Creating an improved customer experience is the top priority for customer care leaders. This is according to a research study by McKinsey & Company.

Image via McKinsey & Company

And they are right. The diverse benefits of customer service for business growth are more than enough reason to prioritize the customer experience in this sector.

Great customer service can make your brand more competitive, give your reputation a boost, and my favorite—earn your customers’ forgiveness for mistakes you make.

I’ll show you five core benefits of customer service that drive business growth.

5 Key Benefits of Customer Service for Business Growth

Here are 5 ways prioritizing excellent customer service can elevate your business.

1. Great Customer Service Builds Referrals

Referrals are a powerful way to gain new customers and accelerate business growth with little marketing costs involved.

However, they highly rely on trust and loyalty. And one way to earn your customers’ trust and loyalty is by exceeding their expectations in the kind of customer service you provide.

A 2022 survey showed that 82% of customers, worldwide, would readily recommend a brand based solely on excellent customer service received.

So, go above and beyond in helping your customers solve their issues and achieve their goals. You’ll hardly have to convince them to refer your business to their social circle.

But don’t just sit back as your customers rave about your business. Reward them.

It’ll reinforce their loyalty and provide them with an incentive to continue recommending your business.

Here’s something else I want you to take note of.

About 91% of consumer referral programs have a double-sided reward structure.

Image via SaaSquatch

Why is this?

For a referral program to be successful, it should not only benefit the referrer. The new customer that they have referred should benefit as well.

2. It Encourages Positive Customer Reviews

Over 90% of online shoppers have a habit of reading customer reviews before buying. Close to 70% of shoppers read one to six customer reviews before making a purchase.

Another research study showed that consumers pay significantly more attention to negative comments than positive comments.

Excellent customer service attracts positive customer reviews, which can push sales and foster business growth. But the reverse also applies. Customers who are frustrated with your customer service can destroy your reputation with bad reviews and discourage sales.

The sad truth is that mistakes are bound to happen once in a while, because brands are run by humans and humans are not perfect.

But here’s the interesting part, a Salesforce research study shows 80% of customers are willing to forgive a business for its mistake if the business’s customer service is excellent.

Image via Salesforce

So, you don’t have to worry about getting bad reviews for genuine mistakes. If your customer service is right, you’re likely to get out of it with your reputation still intact.

Here are a few things I’d recommend if you want to make the most out of customer reviews for business growth:

• Put your positive customer reviews on your website. You can embed Google reviews on your homepage, product pages, and landing pages.
• Follow up with customers who leave a review and appreciate them.
• It’s also a good customer service practice to respond to negative reviews. Acknowledge your mistakes courteously and professionally. Ensure that you understand where the problem is before offering a solution.
• Turn the positive reviews into user-generated content for social media. And if possible, include the customers’ names and pictures as proof of authenticity.

3. It Increases Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

An effective customer service strategy can drive a higher CLV, which boosts business growth.

Customer lifetime value is the entire revenue your business stands to gain from a customer during their relationship with you.

There are several ways customer service increases CLV:

Higher retention

Offering consistently good customer service increases the chances of getting repeat purchases from a customer.

A research study showed that 73% of customers consider switching to a competitor after just one negative customer service experience.

Ease of upselling and cross-selling

Providing excellent customer service earns your customers’ trust. They are likely to have less reservations about spending more with you or exploring additional products or services.

You can leverage your help desk software to provide a robust customer service experience. It makes it easier to upsell and cross-sell to increase revenue earned from that customer.

4. You’re Able to Stay Competitive

The same Salesforce research study we stated above also shows that 48% of customers have switched brands in pursuit of better customer service.

Better customer service is one of the top three reasons consumers switch brands.

Image via Salesforce

Top-notch customer service is a valuable selling point that can make your target market choose you over your competitors.

To win in the battle of customer service and achieve business growth, conduct some competitor research.

Find out the kind of experience their customers have with them.

You can use social media analytics tools to analyze the comments they get on their social media accounts and stay updated on any mentions of their brand.

Look at their reviews on Google Reviews and review websites like Trustpilot.

Once you get an idea of their strengths and weaknesses, capitalize on their weaknesses and borrow some ideas from their strengths.

Create a superior and positive experience that customers can only associate with your brand.

5. It Informs Your Business Decisions

Developing an effective customer service strategy helps you gather insights about customers’ needs, pain points, and preferences.

By leveraging AI and this data, you can make data-driven business decisions that propel growth, such as:

• A better pricing strategy.
• New products that would get a positive market response.
• Feature updates that’ll help your customers achieve their goals better.

Your customer service staff can also help you in conducting customer research that can inform your business processes and strategies.

For example, instead of conducting surveys, your customer service team can ask strategic questions during their interactions with customers about how they view your products or services. You can use these insights to refine your marketing strategy.