Providing customers with excellent customer service is one of the most critical parts of any company. However, it is often overlooked. So many businesses focus on marketing messages and product prices and forget how they treat their customers. Marketing, advertising, and pitching, among others, would bring you customers and raise awareness of your brand, but customer service is what keeps them loyal.
The policies, plans, and activities that govern the way your organization interacts with its customers constitute customer service. Providing quality customer service means treating your customers well, appreciating them, and valuing them. Today, customers are more likely to express their views and opinions online and via social media, which makes customer service increasingly important. To portray a good image to outsiders, it is imperative that you invest in your customer service and establish a good relationship with your customers.
Customer service is a good place to start when it comes to increasing profitability in your company. Customer service teams that are well trained can reflect your company image and attract and retain customers. One such example of a brand that emphasizes its customer service is Cox. The company might be well known for its amazing cable and internet deals, but Cox customer service is what people love most about it.
Still not convinced what great customer service can do to brands? Then give a read to this post; maybe you would change your mind and decide to invest in a great customer service team too.
But before that, let us see what good customer service exactly is.
What is Great Customer Service?
The U.S. customer service industry is undoubtedly a multi-billion dollar industry, one that is growing rapidly. It is a mistake to think that customer service revolves solely around agents in call centers catering to queries, complaints, and questions.
Every time you and your workers offer prompt, efficient service to people who buy or consider your product, you are providing customer service. Whether it is a question you answer over the phone or a sad patron you handle in person. You are ensuring your customers have an amazing experience no matter what they encounter. Regardless of the size of your business, each customer experience helps determine the reputation of your brand and helps shape repeat business.
8 Reasons Why Great Customer Service is Important
1. Retains customers
Good customer service increases the likelihood of returning to a business. The more loyal customers you have, the more likely your business will grow to its full potential. For example, if your customer service team has a simple technique that makes online returns simple and quick, you would most probably retain customers and build a loyal following that appreciates your no-hassle return policy.
2. Retains employees
Having a fair relationship with customers is important to employees as well. Your employees will be more likely to become advocates for your business if they realize you are committed to delivering exceptional customer service. As a result, they are much more likely to stay with the company and engage fully in their jobs.
3. Strengthens company values and brand
You are directly responsible for representing your brand’s values and mission when you have a customer service team that connects with customers regularly. If you provide excellent customer service, you can generate positive reviews and word-of-mouth referrals for your business. It is easier to improve the perception of your company, products, or services if you have a positive public persona.
4. Promotes referrals
If customers have a positive experience with your business, they will recommend it to others. Customers who experience friendly, helpful customer service tell their friends, relatives, coworkers, and possibly post on social networks about your services. As a result, their contacts are more likely to purchase from you. Word-of-mouth advertising is often the cheapest and most effective form of advertising for a company.
5. Enhances customer lifetime value
A customer’s lifetime value (CLV) is the total amount of revenue your company expects to receive over the course of its relationship with you. With a higher CLV, you can increase revenue without spending more on marketing. A rising CLV indicates that your customers are spending more every time they order or buy more frequently.
CLV can be increased through customer service. Positive shopping experiences increase the likelihood of customers buying from you again. This also makes selling new products easier for existing customers. Because return customers have already enjoyed a great experience, they are more likely to trust the products and services your customer service team recommends.
6. Resolves customer issues in a proactive manner
A proactive customer service strategy involves engaging with your customers before they even realize a problem exists. You can demonstrate proactive customer service to your customers by letting them know you are working to improve their experience.
As an example, if your company releases a new product or service that addresses a common problem, you can identify those customers via a ticketing system and reach out to let them know about the new service or feature. When you take an approach like this, customers know you are trying to help them, which as a result, helps gain back the trust.
7. Optimizes processes and strengthens company culture
The more everyone at your company shares the same end goal, the more streamlined your workflow will be. For instance, you may find that your software engineers are more willing to help the sales team or the production team to listen to your customer service representatives. Creating a culture of helpfulness within an organization can ultimately be achieved by making serving others a priority.
8. Makes you more competitive
Customers who receive great service do more than just win over new ones and keep the ones they already have. They also make you stand out from your competitors. By offering top-notch customer service, you are adding value to your brand, strengthening your presence in the marketplace, and showing that you care about the people who buy your products and services.
How to Provide the Best Customer Service?
After highlighting the importance of customer service to an organization, it is imperative to review the various ways that organizations and business owners can better deliver customer service.
These include:
Surveys
Whether you are a small business owner or a large corporation, you should regularly conduct surveys to determine how well you are serving your customers. By gathering feedback from your customers, you can determine what they think of your products and services. Create your surveys in a way that they are easy to fill out and generate precise feedback.
Customer Service Training
Providing your employees with continuous training is essential. Your customer service agents should learn how to provide excellent service. Once you have analyzed the feedback and responses from the surveys, focus groups discussion, and other means, you should incorporate them into your ongoing customer service training programs.
Employees Feedback
Customers are not only contacted by the customer service department in business organizations; any employee can reach out to them in several different ways. Asking these employees about their responses to general customer complaints and how they handle them regularly would be helpful. While some customers casually voice their grievances, others joke about it. Whatever the feedback is, it should be noted by the employees and passed on to the proper department.
Focus on Groups and Discussions
Organizing meetings, conferences, and even hangouts are important parts of continuous customer support. In order to improve your company’s service delivery, you must invite customers to participate in focus groups and discussions.
Final thoughts
Providing quality products or services is just as important as providing excellent customer service. Your outstanding customer service delivery will allow you to distinguish your brand and gain a competitive advantage over others. It is crucial to ensure that the customer support teams have top-notch skills to take your customer relationships to the next level. We hope this post helped you understand why customer service is essential.