With Cupid soon to shoot his arrows, spreading love to many on Valentine’s Day, it makes me wonder if companies are shooting Cupid’s arrows year-round to their customers. Are you showing your customers’ the love they require? Are you listening, engaging, and resolving customer issues, anytime and on any device?
And is your marketing team sending Cupid’s arrows to the customer service team? Customers have made it quite clear that customer service can no longer be an unsatisfactory experience or even an OK experience. They have shown they are quite willing to change and will let their friends, family, and fans know about it.
Can customer service excellence drive customer love?
Customer service has become the heart of marketing. It has become one of the most important drivers of revenue! These two statistics from the recent American Express Customer Service study show how customer service can both increase AND decrease revenue.
- 66% of customers are willing to spend more with companies who provide superior customer service. +$+
- 55% of customers have bailed on a transaction due to bad service. -$-
Hmmm... Revenue and loyalty are sandwiched right between poor service and service excellence. So, riddle me this. If someone has decided that they will no longer deal with your company, does it matter that you sent them the right offer, at the right time, and on the right device? I think not. And yet, service excellence can not only increase revenue from that one customer, many times it moves that customer to an advocate, who is now “talking” on a variety of channels about the wonderful service and products you offer. Now, that’s priceless marketing!
So on this Valentine’s Day, let’s capture Cupid and keep him year-round, sending love and appreciation to your customers as well as to the marketing and customer service teams. The market has changed. Only when customer service is the heart of marketing, will you reach your marketing and revenue objectives.
Customer Service Excellence = >Happy customers => Brand Advocates = Loyalty + Increased Spend = Marketing Objectives
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Lisa Teore, a senior marketing director at SAP, helps customer service professionals deliver service excellence and create brand advocates. Follow Lisa on Twitter.
Use this link to see the full American Express Study. In customer service, as in life, the best connections are personal connections. Watch the video>
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