How to use customer service in your marketing plan

Many business owners are surprised to learn that a majority of their customers will return to shop with them again simply because of the service they received. This is true even when your business does not offer the lowest price on the item they are shopping for. However, it should be stressed that even though your customers will shop with you again based on the service they received they will just as quickly desert your business because of poor customer service. Worse yet, studies show that when your customers receive poor service they are twice as likely to report that their family and friends over receiving a high quality of customer service. This makes offering the highest level of customer service to your customers extremely crucial.

It cannot be stressed enough that customer service should be a part of your marketing plan. When your customers see that you are interested in taking care of them and meeting their needs they will help you market your business in a number of different ways. Best of all, offering the highest levels of customer service really costs the business nothing which makes it one of the most effective marketing tools that you have. The bottom line is that is that good customer service not only retains your customers but speaks volume about your business. Fail to provide the best in customer service and you will soon find yourself closing your doors and taking down your website. Here is what you need to know about how to use customer service in your marketing plan-
- Understand what your customers want-The first step in being able to use customer service to market to your customers is know what they want. If you are unsure of what they are looking for then it becomes almost impossible for you to give it to them. Take the time to get the right feedback from your customers. You can do this through the use of social media, sending out customer satisfaction surveys, or even interviewing your customers by phone call or face to face.
- Make the most important thing-Successful business owners will make sure that customer service is the top priority in their business. This also means that you will need to train everyone who works for you that offering the best in customer service is their top job priority no matter what they do in your company. When this culture of customer service is created it not only permeates everything your business does but your customer sense it and begin to favorably respond to it.
- Resolve customer problems quickly and easily-One of the biggest frustrations for customers is when they have a problem with a business and can't get it resolved. You need to put a process in place that helps to resolve customer problems quickly and efficiently. Do not allow unhappy customers to have to wait for help either on the phone or online. Allow your employees the freedom to resolve customer problems quickly in order to help boost your marketing efforts.
- Get your customers helping you market-Once you have established the highest levels of customer service you can then begin to use your customers to help you market your business. Many business owners are often reluctant to ask for referrals and recommendations but your customers can be a valuable marketing tool in this way. You can also offer discounts for your existing customers when they bring in a new customer who makes a purchase. The bottom line is that making your customers happy can go a long way toward successfully marketing your business.