Article • 5 min read
How important is customer service? Understand how it affects your business’s results
By Douglas da Silva
Last updated June 29, 2021
Have you asked yourself what your business’s main asset is yet? If you answered “our customers”, you guessed correctly! So how important is customer service really when it comes to your main asset?
Your customers’ needs ensure that your business stays alive and keeps on growing. Therefore, your goal must go beyond finding new customers: you also need a strategy to attract, retain and promote loyalty among your customers.
How important is customer service? Excellent customer service optimises the relationship with your consumers. How? Satisfied customers don’t just buy more, they also recommend your service to others.
According to the Zendesk Report on 2020 customer experience trends, 57% of the customers consulted viewed customer service as the main characteristic that makes them feel loyalty towards a brand.
We are in the era of experiences. Customers value much more than just a product or a service; they also want to feel good when or after they make the purchase.
The so-called consumer 4.0 is well-informed, has evolved in their shopping habits and isn’t afraid of switching to the competition if they believe that the service is beneath what they deserve.
According to the aforementioned report, “when customers feel ignored, they have to repeat the same things or they don’t receive a quick response, your company loses the opportunity to create loyalty and it’s more likely that you’ll lose the customer”.
In order to meet the expectations of this consumer, companies must understand how important customer service is as soon as possible.
In this post, we’ll explain what customer service is and how important it is. We’ll also give you some practical tips to improve your customers’ experience.
What is customer service?
Specifically, customer service is the service that you provide your customers with before, during and after closing a sale. Nowadays, companies are expected to offer 24/7 support on all types of channels. As we mentioned, users have no problems choosing other companies, as long as they are always available. So, if you still haven’t considered optimising your customer service system, perhaps now is a good time to start adopting some habits.
According to a survey by American Express, 70% of consumers say that they spend more money buying from a business that offers them a good service. However, does your company know what good service is?
Offering excellent customer service corresponds to four key aspects:
Empathy: friendly and empathetic agents;
Transparency: clear and transparent company policies;
Offering human support: don’t limit your service to virtual agents
Personalisation: show that you know your customer and personalise the service that you offer.
How important is customer service?
Good customer service translates into credibility and brand perception. The greater the (positive) presence you have in your customers’ lives, the more your community of fans and loyal consumers will grow.
Nowadays, brands engage in a dialogue with users, create close-knit relationships and use feedback to improve, evolve and even inspire themselves to develop new products and services.
Ineffective customer service has the opposite effect and is often toxic for businesses.
According to New Voice Media, 42% of consumers say that they respond to a negative customer service experience with negative posts and reviews on social media.
Therefore, remember the importance of good customer service and work to offer personalised and authentic experiences, which reflect the spirit of your consumer. Here are some tips to improve your customer service.
Tips to provide excellent customer service
There are no miracle solutions to guarantee perfect customer service. The needs and desires of consumers will vary according to the sector. However, you can adapt to your consumers’ reality if you know how to discover and interpret their habits and behaviour.
1. Invest in your customer service channels
Did you know that 69% of adults say that they buy more from companies with online and offline customer service? In order to provide your customers with what they need, you should consider if the channels that you use are sufficient and if they really serve the needs of your customers.
What do you know about omni-channel strategies? Omni-channel literally means “on all the channels”. However, a solution isn’t “omni-channel” if there is no integration between the channels. The goal is to provide an experience where the customer can get in contact and receive a response through their preferred channel, at any time. And if they want, they can migrate from one channel to another without having to explain their problem again.
Did you know that there is a family of products that can provide your consumer with that integrated experience? Discover the omni-channel solution from Zendesk.
Investing in integrated technology solutions guarantees efficient and satisfying customer service, while at the same time, increasing productivity within your company.
2. Train your team to provide a memorable experience
An investigation by American Express revealed that 68% of customers say that a friendly customer service representative was essential for a positive experience. 62% said that a customer service representative’s knowledge was the most important factor.
In order to provide good customer service, it’s essential that:
You know your customer and their needs extremely well;
You construct a service process that is complete and controllable;
You show satisfaction when offering support and you transmit the pleasure of offering support to the customer;
You establish clear, objective, safe and transparent communication with your customer;
The importance of customer service should be a value that is incorporated into the company’s culture. This notion will lead to significant transformations in your team’s performance and your customers’ perception.
Training your employees is essential for customer service success.
Train your team in areas such as:
Customer service policies
How to understand customer needs
Product knowledge
Persuasion and negotiation techniques
Teamwork
Focus on customer service training: why is it important, how you can do it and what type of content should it have.
Zendesk offers a wide range of resources to improve the service you provide your customers with.
With Zendesk for Service, you can bring all your customer service interactions together in a single place. This enables fluid, personal and efficient communication, which, at the same time, translates into more productive agents and more satisfied customers.
Get to know the help desk tool, which will help you to automate processes and provide the personalised attention that your customers deserve.
Do you want to see how Zendesk works in practice? Request a free trial.
