When business is going well, it indicates your customers are satisfied and happy with the products and services you offer. If they are not, then this can impact sales, your brand reputation and overall market position. Getting customer service right and working efficiently can take time and considerable investment, but the advantages of doing so are huge. Here are some of the main reasons customer services matters to your business.
Improve the customer experience
If you have a great product or service offering, your business may feel that’s enough to bring in customers. However, if the overall experience isn’t up to expectations, customers may become frustrated and not proceed in future. This is where the customer experience needs to be fully planned and strategised, offering a simple yet personalised journey from start to finish. Working alongside a customer experience specialist can help to identify where opportunities are, improve existing processes and enhance your service. Companies that successfully provide a strategised customer experience will see happier customers, whether they are making a sales enquiry or wanting to contact your customer service team via phone, messaging, or live chat.
Creates brand loyalty
Having a loyal customer base is important for most businesses as it will mean sustainable revenues over the long term. Whilst generating new sales is vital, increasing brand loyalty will ensure a higher customer lifetime value (CLV). Customer service is key to this, as the customer will be less willing to shop with your brand again if they have a bad experience. Looking after new and existing customers is at the core of customer service, as if they do not feel valued or experience poor service, brand loyalty will reduce and so will revenues.
Improves brand performance against competitors
It’s no secret that providing a better service than your competitors will influence your company’s performance. Not only do you need to provide a superior product, but you’ll also need to ensure your customer service processes are fine-tuned and efficient too. Customers will remember good and bad experiences, and both will impact your brand. Whether a customer wants to raise a query, process a return, or enquire about a product they want to buy, it needs to be as effortless as possible for them. Offering the best customer service will resonate with your customer base and ensure they do not detract and shop with your competitors.
Increases positive feedback & reputation
Businesses rely on feedback from their customers to ensure they can improve customer service and their product offerings. The more positive the feedback, the better indication of how well your company is performing. If your customer service levels are high and respond promptly to any enquiry whether it is sales or a complaint, this will result in a more positive outcome. Poor customer service will see more detractors and impact your brand reputation, with customers sharing bad experiences with others. Great customer service will address any customer issues swiftly and provide solutions, minimising escalation too.
Providing a great service is a top priority as it will impact many aspects of your business. If you want your business to be ahead of your competitors, have an improved brand reputation, and have a loyal customer base, customer service needs to be at a high level. Invest in staff training and the customer experience, and your company will soon see the benefits.
