What is customer service? The meaning of customer service to an organization can make or break the business.  Before we start working on any marketing strategy, we need to be mindful of our service quality and what is the brand image you are trying to build.

Sam Walton, a successful American businessman and entrepreneur, best known for founding Walmart, once said:

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

We spend a great deal of time and money to gain new customers only to lose them in a second because of bad service. Not only that, unhappy customers can also influence potential customers to not be using your product or service which can double your loss.

By definition, customer service is the ability of a company or organization to provide and deliver high quality assistance to a customer before and after the procurement of a certain product or service. Your ability to provide superb service “before” is just as important as the “after” service. If a customer sees that you are responsive to their inquiries, courteous and knowledgeable, they are more likely to trust you and more likely to be converted to a paying customer. Your after-service care – i.e., responsiveness to their complaints – will determine if they will reuse your product or service and if they will refer other people to use you as well.

In this article, we will outline all critical points of the importance of customer service:

Bad Customer Service is Expensive:

*78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction because of poor service experience.

*It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience

*It is 6 to 7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer that it is to keep a current one.

*source: Helpscout: 75 customer service facts, quotes and statistics.

Statistics have proven that it is very costly for a company to lose a customer due to bad service. Given this fact, it is best to invest in improving the customer service level of our business rather than waste twice the same amount because of an unhappy customer.

Customer Service Enables You To Build Trust:

Let’s look at what statistics has to say:

*3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company for a better service experience.

*70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.

*source: Helpscout: 75 customer service facts, quotes and statistics.

A customer is more likely to buy from a business if they know that the business will always be there, courteous and quick to respond, if any issues will arise.  It is a competitive market out there. If you cannot provide what is expected and beyond, there are a lot of competitors who will be happy to service your customer for you.

Repeat Customers Are The Best Customers To Sell To:

*5-20% is the probability of selling to a new prospect.

*60-70% is the probability of selling to an existing customer.

*source: Helpscout: 75 customer service facts, quotes and statistics.

Existing customers are the best customers to market to. Why? Because you know they are already interested on your product/service, they have showed trust and they have the buying capacity. Although it is good to acquire new customers every now and then, it is still best to build the relationship with an existing customer who you already know.

We at HireSmart Virtual Employees know that a customer service oriented staff can really make a difference to the growth of your business.  As such, we only hire those with a good customer service background and train them to be the best at what they do. Book an appointment with us and see the difference for yourself.