The client service specialist certification (CCSS) is ideal for entry-level professionals as it provides a foundational understanding of the customer service industry. To earn this certification, you’ll need to demonstrate the right blend of knowledge and skills in both customer service and sales functions, and it will mold you into a well-rounded and key player on your team.
Earn your client services certification from:
5. Client Service Manager Certification
The client service manager certification is offered from a leadership point of view. If you’re a customer service rep, you can forge a path to a leadership position with this certification. It certifies your skills in applying best practices for customer service, sales, coaching, and leading.
Earn your client service leader certification from:
6. Customer Experience Certification
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the customer experience transcends any one function and is often the responsibility of every team, but customer service reps champion that experience by becoming certified customer experience professionals. When a company can craft processes and responses that make the customer feel valued, seen, and appreciated the entire business benefits. With this certification, you can help lead a key function within your organization.
Earn your customer experience certification from:
7. Customer Service Leadership Certification
A customer service manager certification is worthwhile for any service rep working towards senior leadership positions. In these certifications, you’ll learn strategy, technical skills, and practical ways to apply your knowledge of customer service. You can use this type of certification to leverage a promotion, transition into a new role, or boost your resume if you’re considering a career in consulting.
Earn your customer service leadership certification from:
Best Customer Service and Support Training Programs
- HubSpot Academy
- Customer Service Training by Alison
- Support Professional Training by Service Strategies
- Call Center Customer Service by Universal Class
- Customer Service Advantage by Bonfire Training
- Customer Service Refresher Training by Business Training Works
- 7 Essentials to Excellent Customer Service by GoSkills
- Free Customer Service Training by LiveChat
- CSM Certification Program by The Success League
- ITIL® Training and Certification by Skill Soft
- Culture of Services: New Perspective on Customer Relations by edX
- Communication by SkillPath
- Attitudes for Service by Dale Carnegie
- A+ Customer Care by WorkLifeBalance
Customer service and support training programs come in a variety of formats. Some can be extremely extensive and provide in-depth coverage of a topic, while others discuss general knowledge of customer service fundamentals.
This list features a diverse group of options that are helpful for any customer service team.
1. HubSpot Academy
HubSpot Academy offers customer sevice training courses that provide useful customer service lessons, like the Inbound Certification course that features recent updates to the Inbound Methodology.
Other courses include the "Customer Success & Account Health Check“ course that covers the steps to nurturing and delighting customers over time, or There's also a ”Managing Your Sales to Customer Success Handoff" course that helps Sales and Customer Success teams work better together.
HubSpot Academy also offers training specific to HubSpot's users. For example, its “Service Hub” course explains how to use Service Hub tools throughout the reps daily workflow, like setting up a knowledge base and connecting your support inbox to the conversations tool.
Pricing
HubSpot Academy courses are free. It includes comprehensive certifications, single-topic courses, and targeted lessons to help enhance customer service skills.
“One of the standout features is the integration with other HubSpot tools. The platform teaches you not just marketing theory, but how to apply that knowledge using HubSpot's own CRM and other software, which can be a big productivity boost for teams already using these tools. It’s also incredibly flexible in terms of pacing—you can take a few minutes here and there to chip away at a course, making it ideal for busy professionals.” — Carlos G.
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2. Customer Service Training by Alison
Alison’s customer service training program is for all stages of customer service careers. It introduces the basic concepts of customer service through an online course, and the goal is to teach reps how to handle difficult customer interactions while understanding why they occur in the first place.
The course also dives into creating a customer-focused approach, handling inquiries and complaints, and reading stressful situations to determine the best outcome. The skills and fundamentals obtained from this training program are essential for delivering consistent customer satisfaction.
Pricing
Alison courses are free. They require users to register with the Alison community — after that, you have access to more than 50 free courses.
“This was my first online study with Alison.com. I enjoyed the flexibility to studying at my pace. The course content was easy to understand. Also studying for free was a bonus as tuition fees can be very expensive. I will certainly recommend Alison.com to everyone I know. I look forward to studying more courses this way. I look forward to starting my new career too. Thank you Alison.” - Nomantshintshi Dube
3. Support Professional Training by Service Strategies
Service Strategies helps technical support reps provide high-quality customer service by training effective communication techniques when providing technical solutions. Sometimes technical concepts can be challenging to explain and understand, so it’s important to know how to communicate these solutions clearly.
Service Strategies offers three ways to attend the training: on-site, public, or online. For on-site training, Service Strategies sends an instructor to the company to administer the course, while public training occurs at various locations in groups of 15 attendees. Its online course is self-paced and available for 60 days after registration.
Pricing
Virtual training classes from Service Strategies cost $1,395.
Self-paced classes range from $199 for service representatives to $399 for field service engineers. On-site courses are also available; contact Sevice Strategies directly for pricing.
