Why is Customer Service Important: 7 Clear-Cut Reasons
What is the driving force of any business? You guessed it right: it’s customer service. Sure, it’s not just about being courteous in every interaction with a client. This element is integral and can have a tremendous impact on your bottom line and how people view your business.
There are a myriad of theories and disputes about how to achieve impeccable customer care. However, we do forget to explore the matter of why customer service is important.
The importance of customer service is not limited to a simple ‘it boosts sales’. There’s so much more to it. The true value is the client base that can give you their loyalty. Moreover, a customer support department should be as essential as other teams within a company. After all, there’s a direct connection between them.
Now, on to the meat and potatoes. Why is customer service important and how to correlate your business with it and reap absolute benefits? Let’s crack that down.
7 Rock-Solid Reasons Why Customer Service is Important
We at HelpCrunch make no doubts about the ultimate importance of customer service. Here is the list of reasons we’ve put together that can convince you of the same.
1. It creates your brand image
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” — Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon).
I can’t but agree with the statement above. Customer service agents accept the challenge of dealing with both angry and satisfied clients. They are the face of your company and are responsible for its reputation. To put it simply, a customer service team sets the tone for the whole brand.
Your helpful attitude forms the whole brand image, which contributes to shaping a positive first impression. The stats actually speak for itself. 73% of customers love a brand because of friendly customer service.
Everything that implies handling peoples’ complaints is serious. One of the greatest mistakes a business can make is leaving customer support up to chance. I bet it’s not about you. To be on the safe side, create a well-thought-out communication strategy so that every customer service rep in your company knows how to chat with clients smoothly. Proper customer service training won’t go amiss, too.
2. It improves marketing opportunities
70% of customers appreciate a brand more if it takes the initiative and contacts them first. This is what proactive customer service is all about. Showing your dedication and the willingness to lend a helping hand any time can be a win-win solution. This way, they will know you’re working hard to remove any possible handicaps from their user experience.
Proactive customer service isn’t just about customer delight. It’s also a powerful marketing tool you can take advantage of. For instance, if you roll out a fresh feature that solves common customer problems, your support team can refer it to your customers.
Customer support reps can use advanced help desk software to search for customers who made such a feature request and introduce the news as well as all the benefits. Another alternative here can be broadcast emailing with all your recent product improvements included. Such an approach can turn out to be even more effective than a sales pitch as clients feel like their needs are fully met.
3. It is the source for the valuable feedback
Though feedback can make or break your business, it’s still what you may need to hold up well. In fact, 47% of customers will speak up on social media and tell everyone about their complaints. But here’s something even trickier. Only one out of 26 clients will bring up their complaints. The other will switch to another brand.
Team leaders, developers, and everyone who is working on a product have a certain opinion about it. But customers take a new look at it. That’s a good thing. By using that fresh look, they can shed light on some parts of your business that require further improvement.
You don’t have to share every feedback customers give you. Conversations you have day by day are perfect for gathering client reviews. And you have plenty of ways to do it:
- Customer feedback surveys
- Social media
- On-site activity
- Email and contact forms
- Usability tests
What perks can you get through asking for feedback? Happy customers who can become your brand advocates, improved customer retention and customer service, to name just a few.
4. It helps receive less negative word of mouth
If you provide good customer service, you’re about to hear about it. The same goes for customer service which leaves much to be desired. People know they’re allowed to be spoiled these days and have inflated expectations.
Nielsen reports that 92% of people believe suggestions from friends and family more than advertising. This is when customer service is OK. But what if it’s bad? An unhappy customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their experience.
Even a bit of negativity can spoil what you’re so passionate about. What can you do about it? Consider measuring customer satisfaction constantly: losing a single unhappy client is one thing, but watching 30 people go because of that negative word of mouth is a different story.
Today more and more forward-thinking companies like HelpCrunch keep close tabs on the overall client’s experience. To hold the satisfaction rate not lower than 95%, remember to check everything from Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) to the first response time.
5. It increases revenue
Would you pay more to a company offering better customer service? So would I. In fact, 52% of clients claim they will make an additional purchase from a brand after a positive experience.
Moreover, customers are ready to pay 17% more to do business with companies with a flawless reputation. Clearly, customer service matters so much now to people, which is the opposite of the past realia.
You are going to enjoy an increase in revenue if you strive to improve your customer care. The analysis from Bain & Company proves companies that deliver superb customer service grow revenues by 4–8% above their market.
You can’t turn a blind eye to the above-mentioned statistics. Everything here comes down to improving customer service. So, it’s better to prioritize it to prevent clients from churning.
6. It boosts customer lifetime value (CLV)
Customer lifetime value is one of the core metrics to measure. It demonstrates the total revenue you can get from one client. If it grows, it means that a customer shops more frequently and spends more money on your business.
Improving customer service opens the potential for fine-tuning CLV. If a support team makes a client happy during their interaction, they’re more likely to come back for more. Besides, they can share their stories on social media, which builds rapport with your customer base.
There are lots of companies shying away from adopting a CLV measurement into their workflow. Some cite the challenges connected to segregated teams, others blame the untargeted marketing. For you to get a bird-eye-view on how to calculate CLV, check the pic below:
Such a tactic makes new people more trustworthy of your brand and offers opportunities to upsell and cross-sell. The newcomers trust your service agents, they see you recommend products that suit their needs best. That will shape a smoother buying experience for both the customers and a support team.
7. It builds trust and loyalty
Customers need to feel confident they buy from the right place and a trained support team can help you reach that. Skilled customer service reps can put people at ease when they have second thoughts about a product. Besides, excellent support agents’ knowledge can make clients stick to your company: it indicates that the business is run by those who know what they’re talking about.
Being honest and transparent is also related to the importance of customer service. This should start with the very first interaction. Omit some pushy sales copies and fancy marketing campaigns just to grab the client’s attention (do that wisely though).
A study has shown that nearly all customers (94% to be more precise) are more loyal to those companies that are transparent in everything they do. Add it to 73% of consumers are even likely to pay extra if they see complete transparency. Still not convinced that great customer service and transparency can build trust?
Bonus Tip
Make your staff happy (and they will make your clients happy, too)
‘Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first’ — Angela Ahrendts (Senior Vice President, Apple). Angela’s statement can be truly called ‘the quote of the day’. At the end of the day, 87% of happy employees will do their best work.
Customer service reps are human beings. They also tend to be rude, angry, or just have a rough day. Imagine you experience a high churn rate just because one of your service reps doesn’t know chat etiquette and acts unprofessionally because of it.
If you want your staff to perform great (and treat your clients like a pro), you should motivate them, and make sure they feel respected. Teach them how to achieve positive customer relations and friendly communication so that they don’t forget about the importance of customer service.
Bottom Line
Customer support has already become a part of every success story. It should always be a part of the equation ‘great product = great service’. Now that you know why customer service is important, you can build a powerful support team. You just have to provide your staff with appropriate tools to hit it. Create an account with HelpCrunch to show this importance to your clients every day.
Disclaimer: This article first appeared on the HelpCrunch blog at https://helpcrunch.com/blog/why-is-customer-service-important/
