How Customer Satisfaction Fosters Business Success In today’s digital sales--regardless of whether B2B or B2C--providing good customer service is essential. More than half of American buyers have abandoned their purchases because of poor service. [1] Although most companies understand that customer service is important, many decision-makers don’t realize the scope of this simple imperative. In B2B sales, customer service supports other businesses that have their own customers to consider. The customer experience is the new battleground of internet sales--catering to customer demands, special orders and product requests is the top priority of 89 percent of businesses because these efforts generate greater sales, higher conversion rates and greater customer loyalty. [2] How Customer Satisfaction Fosters Business Success Online, millions of companies compete for the same customers. Delivering customer-centric experiences is one of the most important strategies for success. about 86 percent of buyers are willing to pay more for a better online experience, but only 1 percent of them feel that companies currently meet their expectations and needs. [3] Delivering great experiences to customers and solving their problems are the twin benefits of providing strong customer service. What defines good customer service in today’s website features? Integrating all software and business applications is the first step to providing ongoing customer service at the highest possible level. Customer Service Isn’t an Annoying Cost Some people are stuck in the old philosophy that providing customer service and spending money on technology upgrades are money pits--possibly necessary, but ultimately just another drain on corporate budgets. That philosophy belongs to previous generations where streamlining costs increased profits with little effect on future business prospects. However, in these days of self-service and easy site abandonment, ignoring customer service or only offering lip service just won’t work. Good customer service increases business success in countless ways. Enabling Success of B2B Stakeholders B2B companies have an even stronger mandate to provide great customer service during an extended buying process. Buying committees have special needs, and many customers need services such as custom pricing, dynamic pricing, complex shipping arrangements and personalized products. B2C customers also feel that companies should value their business enough to offer strong customer service options. Unfortunately, only 48 percent of people feel that online companies really prioritize their success and needs. [4] When a company’s customers derive a high value from customer service, they buy more and show greater loyalty in the future. That can mean a greater lifetime customer value for almost all website users. B2B customers can fulfill their own customer demands if a B2B company makes it easy to get fast service, self-service features and quick resolutions to problems. These customers are more likely to place bigger orders and request customized products in the future because they know they’ll get responsive service. Customer Service Essentials in Digital Marketing Technology is essential for companies that want to stay competitive. about 42 percent of buyers and customers expect fast replies to their queries within an hour. [5] Some of today’s key customer service best practices include: Guiding Customers Along the Sales Journey Nothing is more damaging than convincing a customer to buy and not making the ordering process simple and obvious. Calls-to-action are an important part of both web design and customer service. CTA clicks should be easy to see and placed in relevant locations. Offering Multiple Ways to Communicate Customers want to find answers using self-service, but there are times when contacting a staff member is necessary. Companies should provide multiple ways to communicate including self-service options, direct phone lines, emails, chat features and messaging using such services as Messenger, SMS, Twitter DM and Facebook Messenger Customer Chat. Connecting with Social Media Providing connections to social media attracts more site visitors. Companies can use social media as offsite customer service centers where they can also post relevant and appealing photos, videos, surveys, company news and forums for customers to provide feedback and testimonials. Updating Site Information for Consistency An integrated platform allows administrators, designers and producers of content to update everything with a single entry across all marketing channels. Customers can get very upset if they find different prices for the same product in different areas or conflicting or inconsistent product information. Implementing Strong Customer Service Features More than $1.6 trillion is lost annually in the United States alone because customers switch to a different provider because of poor customer service. [6] That’s why it’s important to invest in self-service features such as live chat software, social media customer service pages and other service features. It’s important to choose a developer that provides clean web design and easy website navigation the same way that a physical store does. Integrating the site automates many self-service features that provide multiple cross-channel customer service options. That’s why a company like Clarity, who’s been designing and building custom B2B ecommerce implementations for more than 13 years, can help you with updating your level of delivering customer success. Give us a call today to discuss your ecommerce project. References: [1] Helpscout.net: The Cost of Bad Customer Service https://www.helpscout.net/75-customer-service-facts-quotes-statistics/ [2] blogs.gartner.cm: Gartner Surveys Confirm Customer Experience Is the New Battlefield https://blogs.gartner.com/jake-sorofman/gartner-surveys-confirm-customer-experience-new-battlefield/ [3] Qualtrics.com: 18 Customer Experience Stats to Know in 2018 https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/customer-experience-stats/ [4] Research.hubspot.com: Customer Success Feeds Business Success https://research.hubspot.com/customer-success [5] Thenextscoop.com: How to Align Digital Marketing with Customer Service to Enhance Business Growth https://thenextscoop.com/align-digital-marketing-customer-service-enhance-business-growth/ [6] Qminder.com: How Business Is Affected by Customer Experience https://www.qminder.com/customer-service-statistics/