Why Effective Customer Service Is Important In Today's Business Landscape

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Picture this: you stop in a small cafe for a morning coffee and are instantly greeted by a friendly barista behind the counter. Even though the cafe is bustling with people, the staff takes the time to explain their signature drinks with a smile and lets you know that their fresh-baked rosemary bagels pair perfectly with a lavender & honey latte. YUM, right? The warm greeting, great conversation, and helpful suggestions not only make you feel welcome, but they also convince you to spend even more money than you’d planned at the cafe and tell your friends at work about it – c’mon, they HAVE to try those rosemary bagels, too! Now, think about this: how would the situation have been different if you’d walked into the cafe and no one said a word to you? Maybe when you asked a question, the baristas rushed you along so they could get through the line faster (and maybe even gave you the incorrect change back after you paid). Yikes. Unlike in the first situation, the uncomfortable and unfriendly experience probably won’t encourage you to return to the cafe again, and you certainly won’t feel like recommending it to your friends or family. Therein lies the power of quality customer service.
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Customer Service Is Key To Reaching Your E-Commerce Business’ Revenue Goals & KPIs

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that effective customer service is important in business. Often enough, great customer service is what differentiates businesses and allows one to earn more money & loyal customers over another – even if both businesses offer similar products and services, like the example we shared above. However, to give you an even more in-depth understanding of why customer service is important, we’re exploring 4 major benefits you can experience from offering quality customer service in your business.

1. More Revenue

Increased revenue is a given benefit you can expect from improving customer service in your brand, and it may come from sources you don’t expect. Remember: it costs 5x as much to acquire new customers than it does to retain existing ones. Plus, existing customers are 60-70% more likely to purchase from you again than new customers who may only be anywhere from 5-20% likely to purchase at all. Therefore, when customers are given proper support and attention from your agents throughout their entire experience, they’ll be more likely to work with your brand again in the future, regardless of cost. Good customer service that promotes this kind of trust also primes your existing customers for upselling and cross-selling opportunities that increase your customer lifetime value and set the stage for long-lasting relationships.

2. Better Marketing Opportunities

When brands offer proactive customer service, agents are better equipped with the insight and knowledge that marketing teams can use to improve the overall customer experience. Here are two examples of how aligning customer service with marketing could work for your business:
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A. Customer satisfaction surveys certainly have their place, but there’s nothing like the unfiltered, on-the-spot feedback that a real-time conversation can encourage.
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Rather than relying only on surveys for feedback and insight, train your agents to identify opportunities in customer interactions where they can ask direct questions about the customer’s experience and journey with your brand.
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B. When your agents are dialed into your customers’ needs, they’ll take note of comments, feedback, and issues that the customer may have mentioned during the interaction that can be brought to marketing.

In many cases, the information in customer histories can target those customers with products, services, or features they’ve previously inquired about.

For example, let’s say that the customer service team for a protein shake brand is getting frequent inquiries about their vegan protein powders. Sharing that insight with the marketing team allows the brand to create more messaging around the vegan products and follow up specifically with the customers who’d expressed an interest in them.

3. Increased Brand Loyalty

Here’s the skinny – when customer service agents can relate to customers and solve their issues quickly and efficiently, it builds a relationship of loyalty and trust. Sure, we all have our favorite brands because we LOVE the products they sell. Just as often, however, it’s the customer service experience that makes us fall head over heels for a brand and choose them over a competitor. In fact, 89% of consumers report that they’re more likely to return and purchase again after a great experience, whereas 61% are prepared to cut ties with a brand entirely after a poor experience. It’s a high-stakes game, but one that your brand can always win with high-quality customer service.

4. Happier Customer Service Agents

When your agents are happy, your customers will feel the love, too. Plus, according to an HP study, happy employees get more done by being 13% more productive during their workday. Whichever way you spin it, employee satisfaction is hugely important for business. Here are a few ways we recommend focusing on your employees’ needs to improve customer service and elevate the overall customer experience:

• Offer thorough, in-depth training that offers plenty of practice opportunities. Your customers and your brand will see better results when your agents feel comfortable and ready to dive into the deep end of ticket queues.
• Trust and empower your agents with the tools they need to personalize the experience and go above and beyond for customers.
• Ensure that you have enough agents on each of your customer service channels to prevent burnout on your team.
• Ask your agents for their feedback and encourage them to speak up with questions or suggestions. A happy workplace is a place where employees feel comfortable and safe voicing their concerns.

Experience The Value Of Customer Service By Partnering With TalentPop To Grow Your Business

The importance of customer service for E-Commerce businesses can’t be overstated. At TalentPop, we’re as obsessed with helping E-Commerce brands grow and scale with quality customer service as we are with creating easy solutions for both small and large businesses. With our team, you’ll always get transparent pricing, the flexibility to scale your team up or down, dedicated customer service agents, and your very own Customer Success Manager to support you along the way. Getting the help you need to offer better customer service has never been this hassle-free. Schedule a call with us today to learn more about how we can partner to meet your needs.