“This course certainly did take a bit of work; that only made the final result that much more satisfying. Excellent content, and a real pleasure to have a course geared towards my profession in my own industry. Excellent networking with peers from other companies. Great teaching style as delivered by Steve Brand - highly recommended.” - Matt Furlong
4. Call Center Customer Service by Universal Class
Universal Class offers a notable course called “Call Center Customer Service” that covers the different responsibilities of a customer service rep, as well as the skills needed to succeed when working in a call center. It also discusses common call center etiquette and the roadblocks that a service or support rep can expect to experience in a customer service position.
The course is taken online for six months and concludes with a cumulative final exam.
Pricing
For $95, you can take the course but won’t receive a certification or any continuing education units (CEUs). For $125, you get the course, certification, and CEUs. You can also purchase a platinum subscription for $189 which gives you access to all courses and certifications for one year.
"I have to give this class and the instructor five plus stars. It was a great learning tool and the instructor was very informative and encouraging.” - Rachel R.
5. Customer Service Advantage by Bonfire Training
Bonfire offers team training that “uniquely personalizes[s] the development experience for each person.” Its “Customer Service Advantage” course helps customer service teams come up with an action plan for addressing tricky customer interactions with the goal of motivating reps to find effective solutions instead of offering apologetic explanations.
Bonfire’s customer service training courses are consistently updated and can get attention in-person, 90-minute real-time virtual training sessions with an instructor, or an online course with unlimited access over a 60-day period.
Pricing
On-demand online training from Bonfire Training is $224 per course. You get 60 days of access to training materials and can download the modules to your LMS network. Live remote training is $1,700 per session, and in-person training comes in at $3,200 per day.
“Bonfire training is an integral part of customer service training for our CSRs. They crave and need the tools that Bonfire provides them. What's more, our customers expect and deserve the superior level of service that Bonfire provides to our internal and external customers." - Citizens Energy Group
6. Customer Service Refresher Training by Business Training Works
The “Customer Service Refresher Training” by Business Training Works aims to re-energize depleted customer service and support workers by explaining how customer service is changing over time, and discussing evolving customer expectations.
The training program is a three-hour session on-site at a business or in a virtual classroom, and the topics covered range from best practices for routine interactions to problem-solving.
Pricing
For in-person training, expect to pay $4,200 for up to six participants. Virtual training is less than half the cost at $1,750 for six participants.
“All attendees provided very positive feedback and have been looking for opportunities to apply what they learned, as soon as we came back to our workplace. - Luz-Elena G
7. 7 Essentials to Excellent Customer Service by GoSkills
GoSkills offers a variety of online career development programs. This one covers the fundamentals for providing excellent customer service and is great for people who don't have much experience in the customer service field.
This course is 90 minutes long and has 22 practice tutorials. It reviews concepts like creating positive interactions and engaging with customers by focusing on verbal and nonverbal cues. At the end of the program, participants are given a certification for completing the course.
Pricing
Individuals can access GoSkills training for free with a 7-day trial, then pay $27 per month or just $13 per year for access to all courses.
Organizations can get a free plan that offers limited course access, pay just over $9 per learner per month for full LMS access, or $13 per month for access to all GoSklils courses.
“This course was very helpful and the instructor provided great examples to explain his customer service techniques. Thanks.” - Patricia Debassige
Free Customer Support Training Template
Train and onboard your new customer support hires with this downloadable template.
- Training Timeline
- People to Meet
- 100 Day Goals
- And More!
Download Free
All fields are required.
8. Online Customer Service Courses from Coursera
Online learning platform Coursera offers a host of customer service courses focused on service fundamentals, customer relationship management, and enhancing the customer experience. The company also offers solution-specific courses such as those from HubSpot or Google.
For example, the Customer Service Fundamentals course is composed of modules which take approximately 23 hours to complete at your own pace.
Pricing
Coursera for individuals is available from $199 for a year of access. For companies with between 5 and 125 users, Coursera is $399 per user, per year.
“With Coursera, we’ve cultivated a well-rounded, competitive technical workforce that is passionate about professional development.” - G. Wetze, VP of Data and Analytics, Equifax
9. CSM Certification Program by The Success League
For most customer service reps, becoming a customer service or customer success manager is a logical next step in their career. So, if you‘re looking to build the skills you’ll need for professional development, this comprehensive course can provide you with everything you need to land your next job.
This 15-class course takes a deep dive into the fundamentals of becoming a customer success manager. Classes are one hour long and cover an extensive range of customer service and business management lessons. This includes topics like driving customer advocacy, creating long- and short-term customer goals, and preventing customer churn.
Pricing
The CSM full certification program is $1,795 per person. While it’s among the more expensive courses on our list, it also includes expert Q&A for each session..
“I truly appreciated the thoughtful care and attention Kristen dedicated to tailoring the program to my team’s unique needs. The sessions struck an excellent balance between reinforcing familiar tactics we already knew and introducing fresh, practical strategies for us to implement.” - Tess Gibson J.
