There has been a renewed customer service focus for companies over the last few of years. As world economies remain relatively sluggish, organizations are investing heavily in improving the experience their customers have. Why is that? What is the payoff to customer servce? Here are the six reasons most of these companies will give you:
1. Outstanding customer service increases sales
It’s a truism that, the more people like you, trust you and believe you are delivering what you promise, they will buy more from you. If you are in a sales-driven organization, there is a straight-line correlation between your service performance and your sales.
2. Outstanding customer service increases customer loyalty and retention
Most customers want to be loyal, and all it really takes is for you to send the message that you genuinely care about them.
3. Loyalty reduces operating costs
Loyal customers complain less, and take up less of our time- even when things go wrong. How do we make them loyal? See 2) above.
4. Good employees stay longer
It’s not a coincidence that companies with the highest employee turnover rates are also the ones with the reputation for the lowest customer service. Nobody wants to work for a company they can’t be proud of.
5. A Customer Service Focus = reduced marketing costs
There is no better marketing strategy than word-of-mouth. And there is no faster way to create positive word-of-mouth than by creating great customer experiences.
6. Great customer service creates positive work environments
A company that is truly delivering outstanding customer service also has outstanding internal customer service. Employees work together as a team, and help each other out whenever they can.
It’s no secret that customers have far greater expectations than they used to. And why shouldn’t they? They have a tremendous array of choices that they didn’t have just ten years ago. Why wouldn’t they look for an organization that is going to treat them well? Why should they accept anything less?
All indications are that this trend is only going to become stronger. And the companies who are so heavily investing in customer service are already starting to see profound payoffs.
