Customer Service training pays off. Did you know businesses in the U.S. are expected to spend more than $214.3 billion this year on advertising? Yet only 4% of American consumers trust advertising as a source for product/service information (Zendesk Nation, 2011). A majority (83%) of consumers trust an independent source such as colleagues, family or friends to recommend products and services over typical advertising channels. So why are companies so readily spending dollars to lure customers by a less effective means?
One of the main reasons companies spend so much money on advertising is to gain market share or prevent losing it. How do companies lose market share? The Zendesk source explains that interaction with rude employees has customers running for the door and heading to the competitor. In fact, 82% of customers have discontinued purchasing from companies due to poor customer service. A stat that managers and owners should understand carefully is that 79% of unhappy customers have told others about their unpleasant experience. When poorly managed companies continually lose customers, that customer base has to be replenished, hence, expensive advertising budgets are developed and marketing campaigns are launched. For years we've known that keeping existing customers rather than capturing new ones is less costly. On average, it costs five times more for businesses to secure new customers than to keep existing customers (Tourism BC, 2006). Investing in customer service training provides a return on investment for businesses in two ways. Keeping existing customers satistfied reduces the costs of capturing new customers. Those satisfied customers are likely to recommend the business to others which further reduce the company's reliance on expensive advertising to gain market share. For a detailed look at Zendesk's infographic on why investing in customer experiences is important, see the full article. Interested in customer service training for the staff in your business? Contact us for more information. |
AuthorImproving customer relationships, driving sales, increasing worth-of-mouth referrals and building customer loyalty through service professionalism training is my passion. Archives
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