Businesses face many challenges. Turning a prospect into a customer is at the top of the list, but retaining the customers they have is equally as challenging. One way to keep a customer your business has worked so hard to attract on board is to deliver great customer service.
Great customer service plays an integral role in customer retention, increased sales, generating referrals, and more. You want your customer to tell the world how great they were treated by your team. Not to mention, a study released by Forbes found that customers are willing to pay up to ten percent more for good service!
It’s your organization’s responsibility to provide the best service possible. We’ll explain why good customer service is vital for your business.
What Is Great Customer Service?
Customer service is a term we often hear. It’s the support you provide customers before and after they purchase and use your product or services. It’s how your organization interacts with its customers and is the front-line response to customer needs that are critical to your business’s success.
Unfortunately, many organizations have looked to automate their customer service plan. While it may reduce overall costs to an organization, it removes the human element, which is frustrating for customers when they need to reach a live person. If you have a complex issue, only a person can solve this – artificial intelligence can only do so much. While automation has become more common, human interaction matters. According to a report from PWC, 82 percent of U.S. customers prefer the human touch.
Customer service is much more than solving a customer’s problem – today, it means delivering proactive and immediate support to customers around-the-clock on the channel of their choice. This includes text, email, phone, chat, and more. It’s a strategic function for organizations, and they view their representatives as customer advocates and brand ambassadors.
Many businesses underestimate the importance of great customer service is going above and beyond to solve problems. It’s about building relationships with your customers and promoting a positive, helpful and friendly environment that leaves them with a lasting and good impression of your business. The importance is often understated. For example, happy customers return and will spend more when they feel heard and supported, with 89 percent returning after a positive experience. On the flip side, 61 percent of consumers report cutting ties with a brand after receiving poor customer service.
To ensure the best customer service, consider the following:
- Approach your customer in a way that’s natural and fits the situation
- Learn about the customers’ expectations
- Show your customers that you understand their needs
- Be willing to help – even if it’s showing a customer you’re personally interested
- Keep the customer aware of what’s in it for them and why they should do business with you
To develop lasting customer relationships, consider the following:
- Follow up on the positive and negative feedback and use it as an opportunity to grow
- Consider customer service in all areas of the business
- Continuously search for ways to improve the customer service you deliver
Below, we’ll discuss the seven reasons why great customer service is important.
7 Reasons Why Great Customer Service Is Important
1.) Retains Existing Customers
Acquiring new customers is expensive. A report from Bain and Company states that acquiring customers costs six to seven times more than retaining your current ones. That may not be a daunting figure to a large, established organization. However, that can crush a small-to-medium-sized business. Small-to-medium-sized businesses have limited resources, meaning that customer satisfaction is even more crucial. You can’t afford to lose customers you’ve worked so hard to attain, so placing a premium on great customer service will help exponentially with retention.
There’s no way around it – customers will leave when they receive poor customer service, meaning your business must offer fast, helpful service to retain the customer. The same report from Bain and Company found that increasing customer retention rates by five percent will increase profits from 25 to 95 percent, which are significant figures, especially in these challenging economic times.
2.) Increases Sales
As vital as it is to retain customers, that’s not all customer service is about. Yes, it’s less expensive to retain the customers your business has already acquired, but providing superior customer service is also an effective means of increasing sales. Your existing customers will have questions, but so will prospects. If a prospect cannot find what they need when browsing your website or have the option to contact someone, they will abandon your page and go elsewhere to get their questions answered, potentially developing a relationship with a competitor. A customer service representative that answers the phone quickly or responds to a chat right away and provides a solution gives your business more opportunities for sales. Your organization must provide representatives with the tools to answer these questions and save the sale by getting customers and prospects the information they need with ease.
3.) Adds Value to Your Brand
When your customer has a positive experience, your brand benefits as a whole. It leads to a positive reputation for the business, which turns into positive reviews online, generating more business and brand exposure. When your organization has positive customer service reviews, your brand increases in value and will become synonymous with positive customer experiences. This is a competitive advantage since customers will happily pay more for the same product or service if good customer service is part of the equation.
4.) Generates Referrals
Advertising and marketing are expensive. Positive word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers cost your business nothing and are the best form of advertising. When your business provides exceptional customer service, your customers talk – they tell their friends, colleagues, and relatives – they might even tag you on social media! Not only does this bring attention to your brand, but family and friends trust one another, meaning they’ll feel encouraged to reach out and learn more about your product/service.
5.) Addresses Customer Issues Ahead of Time
A good customer service strategy anticipates and addresses customer issues before they escalate into something more serious. This means your business understands the customer’s problems before it exists. A proactive approach lets them know your organization is actively working to improve the user experience.
6.) Increases Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total amount of revenue your business expects to receive from one customer over time. When you can increase the CLV, you increase your organization’s revenue without spending more on marketing. When the CLV goes up, it indicates your customers are spending more money. You can increase the CLV by providing good customer service. If customers have a positive buying experience, they’ll make additional purchases from your organization. However, after one bad experience, 91 percent of customers are willing to switch over to a competitor.
7.) Gives Your Business a Competitive Advantage
Money is always the motivation, which a good customer service plan increases, but it does much more. A company with a good customer service plan wins new customers while retaining loyal ones. It also places you leaps and bounds above your competition. When your customers speak highly of your business, it attaches value to your organization’s brand and strengthens your reputation in the marketplace. It demonstrates your customer service team cares about the people who purchase your products and services, something your competitors will be fighting tooth and nail to replicate.
Crexendo® Offers Exceptional Customer Service
If you’re in the market for a UCaaS Platform and a provider that offers exceptional customer service, look no further. Crexendo® is the best in the business and currently supports over two and a half million end-users globally. One way to determine how a business treats its customers is what they have to say about the business, and our customers hold us in the highest regard. We offer exceptional customer service. Don’t take our word for it; see what our customers have to say about us here.
Finding a live U.S.-based customer service team is challenging, but Crexendo® provides its customers with what they want: superior customer service and industry-leading support professionals that design, sell, and service our award-winning platform. Whether you’re a new customer with questions about the onboarding process or a prospect who wants to learn more, our support team is ready to answer your questions and more. See what all the fuss is about and why more and more people are choosing Crexendo® today.
Crexendo®’s VIP Platform Will Expand Your Customer Service Capabilities
The Crexendo® VIP Platform for cloud business communications was designed for how you work today. Crexendo® VIP™ is packed with features that will enable your support team to provide world-class customer service.
With our VIP Platform, you can access advanced phone system features using the device of your choice, whether mobile, browser-based or traditional desk phones, with HD voice for clear conversations. You can also leverage advanced call center capabilities, such as Expanded Auto Attendant, customizable Call Center Queuing and route thresholds, as well as other channels with SMS queuing. VIP also includes messaging, SMS and team chat. Your team can also streamline internal and external workflows and increase productivity with over 60 CRM and SaaS application integrations.
What makes our VIP Platform even more attractive for your business is that Crexendo® backs it with our industry-leading 100% Uptime Guarantee and our Lifetime Customer Warranty on all Crexendo devices, which gives you peace of mind knowing you and your team will stay connected all the time, from anywhere they choose to work.
If you’re ready to experience the platform millions of others are using today, schedule a free demo today!
