By Swatil Binte Mahmud, Blogger, Lava Protocols
Before I Begin Reading This, Is Customer Service Really That Important?
What can make a business grow? What can help to sell a product? How can your company be the next big thing? If you think the answer to these questions are good products, then you are only partially right.
The backbone of any business is its customers, and customer service management is it’s heart. Today’s business environment is highly competitive; one day you are in, and the next day you are out. In today’s world, customers have too many options and you, too many competitors than comfortable . How do you get your customers to keep coming back for more? The answer is simple; you keep them happy.
What is Customer Service?
- Fundamentals: Customer service can be defined as the direct interaction between a consumer and a representative of a business (Investopedia, 2019). Therefore, businesses who understand the importance of customer service and customer satisfaction survive valiantly. Those that don’t, suffer a sad and inescapable death; research shows that only 4% of businesses make it to the 10-year mark (Entrepreneur, 2016).
- Happy Customers, Happy Life: One of the most famous customer-centric sayings goes, “the customer is always right”. However, smart businesses understand that even if the customers may not be always right, it’s important to keep them happy and meet their needs diligently.
- Customer Service and Successful Businesses: Studies show that 60% of organizations consider customer service as the top most priority for their businesses (BBN Times, 2018).That’s why most successful businesses spend time and money on teams that deal directly with customers, such as complaints and support, marketing and finance.
Why Should you Consider Customer Service for your Business?
No matter how big or small your business is, these simple guidelines can help you to grasp why customer service is important for your business.
- Customer retention: It is more expensive to locate and attract new customers than to retain your existing ones. Study finds that 5% increase in retention rates accelerates the profit of a business by 25% to 95% (Tweakyourbiz, 2019). Therefore, why should one risk losing customers when you can simply make them happy and ensure steady business for a longer period.
- Free advertising: Customer advocacy is basically an effective and cost-efficient marketing tool. Satisfied customers will refer your products and business to their social circles (word-of-mouth). Research shows that 77% of customers share positive brand experiences with others (Hubspot, 2018). Even though advertising and marketing is crucial, people tend to be more influenced by their friends and family when it comes to buying products or services.
- Customer loyalty: There are hundreds of competitors in your market selling similar products and providing similar services. If you can manage to establish a strong relationship with your customer, they will think twice before buying another brand’s product. The secret is to provide them with good customer service, and you will get your rewards in customer loyalty.
- Brand image enhancement: In the world of social media and internet, words can spread like wildfire in a matter of seconds. If you want to retain customers and attract new ones, you must care about your brand’s image in the public eye. It’s a two way street: Good customer reviews can build you, and bad ones can tarnish your image and your business.
- Personalized Solution: We live in a time where mental health and well-being is being prioritized way more than before. Therefore, customers are willing to pay more to be heard. They want businesses to interact, listen and provide them with a personalized solution for the price they are paying.
How To Implement Customer Services?
Now that the reason behind the importance of customer service is clear, let’s take a look at the ways you can boost it. These good practices can sow the seeds of strong customer service for your business:
- Establishing communication channel: Customers are humans, and like all humans, they seek interaction. Therefore, establishing a proper communication channel in your company for your customers to express their feedback, complaints, or compliments allows them to feel significant (Uplifting Service, 2019). Ensuring that their words are heard by the business will also help you establish a functional relationship with your customers.
- Paying attention to customer feedback: just opening a communication channel will not ensure successful business. Hearing, understanding, and making appropriate changes will lead to happier customers and result in stronger profits for your business
- Using effective tools: For a business, to fully understand what their customers wants and to keep track of their feedback, can become a tedious task for many. Therefore,there are many tools and software available that can help you to enhance customer service for your business. You can use a customer relationship management software such as Salesforce to manage interaction with your customers. You can also use a field workforce management tool like Custella to empower your sales and field response teams to make smarter decisions when it comes to customer service.
Now It’s Your Time to Shine!
Good customer service and happy customers are good for your business. If you can master the art of customer services, your business will grow, and you will thrive in this fast paced, concrete jungle like a pro!
——–
Lava is an authorised Salesforce Partner in Malaysia and has more than a decade of experience in cloud solutions which includes marketing automation, CRM implementation, change management, and consultation. We pride ourselves in not just being a CRM partner but in also understanding the needs of our customers and taking their business to the next level.