A couple of days ago, I heard a great interview on NPR's Talk of the Nation with Emily Yellin, author of Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us. Emily spoke about the history and future of customer service and discussed some fascinating research that she did at customer service centers around the world. One comment that I found particularly striking and true: "Customer service is the future of marketing."
Too many companies are preoccupied with trying to stir up interest in their products and services with word of mouth marketing. Yet, once they get a prospect to call them, visit their websitie, or come into their showroom, poor service prevents them from making the sale. Or, even worse, the customer makes a purchase and then has a problem that the company fails to resolve in a quick and satsifactory manner.
Positive word of mouth will grow when a company delivers upon its promises with stellar customer service. Many businesses would be much better served getting their customer service practices in order so that purchases create happy customers willing to come back and refer their friends.
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