In the past, companies that were successful had to offer to things:
- Low prices
- High quality products and services.
This model has been a staple for many years but consumers behaviors change all the time and companies must adapt to succeed. Consumers still want low prices for high quality products but a new ideology has emerged, customer experience.
Companies have transitioned away from product-oriented models and into consumer-oriented models. This idea of consumer-oriented models directly correlates with the experience a customer has with a company. Customers want to feel something when they shop with a company. They don’t want to be another customer. They want to feel a part of the brand.
This idea of customer experience has led many companies to change the outlook of their brand. Customer service department is no longer in the background. It is taking center stage and becoming the key to successful businesses.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of customer service and the idea of customer experience on the business.
Key to Retaining Customers
It has been known for many years that it is cheaper to retain than finding a new customer. The knowledge of retaining a customer is cheaper than customer acquisition can have great effect on the profit of the business. When companies increase customer retention rates by just 5%, it can increase profits anywhere between 25% to 95% (Bain and Company).
This huge increase in profits is due to when a customer has a positive experience with a company, the rate of return increases. Returning customers results in companies cutting operation costs and that leads to a decrease in churn rate. When companies invest in customer service, the results will have positive effects on multiple aspects of the business.
Direct line to Customers
Customer service is more than just solving customers requests daily.
Customer service is the bridge between businesses and customers. Customer service is the direct line businesses have to communicate with customers. This direct communication allows the companies to represent what the company means. Customer service departments have the responsibility of representing the brand image, mission, and value of a company. This is essential to any company that wants to communicate with their customers. The representatives in the customer service department have the power to influence customers and convince them the strengths of a company.
Positive Work Environment
If a company wants happy customers who return and become loyal, then they need to provide customer service representatives who are happy too. A study revealed that 87% of employees who are happy with their jobs are willing to work extremely hard for their business’s customers (BioWorld). Creating a work environment that cultivates respect, kindness, hard work, and happiness will translate into the attitude of the customer service representatives. It will provide motivation to the representatives to do a good job and serving the customers with a positive experience. A happy employee creates a happy customer.
Cultivate a loyal customer base
A positive customer experience creates an atmosphere that encourages customers to return. There is no reason a customer should leave when a company provides a positive experience. As stated above, it is a lot cheaper to retain customers than to acquire new ones.
The better the customer experience the higher the profits will be. Customer experience is also a determining factor for consumers. There are numerous options for consumer nowadays and companies have to stand out among its competitors. A positive customer experience is what makes a company stand out among others. Customers will see this difference and want to do business with the companies. Loyal customers are built on trust and customers can trust real life humans over the ideas and values of a brand. This is why it is important to have a team that can cultivate an environment where trust and communication is emphasized. When customers interact with a customer service representative, they can build a relationship that lasts a lifetime.
Refer potential customers
Loyal customers not only benefit companies through returns but through positive reviews. After having a positive experience with a company, 77% of customers would recommend it to a friend. The purchasing power of one person can affect the behaviors of several people. It’s as simple as going out to eat with friends and talking about where you went shopping the other day. Customers have the ability to influence others around them. It’s a domino effect.
When a customer service representative is happy at work, they will provide excellent service to customers. The customers will be happy with their experience and refer others to the company. This domino effect is the cheapest way to market your product, word-of-mouth. It is also the most effective way to attract new customers. It’s as easy as one positive experience.
Customer service isn’t just another department, it’s the most important one. It can have a direct effect on a company’s success. It can turn an average company into an industry leading company.
Customers want to connect with businesses that put them first. It’s not about the product as much as it’s about how companies relate to customers. Customer service is the bond between customers and businesses. It’s the foundation for any successful business to customer relationship.
It’s difficult to manage every customer relationship for any business. This is why companies are realizing customer service can offer so much for a business. But companies are also realizing it takes more than just a team to provide the best customer experience. A company needs to have the proper tools. One of the best tools on the market is Stip.
Stip allows companies to increase their image through customer service. This solution provides a way to easily monitor all digital social media channels for any company. It identifies any request made by a customer and creates a ticket based on the information provided by the customers. The request is then routed to the most appropriate customer service representative where the representative can solve the request. The representative will be able to maximize their time because of Stip and customers will be provided answers quicker.
Stip is a tool designed to help any customer service department. At Stip, we understand that customers come first. After all, customer care is what we do best.
Request your Demo today and see how Stip can help your company boost your customer experience on digital channels!
