Customers expect a friendly, efficient and helpful response when they contact a business with a query or issue, and 3 in 4 consumers will spend more with businesses that provide a good customer experience (CX). So, it’s an important topic for small business leaders to think about.
In the wise words of entrepreneur Jeff Bezos: “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
Here are some reasons why good customer service is essential for your small business:
- It helps retain your customers and keep them coming back for more purchases as they are happy with how they are treated by those in your business.
- It helps make loyal customers who will select your business over your competitors who may not offer a good customer experience.
- It can boost employee happiness as more satisfied customers tend to lead to happier employees, which helps with productivity – an important thing for small businesses!
- It increases the chances that current customers will refer your business to their social circle, and referral marketing is a powerful tool.
- It makes you stand out from your competitors. Over 50% of consumers will switch to a competitor after one bad experience.
- It can boost sales for your business. Customer-first business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations are seeing nearly double the revenue growth of non-customer-first B2C organizations.
Leading on from the latter bullet point, let’s look at five ways good customer service can lead to more sales and revenue.
It Earns Customer Trust and Loyalty
Customer service representatives should aim to resolve issues quickly and find ways to prevent them from happening again, ultimately turning weaknesses into business advantages.
Obtaining new customers is five times more expensive than retaining your existing ones, so building trust and loyalty is essential. Giving them a good customer experience is a great way to do this, as customers will feel that the company cares about them and may be more willing to make repeat purchases.
Excellent customer service can also help customers overcome a poor experience. For example, if a customer receives their online order and it is damaged, they may feel frustrated. A customer service representative can empathise with them and send a replacement, restoring the customer’s trust in the company.
In addition, a representative may even offer the customer a discount for future purchases. This will not only convince them to make another order but also strengthen the relationship between the company and the customer.
It Gives You An Advantage Over A Competitor
Gartner’s survey of marketing leaders shows that over 80% of organisations expect to compete on customer experience.
Keeping all teams in your small business up to date with a customer’s pain points and consistently working to solve issues allows you to attract those who have had bad experiences with customer service or products from your competitors.
In addition, multilingual customer service can give you more leverage over your competitors as it breaks down the language barrier for international customers who need assistance in their native tongue.
Efficient customer service and focusing on the customer is a competitive advantage that generates results, leaving your company ahead of competitors who do not use a customer-first strategy.
It Allows Sales Team To Focus On Selling
When customers build relationships with a sales team member, they may want to speak to that employee when they have a question or issue with a product, but this can keep the sales representative from their sales responsibilities which isn’t ideal for a small team!
So, customer service teams and sales teams should work together, and then customers have someone else to contact who is better suited to solve their issues and answer their questions.
Companies should also prioritise collaboration between teams and passing on a customer’s issues so that the customer doesn’t have to repeat information to different employees throughout the complaints process.
It Makes It Easier To Upsell Other Products or Services
Customers often talk to customer service representatives about products and services, giving those representatives the perfect opportunity to find an ideal match for the customer’s needs and upsell or persuade a customer to upgrade their purchases. This solution gains more revenue for the company.
For example, suppose a customer calls a mobile network company’s customer service team to complain about their 4G connection; the representative might see that the customer’s current data plan doesn’t have the suitable bandwidth to support their needs, such as gaming or streaming. To solve the issue, the representative might suggest that the customer upgrade to a smartphone with 5G capabilities.
In addition, the customer service representative may offer a special promotional price for the upgrade, enticing the customer even more.
It Increases Brand Referrals From Other Customers
Nine referrals are likely to follow for each customer who is satisfied with your company.
Good customer service satisfies your customers, and happy customers are more likely to lead friends, family, or social media contacts to your company. These potential leads can convert to sales.
In addition, receiving positive online reviews builds a good brand reputation and increases a company’s visibility.
Conclusion
A customer service team is usually the first point of contact to solve issues raised by potential or repeat customers and offer customers a good experience on behalf of your business. So, a helpful, friendly and efficient customer service team is a great place to start, and it is an entirely free sales tactic.
However, customers need to feel happy with how they’re treated overall by your company, not just by the customer service representatives, but by all of the people they connect with whilst involved with your company. Happy and satisfied customers will make more purchases, increasing revenue for your company.
