What’s your company’s most valuable asset? It may be your great product, supportive shareholders, or dedicated team that comes to mind. Show
But you will certainly agree that without satisfied customers, you’re out of business. And that can be achieved by delivering extraordinary customer service. What is customer service and why does it hold so much importance? Great customer service has a direct impact on any business plus it is a key way to improve customer experience (CX). Want proof? Satisfied customers are the lifeblood of any business. It takes a lot of money to acquire a new customer, so business owners need to do what is necessary to ensure these customers come back. Many retailers try to encourage repeat business through sales and promotions, but one shouldn’t underestimate the importance of good customer service. Let us understand what is outstanding customer service and what makes it truly exceptional & effective? What is Customer Service?Excellent customer service is defined as going the extra mile in making a customer highly satisfied with both the products or services of your company. Great customer service involves providing quality service promptly by using advanced customer engagement tools. It is the act of taking care of the customer’s needs by providing high-quality service before, during, and after the customer’s requirements are met. Customer service representatives are the main line of contact between an organization and its customers, making CX a critical facet and the main priority. Offering amazing customer service is important if you want to retain customers and grow your business. Note: You can look through this peer-reviewed scientific journal article on CX provides empirical evidence that customer service is one of the most critical aspects of CX due to its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. It suggests that customer service representatives in omnichannel retailing should be courteous, helpful, and prompt across all channels. Also, they should be highly knowledgeable to answer customers’ questions. What is Customer Service to You as a Business?Successful small business owners understand the need for good customer service instinctively. Enterprises conduct in-depth studies and have concluded some key components. The key components of good customer service are as follow:
Fundamental Steps Towards Delivering Outstanding Customer ServiceIn today’s hyper-competitive market, where information is more freely available, businesses need to meet the ever-changing customer expectations. It needs a concrete customer service plan that goes far beyond internal analysis. Below is the blueprint that, if implemented, could benefit your business by ensuring it continually focuses and improves customer service.
Importance of Customer Service?Excellent customer service creates loyal customers for life who are willing to refer your business to friends, family, and colleagues. Providing such kind of excellent customer service starts with a mindset to delight your customers, but you also have to think beyond selling your products or services. It also requires superb communication and problem resolution skills. Learn more about your customers to create a pattern of excellent service in your small business. 1. Increase Customer Retention with Exceptional Customer ServiceEvery business needs new clients, it is equally critical to improving customer retention as acquisition costs are five times more than retaining an existing customer. Delivering prompt and effective service boosts customer satisfaction and enhances the experience.
When customer retention increases there is an increase in profit. It is because repeat customers are more likely to spend more with your brand, which impacts operating costs. Keyways that help to deliver great customer service that improves retention:
2. Good Quality Service = Boost Business RevenueOne of the key reasons for the importance of customer service in a business is because it correlates to revenue: 84% of organizations working to improve customer service report an increase in revenue. Excellent customer service goes a long way and promotes more sales opportunities because you’re building a company with a reputation for always wanting to impress its customers.
Putting is simple – prioritizing good customer service in an organization increases revenue. Studies show that 86% of people will pay more for great customer service. Great customer service allows you to:
3. Reduce Customer Churn with Excellent Client ServiceSuccessful companies make it a strategic priority as they know the importance of customer service and to retain customers as retention has a significant impact on their bottom line. Excellent customer service should be a core component in the strategy of every company seeking to retain customers long term. Investing in the same can reduce customer churn rate, which decreases the amount to be spent on acquiring new customers. When customers are treated well, they’re more likely to remain loyal to that organization. With a well-trained and knowledgeable support team, your consumers will reward you by referring to their peers, helping the business to grow. Conversely, poor customer service is utterly catastrophic. Almost 9 in 10 customers have left a business due to poor customer experience. In contrast, 86% of customers are willing to pay more just for a better customer experience—product aside. 4. Quality Customer Service Showcases Brand Image & ValuesBrands that exhibit the best brand awareness gain popularity and fortune. And positive customer experiences play a huge role in brand awareness, as they often lead to word-of-mouth advertising. Usually, customers choose to become the customer of a company because of their reputation for great customer service. Note: Brands should focus on providing a positive experience for existing customers and witness them rave about your brand. With a well-defined customer experience strategy, you build your brand awareness and also measure everything from online reviews to social media sentiment to recommendation potential. When you build a brand awareness strategy around customer loyalty, you’ll see authentic and sustainable growth. 5. Higher Customer Lifetime Value with Quality SupportCustomer lifetime value (CLTV) is the amount of revenue that you can expect from a customer over the period that your service will be provided to them. An increasing CLV means that your customers are spending more money each time they order. Providing extraordinary customer service is a great way to increase CLTV. If customers have a positive shopping experience, they will be more likely to buy from you again. It’s also easier to market new products to existing customers. Best customer service techniques to increase CLTV are:
