Have you ever wondered why people are saying customer service is the new marketing? Probably not, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it’s still true.
Think about it like this. One of the functions marketing fulfils is strengthening brand loyalty through improving customer relationships. Positive customer relationships are built through positive experiences. No matter what you offer or sell, you always have the opportunity to use your customer service as an opportunity to surprise and delight your customers.
Every time you provide an amazing customer service experience, you’re indirectly marketing your brand. Plus, to create a successful brand, you have to deliver on your promises and resolve any issues that come up.
When marketing and customer service align, your brand comes across as more human. It helps customers feel like you value them for more than their dollars.
Expectations have been getting higher on the part of customers.They want an experience they can cherish for a long period, and only great customer service can guarantee that.
Benefits of Good Customer Service
Customer service is important for every business. Whether you own an online business or a brick-and-mortar business, outstanding customer service will always make the difference in your business.
Here are 3 great ways excellent customer service delivery can benefit you.
1. Turn clients into returning clients
Trusting a new business always comes with an element of risk. When people find a product or service that works for them, they tend to stick around. Having superb customer service is also your opportunity to turn around a negative experience if the customer experiences any issues. Either way, customer service goes a long way towards creating brand loyalty.
Not only that, but your ability to generate repeat business also increases your customer lifetime value. It means that you’ll generate more income from existing customers and also spend less on attracting new clients.
2. Endorsements and referrals
When you make your customers happy, they’ll return the favour in ways you can’t even imagine. They’ll become your brand advocates and sing your praises to the high heavens.
This might look like a glowing testimonial, word-of-mouth referrals, positive reviews & ratings, or shoutouts on social media. It’s a powerful way to get your name seen by more people and adds a powerful trust factor. That’s what happens when your customers become your biggest fans.
3. More marketing opportunities
Customers love it when you offer timely solutions to their problems or give prompt responses to their queries. But do you know what they love even more? Proactiveness.
Being proactive indicates to them that you’re on top of your game and you can spot problems before they occur. It works better than a lot of direct marketing campaigns because it builds trust. Plus, it’s a cost-effective way to market your business.
Aligning Marketing with Customer Service
Directly or indirectly, each of the above benefits circles back to marketing. In this section, we’ll look at more direct ways to help you align your marketing efforts with customer service experience.
1. Use social media for customer service
Social media has grown to become one of the most effective digital marketing channels. Every day, businesses promote their products and services to social media users who end up becoming their customers.
You can also use social media for customer service purposes. If you connect with your customers through social media, it also makes sense to provide support through that same channel- after all, you already know that’s where they like to hang out online.
It’s common to see customers tweeting at brands and getting quick responses, leaving comments on Instagram or Facebook posts, or even chatting on messenger and getting solutions. Done through social media, your customer service can feel as natural and intuitive as chatting with a friend.
2. Create helpful content
Content marketing serves different purposes at each stage of the customer journey. If you’re looking to create brand awareness and sell your products, then creating more top-of-the-funnel, middle-of-the-funnel, and bottom-of-the-funnel contents should be your priority.
If you’ve already got customers and you want to focus on managing customer relationships, then it’s time to think about beyond-the-funnel content.
Beyond-the-funnel content includes knowledge base articles, customer support and help documentation, live webinars, and how-to guides to name a few. These types of content allow for deeper dialogue with customers and increases customer retention in the long run.
3. Relationships are a 2-way street
The responsibility for acquiring new customers and retaining the existing ones should be shared between your marketing and customer support departments.
Your marketing team should learn to use empathy - which is the basis of all customer support activities - when communicating your company’s brand messages. Likewise, your customer service team should know how to craft marketing messages that address your customers’ pain points. This complementary effort will help you create a brand that people love. Customers don’t care who they’re talking to; they’re only interested in getting solutions or answers as fast as possible. It’s your job to make sure your marketing and customer support teams work together to improve your customers’ overall experience.