Customer Service Week is an international ceremony commemorating the value of customer service and the people who serve and support customers daily. Every year during the first full week of October, the 31-year-old celebration takes place. This year’s theme is “celebrate service.”
Since its inception, the week has been embraced by organizations all over the world that value service and the contributions of their frontline teams. Businesses in Africa aren’t left behind.
Customer service (CS) is more extensive than most people think. Remarkably, the CS industry is constantly changing. As a result, businesses in Africa must keep up with the times in order to provide quality customer service to their customers. This is particularly necessary because, thanks to technology, they now have to compete with international brands for customers via eCommerce.
Every entrepreneur’s dream is to have satisfied customers. One way to accomplish this is to provide excellent customer service. As a result, the significance of CS to the growth of a business cannot be overstated.
As we celebrate Customer Service Week, we at Survey54 have decided to share some important facts about customer service.
Essential customer service facts
Customers are more likely to share their negative experiences.
While this is concerning, it is also understandable. When you visit a store and receive poor service, you are more likely to tell others about it. With this in mind, consider the impact of such negative reviews on your business if, for example, you receive five per day.
Exactly, it could bankrupt your company. This is why you must always strive to provide your customers with a positive experience. It goes beyond in-store contact and includes phone calls, emails, social media, and so on. Bottom line: customers will share negative experiences twice as much as positive ones.
One customer complaint equals 26 silent dissatisfied customers
This is unexpected, but when you look closer, there is a lot of truth there. Not everyone feels comfortable expressing their dissatisfaction with a product, service, or user experience.
Customers reporting negative experiences on social media is not uncommon these days. Nonetheless, many others remain silent and do not return. Even though only 1 out of every 26 customers speaks up, their feedback is extremely powerful.
People are more at ease making online purchases these days. Prospects are increasingly checking online reviews before making a purchase. Do you see the impact of negative reviews on your brand’s sales?
You require 12 positive experiences to repair 1 negative experience
Consumers have more options than ever before. It is difficult to repair negative experiences due to the rapidly expanding range of options. Businesses could once get away with providing poor CS because people didn’t have a choice. They had to go back.
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Today, the tide has shifted, and there is a plethora of competitors. A simple Google search is all that is required to find a new vendor. People are discouraged when they search for your product online and see an unresolved negative review. According to research, it requires 12 positive feedbacks to change a prospective customer’s mind from the negative.
Customers spend more at businesses that have positive customer service reviews
If you’ve been wondering why patronage has been low, this could be the reason. How effective is your customer service? According to a study, customers will spend 31% more on businesses with positive reviews.
Getting new customers is more expensive
If you’re wondering why you should invest in customer service, consider this. Attracting new customers costs at least six to seven times more than retaining existing customers. What does this mean? Your small investment will prevent your company from overspending on attracting new customers.
Improving customer service has an impact on sales
Here’s another reason you should invest in CS . Approximately 68% of customers agree that they are willing to pay more for excellent customer service. What does this mean for African businesses?
It is absolutely clear. You will attract more revenue if you invest in providing a great experience for your customers. So, if you’ve been looking for a way to increase revenue, you’ve just found it.
The consumer experience is just as important as the product itself
Many Entrepreneurs are more concerned with their products. They invest a lot of resources in product research and development while ignoring the customer experience. Do you know that, in addition to new and improved products, customers want excellent CS?
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According to studies, 80% of customers have equal interest in the experience as they are do in the product. In light of this, you may need to rethink your strategy.
What role does market research play in Customer service?
Successful businesses recognize the value of customer feedback and use customer research surveys – a type of market research – to gather a variety of information from consumers and business customers.
Companies can assess how their employees treat customers when they consult customer feedback. A common type of marketing research is customer service satisfaction surveys. Surveys can help businesses determine whether customers’ questions are answered and their problems resolved.
Furthermore, a company can determine if some CS representatives are being rude to customers, particularly if the topic of rudeness frequently surfaces during the surveys.
Market research can provide invaluable insights into your target audience, improve your product and service offerings, and cement your reputation as a customer-focused, high-quality company.
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CS week is a time when businesses express gratitude to their employees and customers for their support and patronage. It is also a good time to make changes to your customer service policies.
One of such is the decision to rely on data-backed facts to improve your customer experience. The data is everywhere, but only industry experts can identify it. This is where Survey54 can help.
We are dedicated to the future of data on the African continent. We do this by deploying cutting-edge tech solutions to amplify consumer voices across Africa and emerging markets.
Our team provides businesses with the insights that they need to make informed decisions and improve their customer experience, products, and processes. In the spirit of customer service week, contact our team for a world-class experience and improve your ratings by the next celebration. Happy Customer Service week celebration!