Edit: This post was originally published on 6/24/15 and updated with new information 9/7/17.
In any business, what is done well is better than what is said. If you are a business owner, your customers will respond better to what you accomplish for them instead of what you say you will do for them. This is exactly why exceptional customer service has to be a part of your digital marketing plan. Marketing and Customer Service should have a harmonious bond.
Consider that a typical business only hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers, 96% won’t take the time to voice a complaint. Compare this to a loyal customer being worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. What’s more, according to research by JitBit, for every customer that complains to a company, 26 others remain silent.
Consumers love brands that pay attention and recognize them; they do not want to be overlooked. It takes much passion for a consumer to reach a brand or provide a shout out, so recognizing that will go a long way when it comes to brand loyalty. A well-crafted response is vital because it illustrates that the brand is attentive to the thoughts and requirements of their customers. By engaging all your consumers actively, you are assisting to strengthen that brand loyalty and faith in your product or service.
The Power of Digital Marketing
You count on your marketing methods to attract new customers and boost your revenue, so you ought to use it to strengthen the relationships with your existing customers to retain them. You have a 60% – 70% likelihood of getting business from your current customers when compared to a 5% – 20% probability of selling to new prospects. No matter what your business is, keep in mind that you are not merely selling the merchandise or service you offer, but you are also selling customer service and a customer experience.
Ways to Perk up Your Customer Service
Most businesses think they offer wonderful customer service, but the unfortunate reality is that their customers don’t always have the same opinion. In fact, it is said that 80% of businesses believe that they provide great customer service, but only 8% of customers would agree with this.
On top of that, it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for 1 negative, according to JitBit. That is means for every poor review a business receives on Yelp, Facebook, or TripAdvisor, it will take 12x more effort to neutralize the bad review with positive ones.
With so many businesses losing out on money each year because of poor customer service, you must make sure that your business is not added to the list of casualties. Below are a few ways to improve your customer service:
- Be trustworthy.
- Be helpful and respectful.
- Show authentic interest.
- Stick to what you have promised.
- Apply social media as a client service tool.
You can also lean on the models of successful companies, recognized for their exceptional customer service and follow their examples — Zappos, Nordstrom, Kimpton Hotels, and Google are a few that stand out. There is another option that you can use to simplify this process and that is by working with an experienced digital marketing agency.
Why choose an experienced Digital Marketing Agency?
A major reason for choosing an experienced digital marketing agency is that they are specialists in analytics. They will be capable of providing you with real statistics: information that will help you understand your customers and most cost-effective ways to market to them. Professional digital marketing firms understand the usual pain points that customers encounter with customer service, having the fine eye for this can only be gained with experience. They know that making great customer service integral to any marketing plans will only improve the results generated by your business. Also with their expertise at researching markets, they will be able to figure out what will be best received by your customers and will share their findings with you.
An experienced digital marketing agency will assist you not only by presenting you with data, but it will also interpret the information, so you can completely understand the implications for your business and its digital marketing plans moving forward. You will observe the areas of your digital marketing plans are working and which ones are costing results for your brand.
What’s Next?
Customer service is a vital part of your marketing efforts, and you have to work hard to ensure that you have unbelievable customer service that will set you apart from your competitors.
When your company concentrates on good customer service as part of your digital marketing plan, it provides you with a competitive edge that keeps customers coming back, and recommends others to do the same.
Statistics courtesy of HelpScout
Updated 9/8/17