6. Extraordinary Customer Service Generates ReferralsPositive word-of-mouth referrals come directly from previous and existing customers that have had a great experience with your company. One of the key importance of customer service is you can get more brand advocates with less investment. It improves brand credibility and face value as well. Word-of-mouth advertising is often considered to be the company’s best and least expensive form of advertising. When customers receive a satisfactory and delightful experience, they can’t stop sharing their success stories with their friends, relatives, colleagues and even post to their social network about your friendly and helpful customer service. Such acts turn out to encourage their contacts to follow the same brand and make purchases. 7. Outstanding Customer Service Aligns Goals & ProcessesWhen everyone at a company has the same end goal, the entire workflow becomes streamlined. Keep your focal point on your customer, then move through each department to align them behind customer service. For example, when everyone is on the same page, the flow for resolving an issue report should precisely look something like the below one:
To make sure this collaboration spans the long-term, set a larger goal to improve a customer experience-based metric, like NPS. Then, put the responsibility on every department to move the needle. You’ll have happier customers, more streamlined processes, and easily hit your KPIs. Understanding Different Degrees of Customer ServiceMany customer-centric companies strive to differentiate themselves from the competition by offering outstanding customer service. It is an excellent tactic since greater retention leads to significantly higher profits. In fact, an increase in retention rates of just 5% can boost profits from 25% to 95%. Here is a brief overview of different degrees. What is Good Customer Service?The key to good customer service is building good relationships with your customers. A happy customer will return often and is likely to spend more. To ensure you provide the best customer service:
What is Great Customer ServiceDiving right in with specific customer service techniques, or you could start with the core principles governing the quality of great customer service in the first place. They are speed, accuracy, clarity, transparency, and accessibility. For providing great customer services, keep a tab on the following things:
What is Quality Customer ServiceThe quality of customer service is the key differentiator between good, bad, and indifferent companies. Good quality service keeps customers coming back whereas bad service drives them away. Focus on a few things to maintain good quality customer service:
What is Exceptional Customer ServiceExceptional customer service refers to the unconditional commitment towards delivering the highest quality product or service to every customer. Such a service gives customers a complete, cohesive customer experience that aligns with the organization’s goal. Best practices for providing exceptional customer service:
Examples of Good Quality Customer ServiceCompetition pushes companies to exceed customer expectations to woo consumers away from other brands, while market dominators can generally set lower service standards. Which companies excel at building long-term customer relationships? Here are some examples of brands delivering high-quality customer service, with takeaways. #1. Yumble – Proactive ApproachWhile selling online, problems with shipping and delivery issues come with the territory. Between missed deliveries, damaged shipments, and delays, there are a host of problems that could arise. And while these issues technically aren’t your fault, you are still responsible for the customer experience.
Yumble, a food delivery company when experienced delays in delivering the meals instead of waiting until the shoppers got in touch, proactively emailed customers about the problem and even issued a $10 credit to make up for the inconvenience. Action Step If you are selling online, stay ahead of the situation by proactively reaching out to customers instead of waiting for them to contact you. #2. Spotify – Understand Customer NeedsSpotify identified that great customer service is also about finding what your customers love, then delivering it in ways that make their products a staple of their everyday lives. Its business model is to learn a user’s preferences and provide the additional service of curating and customizing playlists and radio stations. Spotify went so far as to make interacting with customer service fun: Customers who tweet questions to the company are rewarded with individual playlists tailored to answer their questions. Action Step
#3. Tesla – Connect With Customers Where They AreWhen it comes to quality customer service, the delivery of services can be a game-changer. Tesla recognized the fact and implied to deliver excellent customer service. Tesla engages with customers where they are and fixes issues. It is convenient for the customer because they don’t have to sit around a repair shop and it can be scheduled on their own time. Action Step
Final ThoughtsUndoubtedly, good quality customer service plays a major role in your business. It is the top indicator for measuring customer loyalty. Identify your unhappy customers, reduce churn, and increase revenue. It is also a key point of differentiation that helps to attract fresh customers in a competitive business environment. Top-quality customer service goes a long way to creating a great customer experience and increasing lifetime value. Customers today are not merely interested in the product or service they are buying, but also the add-on elements they get. Here is an easy way for you to strengthen your customer relationships. Sign up What is customer service and selling?At the most basic level, salespeople are responsible for getting the customer in the door, while customer service agents are accountable for what happens after a sale is made. In a broader sense, though, they are both working towards achieving a single goal – creating a positive experience for customers.
What is good customer service in sales?Good customer service means meeting your customers' needs in a timely, efficient, and pleasant way. In retail, that could mean remembering and appreciating repeat customers, forging a local connection with shoppers, putting your product knowledge to good use, and more.
What is customer service sales process?When working together, sales and customer service teams create a more comfortable, user-friendly buying experience. Sales teams help customers find products and services and customer service ensures their interactions with the business remain positive over time.
Why is customer service important in sales?Customer support isn't just about retaining customers. It's also an effective way to increase sales. It's not just your existing customers who have questions — your prospects do too. It's been reported that 52% of customers will abandon online purchases if they can't find the information they're looking for.
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