Customer service is not just about addressing complaints and queries; it’s a powerful tool that can significantly impact sales. In today’s competitive market, where products and services often come with similar features and prices, exceptional customer service can be the key differentiator that drives customers to choose one company over another. This guide will show you both why customer care is vital for the health of your business and how to improve sales through exceptional customer service.
Can Customer Service Affect Sales?
Happy customers buy more. Seems pretty obvious, right? But it’s becoming clearer that a large factor in a customer’s overall experience is the care they receive along the way. And if you want to know how to improve sales, you can’t afford to ignore customer care or experience. The better your customer service, the more likely that your customers’ price sensitivity will drop. Satisfied customers – who feel like they are valued by the company – are generally much more willing to spend more than new customers.
Customer Retention
Effective customer service can prevent customer churn. By addressing issues promptly and effectively, your customer care team have the power to turn a negative experience into a positive one. When we surveyed UK consumers, 82% said that a good customer service experience can improve their perception of a brand, even after a poor buying experience! By proactively addressing customer concerns and providing solutions, companies can build long-lasting relationships with their customers and reduce the likelihood of them switching to competitors.
Happy customers can have a lifetime value 6 times higher than regular customers. And lifetime value is important. If a customer’s value is higher, they’re more profitable for your company and much more important to keep. Existing customers are 50% more likely to buy new products and spend 31% more than new customers. So, it isn’t only important to make sure your customer care is top-notch, but also to make sure that it stays that way. Retain those happy customers!
Cross-Selling and Upselling
Not only are existing customers more likely to spend more, they’re also easier to upsell to. Customers who have had consistently good experiences with your brand are much more open to trying new products. Remember that their price sensitivity is also lower! Not only are they more willing to try a new product, they’re probably going to pay the most for it. According to HubSpot, 72% of salespeople who upsell and 74% who cross-sell say that it drives up to 30% of their revenue.
But, surely, that’s the job of the sales representative, right? Well, not always. Good customer service encompasses more than simple aftercare questions. Expert operators can identify opportunities to cross-sell or upsell additional products or services to customers when they get in touch before, during, and after a sale. And, with an effective outbound campaign, you can reach out to customers when they’re most likely to convert.
To do this, your operators need a great CRM system to see – at a glance – intimate knowledge of your customers’ needs and preferences, allowing them to recommend products or services that are actually relevant to their previous and current purchases.
Referrals and Reviews
We already talked about how great customer care can improve your brand’s reputation. But that has another positive side effect: happy customers are more likely to recommend a company to friends and family. Referrals can lead to growth in your customer base and your sales. And online reviews left by satisfied customers can reach any and all potential buyers. Ultimately, consumers are more likely to trust companies that are known for their exceptional customer experience.
But there’s more: customer care is often your last line of defence, a last chance to turn around a customer who is overwise unhappy with their experience. Of course, your operators need to be well-trained, have the right temperament, and be experts in the product or service in question. Without them doing a fantastic job on your frontline, those unhappy customers can become a nightmare. Customers who have suffered bad CS will usually share this with others and will even tell them not to shop with that company.
But, we found that a positive customer experience can completely change the outcome. After a great customer care interaction, 47% of customers will not leave a negative review online or tell friends and family to avoid a brand. And that’s even after having a poor buying experience. Furthermore, 36% would even consider staying loyal to the brand and purchasing from them again! Expert customer service is simply vital to any company.
How to Improve Sales Through Customer Service
Now that we understand the importance of customer service in driving sales, let’s explore some effective strategies for leveraging customer service to increase revenue.
Robust Training for Customer Service Agents
Invest in comprehensive training programs to ensure that your customer care agents are equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide exceptional service. But, beyond basic service skills, agents should be trained to upsell and cross-sell effectively.
