What do you think would happen if you took 10% of your advertising budget and invested it in customer service? Your immediate reaction might be to think that whilst it’s a nice idea, it’s too risky to cut an advertising budget that doesn’t quite go far enough already. No Marketer in their right mind would willingly give up some of their budgets anyway, right?
I’ll be honest, I’d be a little nervous making that suggestion to my Finance Director too. But let’s just play out the thought process here:
- It’s often cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. This makes sense, as you already have the customer, you’ve just got to keep them happy. Yet, so many companies focus more on finding new business and playing the tricky – and costly – game of trying to convert prospects
- Look at your current promotions. They’re aimed at new customers right? Sign up and get 5000 free minutes of phone calls. Transfer your account and receive a $100 bonus. When you’ve been a customer of a business for several years, how do you feel when you see a better deal being offered to new – and sometimes brand-hopping – customers? Shouldn’t you be rewarding loyalty in your customers instead?
- One way to ensure a happy customer is to give them a fantastic product or service at a reasonable price. And to keep on giving it to them. How much time and effort do you put into improving your product – changes both big and small? Do you listen to customers or just use your own ideas? Do you monitor conversion data to identify the problems in your products or rely on gut feeling?
- Look at the output of your customer service team. What is the average response time to customers who contact you via email or a website form? How long does the average customer wait in the queue on the phone? Now put yourself in their shoes. When something goes wrong with your order on a website or you need to arrange an insurance quote, how do you feel having to wait so long for an answer?
- Look at the average salary of employees in each department within your business. Where does your Customer Service Rep fall within that scale? If they’re not at the bottom, I’d guarantee they’re not outside the bottom quarter. Maybe that’s fine, maybe your entrepreneurial DNA tells you that’s okay – I’m not trying to devalue the skills and contributions of those in other areas of the business – but what is the gap between those salaries?
- If the average customer service rep salary is one of the lowest in the business, how does that reflect on the company’s opinion of customer service? Do that perception and the remuneration motivate those that do the role or those that are considering joining your organization?
- Whether your company structure diagram acknowledges it or not, your Customer Service department is an extension of your Marketing Dept. – these Reps are your Marketers. They are the face and voice of your brand at the coal face and experience more interaction with customers in a week than most of your ‘official’ Marketers and Executive Management does in a year (or more). You want these people to be motivated, to be enthusiastic about your brand and product.
- Don’t think it stops there either. Whilst your customer service people have the most contact with your customers, EVERY employee who speaks to a customer is a representation of your brand, be they in Accounts, Sales, IT, Procurement, Legal or wherever else. The experience an individual has with these employees IS the brand.
So when you say your customers are important to you, that you’re a customer-centric business, what does that actually mean? And in how far have innovative activities an effect on your business? That you care about their experience, or that you care about their wallet? Put your wallet where your marketing message is, by investing in your customer experience.
Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) said at Jobsite’s FreshThinking event recently “People don’t talk about average, they talk about awesome”. Consider how you can apply this to your customer service. How you can get your customers talking about the awesome service they receive from you?
So that 10%, what could you do with it?
- To riff on Scott’s quote, awesomeness starts at home. Do something special for your customer-facing staff (and others too). Give them a thank you gift to show how much you appreciate their work. Don’t make it a one-off.
- Give them $1000 to leave. I take no credit for this idea, it is all Zappos. For Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, great customer service is the cornerstone of a successful business. So following 4 weeks of training and immersion in Zappos culture. He meets with each new staff member and offers them $1000 to resign. His thinking – if they take the cash they don’t have the commitment that it will take to do the job. What would be the equivalent in your company?
- Give them the tools they need. Don’t make do with the tools and systems you provide your customer service team. Needs change, new products emerge – let your staff service your customers as quickly and efficiently as possible, using the right tools.
- Look at your headcount. You’re in business to make a profit. That’s fine, but consider whether you’re scrimping on customer service headcount. Earlier when I mentioned the average response time, what was your answer? Happy with that? If you add an extra headcount, what impact will that have on your customers? Providing better service can lower costs by 1) retaining existing customers who were considering leaving due to an issue and 2) win new customers who were impressed with your business when they made enquires.
- Consider time. Do your customers buy your products 24 hours a day? If you’re an internet business, then there is a good chance they do. So why do you only offer service between the hours of 9 pm and 5:30 pm? Can you automate your product by providing a self-service option? What happens when a customer has a question at 1m – how will you deal with it? Can you earn new custom – and repeat business – by providing a product and support that reflects your customers’ buying behavior?
- Hire or assign a Marketing Manager to the Customer Service department. Or incorporate the team into the Marketing Dept. If your service reps are truly the ambassadors of your brand, shouldn’t they have a greater understanding of your business’ goals, marketing message, and company ethos? It’d give them a greater voice in discussions about new product ideas, things to fix, and timings of launches – the opposite of the current situation in many businesses.
- Continuing the thought on the awesomeness theme – what could you do for your more loyal customers? How can you say “thank you. I appreciate you sticking with us. I value your loyalty and custom. Here is _________ as a thank you”. The _________ is up to you. It could be a discount on their order or an additional product. Or it could be some other ‘value add’ or perk – like client activity days or free seminars. You’ll need to do the math. What is the activity cost versus the cost to acquire a new business should you lose their custom?
- Of course, you wouldn’t need to offer so much customer service if you had a great product. Or at least one with minimal flaws. Draw up a list of everything that is ‘broken’ and fix it. Listen to your customers and staff and ask them what needs to be done to make your offering better. Scott at FreshThinking put it best – “Think Stop. Start. Continue. Ask your customers: What should we stop doing? What should we start doing? What should we continue doing? If you can deliver on those answers then you’ll have happier, more loyal customers. Don’t use the excuse of lack of resources to make these changes. If you can’t divert your existing resources, invest in contractors to speed up the development and delivery.
The list could go on. You need to stop and look closely at your own business. Where can you make it better for your customers?
Find out the churn rate of your customers. Is the number acceptable? How much could you improve it with a greater investment in customer service? And would the value of that improvement be greater than the revenue generated by spending 10% of your budget on new customer attraction? It’s a bold idea. Are you brave enough to try it?