Whether your business is just starting out, or you've been in business for years, finding out how to meet and exceed the expectations of your customers requires constant analysis and review of customer feedback. With customers' ever growing demand for instant and knowledgeable support, employing a dedicated team of customer support experts can provide you with amazing benefits to your company and help you achieve growth year over year.
A 2013 study by Oracle found that a commitment to providing consumers with excellent customer service is vital to achieving financial success. The study estimates companies that do not offer dedicated customer service and support can expect a 20% revenue loss annually. No matter what your estimated revenue, this a significant amount of money to leave on the table.
While employing a staff will cost more in the moment, you'll easily see your ROI as your customer service team focuses on retaining current customers and remains available to answer questions for new, potential customers.
In this day and age, almost everyone has access to the Internet and with that, an endless stream of information. So why do they need you? They don't. Instead, they choose to interact with humans for a more personalized way to obtain their information rather than just using Google or Bing to find the answers they seek.
A Genesys survey polled over 9,000 consumers to find out what they valued most when it comes to customer service. When asked what factored into their most satisfying experiences with customer service, personalization made the top 4, coming just slightly under the company's responsiveness, and convenience.
Providing customers with a personal touch makes them feel like a valued member of your family. By utilizing a dedicated customer service team versus splitting the attention of someone with other responsibilities, your team can really get to know your customers and provide them a unique experience tailored to them.
How much does loyalty mean to you? If your goal is to grow your business and make money, the answer is, "having a customer loyal to your brand is invaluable to the success of your business." It's so vital in fact, that many companies spend thousands of dollars a year on customer loyalty surveys that calculate loyalty with systems like Net Promoter.
Customers are more likely to recommend a brand they are tied to on an emotional level. Take Apple, for example. In 2011 following a battery life software bug, Apple still managed to stay as profitable as ever with their customers still willing to buy new products in spite of this. Forbes attributes this to the loyalty Apple inspires by its connection to the customer through emotional marketing and by building trusting relationships with their customers through their award winning customer service.
A customer service team can maintain 100% focus on cultivating those relationships and thereby creating an emotional connection to your company, increasing loyalty to your brand.
When you think of industry leaders like Amazon, Apple, and American Express, you likely think of their award winning customer service (each have had a long streak winning JD Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction Awards) on top of their success within their industry. All three have set the standard on how to run a successful business and customer service team within their respective industries and are often copied by competitors looking for similar results.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then becoming the business model within your industry is the ultimate marker of success. With customer satisfaction quickly becoming the measurement of expertise, investing in your customer service team can easily establish your presence as experts in your industry.
Employee retention is just as important as customer retention. You've worked hard to draw in the best in the field to work for you. But if you're asking your employees to wear too many hats, projects may fall behind, the quality of each project may diminish, and stress levels will definitely increase.
Once you set up your customer service team, not only will you have a team who can solely focus on customer calls, emails, or chats, but you also allow other sectors of the business to return their attention to the job for which they were originally hired, ensuring maximum efficiency and quality across the board.
It's not difficult to see how vital it is to invest in a superior customer service team. How you treat your customers after you've earned their business is sometimes even more important than how you handle the initial sale. A happy customer is a loyal customer, and not only do loyal customers return, but they usually bring a friend.
How has having a dedicated customer service team impacted your business? Share in the comments below!