Generating sales through outstanding customer service

There is no understating how important your customers are to your business success. Your relationships with them are what build the foundation for continued growth. It makes sense then that customer service has a whole lot to do with driving sales. Yet a lot of businesses fail to recognise the link between exceptional service and profitability.

So – how exactly does exceptional customer service drive better sales? Let’s take a look.

Harnessing the power of customer service

The power of customer service comes through a bunch of different avenues. For starters, happy customers are more likely to come back to your business. And it is proven that focusing on retention is a wise venture. In fact, according to Bain & Co, when a business sees a 10 per cent spike in customer retention company value increases by 30 per cent.

Conversely, unhappy customers feel pretty strongly about not coming back to your business. A report by RightNow found that 89 per cent of consumers have stopped doing business with a company altogether after having a bad customer service experience.

Winning these scorned customers back is no easy task either – according to customer loyalty expert Ruby Newell-Legner, it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for a single negative customer service situation.

Put simply: good customer service means happy customers and increased sales, bad customer service means unhappy customers and lost sales.

Referrals and beyond

But the benefits (or consequences) don’t end there. Happy customers are also your best advocates. When someone interacts with your business and walks away with an exceptional experience, chances are they will take their praise to friends and family – acquiring customers on your behalf.

This is even more powerful considering how much consumers trust peer recommendations. The Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report found that 83 per cent of international consumers consider referrals from friends and family the most credible form of advertising.

However, this peer-to-peer sharing also exists on the other end of the spectrum. Today’s consumers are quick to share negative experiences amongst their social circles. In fact, a study by Dimensional Research found that 81 per cent of consumers that have had a bad customer service experience told their friends and family about the mishap.

The link between good customer service and sales is clear. Having a strong customer service channel lays the groundwork for your business to continue making sales. Leading Edge can help ensure your customer’s always have an exceptional experience. Interested in learning more? Reach out today.