This involves not only understanding product features but also the ability to identify customer needs and desires and recommend suitable solutions. Moreover, empowering agents to make autonomous decisions such as cross-selling without unnecessary escalation enhances efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Personalised Customer Care
Another skill for your customer care team to learn, knowing how and when to personalise an interaction with your brand is key. Personalization goes beyond simply addressing customers by name—it involves understanding their preferences, anticipating their needs, and proactively offering solutions, discounts, and loyalty rewards.
Personalized service makes customers feel valued and understood, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases. By leveraging technology such as customer relationship management (CRM) software and data analytics tools, companies can gain valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences. By treating each customer as an individual with unique preferences and preferences, businesses can differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace and drive long-term loyalty.
Omnichannel Support
By providing customers with multiple touchpoints for support, companies can meet customers where they are and offer convenient solutions to their problems, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates.
However, embracing an omnichannel approach involves more than just being present on multiple platforms—it requires integrating these channels into a cohesive and unified service experience. Centralizing customer interactions within a single CRM system enables agents to access relevant information and history regardless of the channel.
Not all channels are created equal, and businesses must prioritize those that align with customer preferences and offer the highest efficiency and effectiveness. By analyzing channel performance data and customer feedback, organizations can optimize their omnichannel strategy to meet evolving customer expectations and maximize engagement.
AI, Automation, and Human Agents
Automation is a game-changer for streamlining customer service workflows and optimizing agent efficiency. By automating routine tasks such as data entry, ticket routing, and follow-up reminders, agents can focus their energy on value-added activities that require human judgment and empathy.
AI-powered tools can add an extra layer to your automation by providing relevant information, suggesting optimal responses, and automating repetitive tasks, thereby enhancing productivity and consistency.
While AI technologies offer significant benefits in terms of scalability and efficiency, they must be integrated thoughtfully to complement—not replace—the human touch. Purely AI-driven interactions can feel impersonal and even lead the customer in circles, potentially damaging your brand’s reputation. Human agents remain indispensable for handling complex inquiries, demonstrating empathy, and building a genuine rapport with customers. Consider adopting a hybrid approach that combines AI capabilities with human expertise to deliver an experience that is both cost-effective and high-quality.
Holistic KPIs
Key performance indicators (KPIs) serve as the compass for guiding and evaluating customer service performance. But whilst traditional metrics such as first contact resolution, average handling time, and interactions per hour are important, they tend to be treated as separate problems from KPIs such as customer satisfaction. Even worse, they’re often preferred as – on the surface – they appear to save the company money. The faster an agent works, the fewer agents you have to employ to cover the volume of incoming calls. But, sometimes, the agent who takes their time really connecting with a customer is the one who is helping boost your sales.
Balancing traditional metrics with qualitative measures ensures a holistic understanding of service quality and operational efficiency, both of which are important to keeping customers happy and spending with your brand. Your teams should be able to handle customer complaints and issues with empathy and efficiency, aiming for swift resolution while ensuring that the customer feels heard and valued.
Monitoring and Feedback
Continuous monitoring and evaluation are essential for identifying areas of improvement and driving ongoing innovation. By regularly assessing key performance metrics and conducting internal audits, businesses can identify trends, patterns, and pain points that inform strategic decision-making and process optimization.
Actively listening to customer feedback demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement and fosters trust and loyalty. By gathering insights from customer surveys, feedback forms, and online reviews, companies can identify common pain points and areas for improvement, allowing them to make data-driven decisions that enhance the customer experience and drive sales.
Moreover, fostering a culture of accountability and transparency encourages agents to take ownership of their performance and actively seek opportunities for improvement. By celebrating successes, acknowledging challenges, and sharing best practices across teams, businesses can create a collaborative and supportive environment that drives continuous growth and excellence.
Customer service plays a crucial role in driving sales and fostering long-term customer relationships. At FM, we’re industry experts and provide our clients with the best customer care, every time. We make sure that our operators know how to handle every situation and we ensure our clients only pay for what they need and use. By prioritizing responsiveness, personalization, and proactive issue resolution, our clients can create positive experiences that lead to increased loyalty, referrals, and sales.