Customer service has always been a pinnacle of business success—however, it has never been as important as it is now in today’s market. In addition to past word-of-mouth recommendations, which were the dominant form of brand referrals, it’s now easier than ever for consumers to share their experience with your brand online.
That said, part of your business’s overall and PR strategy must include providing positive and impactful customer service. This is a non-negotiable in the world of online reviews, with consumers sharing and tagging companies in social media posts.
Stay competitive within the market and position yourself to gain new consumers by ensuring your customer service is top-notch and you’re sharing those positive experiences.
The Power of Positive Customer Experiences
When building your brand’s customer service team and processes, focus on ways to deliver a positive experience to your consumers. Even when a customer comes to your team with a complaint, they should always leave the interaction feeling heard, understood, and satisfied.
Customer Loyalty is Key
Providing exceptional customer service will help to foster long-term customer relationships. In fact, many consumers come to companies expecting to receive a positive customer service experience. These expectations drive their loyalty to brands.
Exceptional customer service is so ingrained into today’s consumer culture that almost 84% of consumers value good customer service over everything but price and availability, according to a collection of powerful customer service statistics.
Customer loyalty is deeply connected to a positive and excellent customer service experience. Providing this can almost certainly guarantee repeat customers and reviews to support your PR strategy.
Referrals Are Gold
In addition to gaining new customers via your strategic PR efforts, referrals are an organic method of adding new customers. Having satisfied customers spread their positive experience with your brand by word-of-mouth and by sharing online is a golden no-cost way to grow your business and its visibility.
The same collection of powerful customer service statistics referenced earlier also cites that nearly 6 in 10 customers (59 percent) are more likely to recommend a brand to friends due to positive customer service. Both word-of-mouth and online positive feedback will do wonders for your brand’s reputation, allowing for overall growth. All it takes is customer service processes and a well-trained customer service team to deliver an excellent customer experience.
Increased Revenue
When you combine the customer loyalty and referrals that come when a brand delivers positive customer service experiences, the business will, in turn, see increased revenue.
Just from the brand loyalty that positive customer service experiences generate, your business will receive higher customer lifetime value as these consumers are more likely to make repeat purchases thus increasing revenue. When customers show their brand loyalty by generating referrals to your business with new visitors, their customer lifetime value increases even more, along with your business’s revenue.
The Consequences of Poor Customer Service
While excellent customer experiences deliver positive returns to your business, poor customer service comes with consequences for your brand. Avoid poor customer service experiences at all costs to prevent these consequences and any negative PR that can halt company growth.
Customer Churn
Poor customer service will negatively impact your business’s customer retention. According to that collection of powerful customer service statistics, at least 80% of customers have switched brands because of poor customer experience. With so many other business options available to consumers with just a simple online search, it’s imperative that your customer service practices meet expectations.
If your company is like many others in the modern market, you’re probably using AI technology to support and execute some of your business strategy. Keep a close watch on your customers’ feedback since customers have little patience for AI in customer service —which could be costly for your business and brand loyalty.
Negative Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth has the potential to do wonders for your brand reputation if it’s positive, while it can inversely destroy your brand’s reputation if it’s negative. Unhappy customers tend to be more willing to share their negative experiences with others, whether it’s vocally in-person or online, in a review or social media post.
No matter the format, the negative feedback can be damaging enough to prevent growth. In extreme circumstances where there are several negative reviews or some that are particularly damaging, you may even have to deploy your crisis PR plan.
Damaged Brand Reputation
The customer churn and negative word-of-mouth that accompany poor customer service experiences can damage a brand’s reputation. This is when you will absolutely need to consult PR professionals and deploy a crisis PR plan to course-correct the situation.
To avoid getting to this point, do everything you can to protect your brand reputation and deliver exceptional customer service experiences.
The Current State of Customer Service
Providing excellent customer service is non-negotiable in today’s business market. Consumers have increased expectations about the quality and speed of service they receive from the companies they support—and they aren’t afraid to take their business elsewhere if those expectations aren’t met.
Leveraging the right tools, such as live chat software, can make a significant difference in meeting and exceeding these expectations. According to Sameer Bhatia, CEO of ProProfs Chat, “Live chat isn’t just a tool; it’s a bridge that connects businesses with their customers in real-time. By providing immediate assistance and personalized interactions, businesses can build trust and loyalty, which are the cornerstones of impactful customer service.”
The online marketplace has also increased the quantity of customer service inquiries. Now, customers can reach you and expect a response via phone, email, mail, different social media profiles, comments, reviews, and more. Delivering a timely yet personalized and positive interaction has never been more important for brands.
Reevaluate your business’s customer service delivery and how it interacts with your PR strategy to provide your customers with a seamless, positive experience throughout their consumer journey.
