{"id":10027,"date":"2020-11-16T10:33:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T10:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkme.com\/blog\/?p=10027"},"modified":"2020-11-16T10:33:23","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T10:33:23","slug":"customer-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkme.com\/blog\/customer-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Customer Service So Important in the Modern World?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When asking why customer service is important, the best way to start is by understanding exactly the value of customer service, both to the business and to the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses, after all, can be defined as goal-oriented processes, whose purpose usually focuses around profit and value creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer service, as we will discuss in this article, plays a vital role in value creation and affects business performance. It is important, therefore, to understand what it is and how to best deliver it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is customer service important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Salesforce<\/a>, customer service refers to the \u201csupport you offer your customers \u2013 both before and after they buy and use your products and services \u2013 that helps them have an easy and enjoyable experience with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, it may not always be easy to connect positive customer experiences to organizational performance. As a result, it may be difficult for some business leaders to justify expenditures on business functions that improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways that customer service can positively impact business performance, however. A few of these include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better customer experiences translate into greater customer loyalty.<\/strong> Quite a few studies have shown that customer experiences directly affect customer retention. PwC<\/a>, for instance, found that 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after just one bad experience. Similar results have been found by a number of other surveys and studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A better brand reputation.<\/strong> In one quote that has now become famous, Jeff Bezos<\/a> said that if you \u201cmake customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.\u201d In today\u2019s world, the offline and online world have merged, so even brick-and-mortar businesses must understand how experiences affect their reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improved product adoption and engagement.<\/strong> Customer care<\/a> often plays a greater role when customers are first adopting new products and services. During this stage of the customer journey, they must often learn new processes and procedures related both to the brand and the products. The more support they have, both in the short- and long-term, the more likely they will be to stay engaged with the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, customer service should be considered a part of the product or service pipeline, since it directly affects customers\u2019 ability to engage with, use, and gain value from their products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good vs bad customer service<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once the importance of customer service has been established, the next logical question is, \u201cHow do you deliver good customer service and experiences?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are different schools of thought on how companies should approach this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren Buffett<\/a>, for instance, says that companies must not just satisfy their companies, they must delight<\/em> them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of professionals agree wholeheartedly and have built their entire customer service philosophy around such an approach. HubSpot<\/a>, for instance, even recommends using a \u201ccustomer delight index\u201d metric to gauge how delighted customers are by your products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: HubSpot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Others, however disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study published by the Harvard Business Review<\/a> went in-depth to uncover how customer service affected loyalty and which activities raised loyalty, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among their most critical findings: delighting customers doesn\u2019t<\/em> build loyalty, but reducing customer effort does<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When reviewing such contrasting viewpoints, it is worthwhile to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it is important to remember that a wide range of other factors come into play, such as the expectations of a specific customer base, the product or service in question, and the company\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than encoding a customer service philosophy from the outset, businesses should understand their own customers\u2019 needs, then use their input to ensure that their customer service department can deliver on those expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of the employee experience on customer service<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Customer service is a strong component of the customer experience. What may be less evident, however, is the role that the employee experience plays in customer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The employee experience<\/a> \u2013 the sum total of interactions an employee has with their employer \u2013 affects countless areas of a business, customer service included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Software frustritus (n): the feeling of being upset or annoyed at the inability to change or achieve something within a computer program or app. \ud83e\udd2c\ud83e\udd2f

It's time to pay attention to the employee experience:https:\/\/t.co\/2FvSBZfQUn<\/a> #HR<\/a> #EmployeeEngagement<\/a> #Management<\/a> #CEO<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iu8TyuM9mF<\/a><\/p>— WalkMe (@WalkMeInc) December 11, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>