10. ITIL® Training and Certification by Skill Soft
If you're a part of an internal customer support team, like an IT team, you may be interested in completing your ITIL certification. This is a widely recognized, entry-level qualification that most reps earn before or during their IT careers.
Skill Soft offers an approved ITIL training program that's recognized by Axelos. Participants learn about the link between IT and business strategy and how to improve their service skills to provide the best output for the company.
Pricing
For individuals, SkillSoft offers a 45-day trial. If you choose to continue the cost is $20 per month. For teams (up to 50), the cost per user is $55 per month, along with a 30-day free access period.
“I like the wide range of courses that Skillsoft offers. It offers the great benefit of saving your progress in each course. I really believe that it has a course for everyone. I've recommended several trainings from Skillsoft to my team members to improve their work performance.” - Salman Khan
11. Communication Toolkit: Conversing with Customers by BizLibrary
BizLibrary provides courses that range between 10 minutes and one hour, depending on what you want to learn. For example, the Conversing with Customers Toolkit is just 7 minutes long, while more in-depth courses such as Email Essentials clock in at 47 minutes.
Other topic areas include leadership and management, business skills, and workplace safety.
Pricing
BizLibrary offers three tiers — BizComply, BizEssentials, and BizSkills. BizComply is the most basic, providing access to 200 courses and a best-practice curriculum. BizEssentials focuses on upskilling and self-directed learning, while BizSkills is all about career pathing and succession planning. Pricing for all three tiers is quote-based.
“BizLibrary is allowing us to complete employee compliance training virtually, but also offer professional development.” - Dustin H.
12. How to Become a Better Communicator by SkillPath
SkillPath's How to Become a Better Communicator course provides valuable lessons about communication skills that are imperative to customer service. Topics include building rapport and credibility, developing clear and assertive communication skills, and polishing your image and professionalism.
Learning about these skills is great for employees who may lack professional experience, and courses are offered both online and on-site at varying prices and duration.
Pricing
The price for this webinar course is $149. Businesses or individuals can also choose SkillPath annual passes. The SkillPath Unlimited pass is $249 per year and gives access to all online courses. The SkillPath Unlimited + LIVE pass is $499 per year and includes live instructor-led virtual seminars and broadcast webinars.
“As a busy working professional, SkillPath Unlimited offers a terrific means of on-the-go learning on topics that are relevant and substantive for my professional development. SkillPath’s offerings, including its instruction and materials, are excellent and serve as a key element in my training journey.” - Daniel B., SELCO Community Credit Union
13. Attitudes for Service by Dale Carnegie
Most customer service training courses focus on technical skills and high-level communication concepts. These are great for introducing people to the basics of customer service, but they don't teach them how to put these practices to best use.
Dale Carnegie‘s "Attitudes for Service" course focuses on attitude over aptitude. The idea is that it’s more important for reps to be personable and friendly than it is to be technically savvy. This three-hour course teaches reps how to increase their self-awareness and how to ask questions that will return meaningful responses. That way, they‘ll find the information they’re looking for, while still generating a delightful customer experience.
Pricing
Attidudes for Service is offered as a live online session. The course is 1.5 hours long and costs $399 to attend.
“Getting outside my comfort zone to better understand both the people & situations I find myself in on a routine basis. Speaking in front of a group, sharing with those whom which you know very little about, thinking more about others & the lives they live outside of your interactions with them; these were all things I learned that I feel are unique to Dale Carnegie training.” - John Y.
14. A+ Customer Care by WorkLifeBalance
This 5-step training program is designed to help reps identify customer needs and resolve service problems in a timely manner. It's built around five customer-centric steps that are focused on sharpening internal and external customer service skills. This makes it an excellent choice for training both customer-facing and internal support teams.
WorkLifeBalance offers its courses both on-site and online. It also provides options to sign up for courses as individuals or as a sponsored group.
Pricing
To get more pricing details for onsite or online course options, contact WorkLifeBalance by filling out their contact form or getting in touch directly at 1-877-644-0064.
“There is a clear ROI from the 5 Steps Training. Turnover is down. Performance is up. It has strengthened our culture of respect and appreciation. It has moved us higher as an employer of choice and strengthened the results in our employee surveys…There is a sense of less stress in the organization and people are happier.” - VP, Fortune 50 Company
Enhance Your Customer Service Skills With a Certification
Customer service certifications are a great way to enhance your skills and help move your career forward.
If you’re considering a certification or customer service training course, I’ve got two pieces of advice. First, not all courses are created equal. Take your time, do your research, and find one that is both recognized in your industry and offers reputable training.
Second, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to training. Different industries have different sales and service priorities — for training to be effective, it needs to align with business goals and deliver on customer expectations.
Ready to get started with customer service courses? Enroll at HubSpot Academy today.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Free Customer Support Training Template
Train and onboard your new customer support hires with this downloadable template.
- Training Timeline
- People to Meet
- 100 Day Goals
- And More!
Download Free
All fields are required.