Companies that will win in the near future won’t separate sales from service.
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If a business were treated like a sports team, some might say that sales is offense and customer support is defense. Traditionally, sales has been responsible for winning revenue. Customer support deals with complaints and problems, and it’s natural to go into playing defense to solve the problem and save a customer.
But what if your organization recognized that both sales and support play a crucial offensive role in achieving higher revenue, lower churn and increased customer loyalty?
That’s exactly what Filip Jaskólski, chief product officer of Text, a company that recognizes that great service sells, shared in our recent interview on Amazing Business Radio.
Customer Service is Not an Expense—It’s a Revenue Generator
I’ve written about this numerous times over the years in my Forbes articles. Jaskólski and I are in complete agreement when I emphatically state, “Stop treating customer service as a cost center.” Jaskólski says, “Great service sells. … We’ve made a fundamental bet that service is actually revenue leverage, helping businesses turn chats, tickets and messaging into actual revenue, sales or leads.”
The overall cost of service and support should result in ROI. Done correctly, whether it’s a digital experience or live support, there should be a reduction in churn. That means customers come back, and most research finds that repeat customers spend more per interaction than one-off customers. Revenue retention is every bit as important as sales.
Every Interaction Is a Signal
Whenever a customer interacts with a company, regardless of whether it’s a complaint, a question or a compliment, it sends a signal about what the customer wants, needs or feels. Businesses that pay attention to these signals can spot opportunities to improve the experience, resolve a problem or make a sale. Today, technology can track not only what customers say but also what they do, such as browsing certain pages, hesitating to make a purchase and more. Recognizing and understanding these signals leads to a better CX and higher sales.
The Best Experience Blends AI and Humans
Jaskólski says, “The connection of human and AI is the ideal situation. AI optimizes, enables scale, and streamlines the processes it structures while cutting down time. Humans, on the other hand, bring empathy and understanding to the entire communication process.” The best experience has AI answering basic questions and suggesting products quickly, but humans are best at understanding emotions and using intuition and judgment when the situation gets complicated. Some situations need the human touch, especially when the customer is angry. And sometimes, a customer just needs to feel heard by a person. AI can demonstrate empathy, but the customer knows it’s AI, and that means they know it’s not real. Furthermore, my annual research finds that almost seven out of 10 customers (68%) prefer to talk to a human when they have a problem. An AI-first with human backup strategy is a good approach.
Measure What Matters—Not Just Speed and Automation
Jaskólski said, “Don’t optimize for the wrong metric. Naturally, Text continues to deliver on the fundamental goal of customer service: meeting customer needs and maintaining high satisfaction through quick response times. But these aren’t the factors that directly drive business growth.” Metrics tied to speed and automation are efficiency metrics. It’s easy to focus on how fast or how often technology solves problems, but metrics that can prove higher customer satisfaction and increased sales after a support interaction may be even more important. Not that you shouldn’t create an experience with as little friction as possible, just don’t let those metrics lure you into a false sense of success. The metrics to focus on are the ones that measure satisfaction, loyalty and revenue. Those are the signs of success.
Final Words
The companies that will win in the near future won’t separate sales from service. They will recognize that they work together and that every interaction is an opportunity to build trust, strengthen relationships and create future revenue. Sales may win the first purchase, but great service and support are what give customers a reason to keep coming back. Stop thinking of customer service as the department that fixes problems. Start treating it as one of the most powerful growth and retention strategies in your business. Great service isn’t playing defense. It’s playing offense … and it pays!
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