Customer Service is the New Marketing

May 20

Originally Published 5.20.2014

Have you ever had an experience calling a well-known brand, an industry giant, only to get disappointed with its customer service? How do you get bombarded by a 15-minute musical tune or product promotions waiting for the next customer service associate to be available?

If the answer is yes, check this article by Ross Beard, 10 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Customer Service Is The New Marketing. You'll see how customer after-sales service is more important than new customer acquisition.

According to Bain and Co., a 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%.

And if those numbers don’t impress you, Gartner Group statistics tell us that 80% of your company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers.

Still not sold on customer service and retention? One final statistic provided by Lee Resource Inc. should give you plenty to think about Attracting new customers will cost your company five times more than keeping an existing customer.

Keeping that in mind, here are ten reasons why customer service is the new marketing:

1. 86% of consumers quit doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience

2. 51% of customers said they would only try to reach support once before giving up on a purchase

3. 40% of customers say improved interaction with service employees is their key driver to spending more with a company

4. 73% of customers cited rude and incompetent staff as the primary reason why they give up on a brand

5. 80% of U.S. consumers say they would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience

6. 78% of online customers recommend a brand to friends and other contacts after a great customer experience

7. Loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase

8. It is 5-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an old one

9. It costs a company $234 every time they lose a customer

10. Customers spend on average 9.5 minutes trying to reach a human via automated phone systems