People always harp on about the need to provide great customer service, but what does it mean for the success of your business? Below I’ve outlined three big reasons that should give you the nudge to go the extra mile for each customer.
Referrals – first person word of mouth
Great customer service will bring referrals and who doesn’t love a lead you didn’t have to pay for. Stats show that 77% of people have shared brands with their friends that they have had positive experiences with. If your customers feel comfortable with your business and love the service that you provide they’re going to share that information with their mates.
When you combine solid marketing and great customer service you’ve got a great recipe for growth that’s going to be compounded by a hot word-of-mouth lead generation system from your clients.
Reviews – The Online Word Of Mouth
We all love word of mouth advertising because it’s effective and cheap. Online reviews are like traditional word-of-mouth but better. They’re always there and they’re usable over and over again. Online reviews help customers see how you stack up against your competition and make informed decisions.
But it gets better, research shows that 86% of customers would pay up to 25% more to get better customer service, so you can literally take reviews to the bank.
CHA-CHING!
However if you let this area slip and customer service is not up to scratch, bad reviews can cost your business a bundle and even close business doors. Reviews good or bad will come so you need to be proactive about getting the good ones.
Repeat customers – Client Lifetime Value
You might see a customer as an individual sale, but they can be so much more. Great customer service will see your Client Lifetime Value skyrocket. The better your clients experience the more likely they will come back again and again or spend more. For example a lawn mowing business could see a client as valued at $80 for a once off service or they could get a repeat client and make an average of $80 per service 20 times a year for 5 years totalling $8000!! That’s 100 jobs that they didn’t have to advertise to get.
So there’s three ways your business benefits from great customer service plus your customers deserve it and they’ll love you for it.