Why is customer service important?
Well we all know instinctively that customer service has got to be good for a business, but why?
What are the tangibles that good customer service delivers a business?
Here are some ideas to help your business case for developing your customer service or customer experience.
1) Good customer service retains customers
If your customers are happy with the service you deliver they will spend more with you and more often. Get it really right and they will tell their friends, get it badly wrong and they will tell everyone.
2) It separates you from your competitors
Raise the bar on your competitors and they have to worry about you not the other way round. Give exceptional customer service and you will attract and retain more customers, word soon spreads, especially in today’s world of social networking. The buzz helps increase your market share.
3) It gets you closer to your customers
They feel valued, that you can see things from their point of view, and so they buy more. The closer you can get to your customers the more difficult it is for your competitors to win their business. So stay close, and keep them happy.
4) Expenditure is under the spotlight
Whether you sell to consumers, or other businesses, there is a focus on costs and getting value for money. This isn’t just about the sales experience any more, when people are spending their hard earned cash, they expect the after sales service that goes with that. Customers need to feel that they are spending their money wisely and that they are appreciated for making that choice to spend with you.
In business to business sales, purchasing decisions are being taken by more senior managers, and their experience focuses not only on the sale but the after sales service they will receive.
5) Fewer unhappy customers
The less unhappy customers you have the more repeat business you are likely to achieve. That means that you can start to look at the lifetime value of a customer rather than a one-off sale. If you are losing less customers you can focus your energies on winning and retaining business rather than fighting fires.
6) And if things go wrong?
We don’t live in a perfect world and things may from time to time go wrong for your customers. Good companies are committed to improving the fabric of their service so that the people who buy from them have a good customer experience.
When things go wrong, those companies that put it right for their customers are the ones that retain rather than lose customers.