Customer experience has a huge impact on how much revenue your business generates. Research shows that 84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report it helps increase revenue from customer service.
As a result, focusing on providing outstanding customer service to improve customer experiences is integral in driving revenue and profitability. Many people assume that customer service is nothing more than a cost center. But if approached with a revenue-oriented mindset, your customer service team can take advantage of customer interaction to unlock more sales opportunities.
So in this post, we’ve compiled 5 ways to generate revenue from customer service. Let’s get started now!
Table of Contents
5 ways to increase revenue from customer service
Request customer reviews and respond to them publicly
It is estimated that 93% of customers read online reviews before buying a product. In fact, reviews now influence the customer buying decision and even your sales volume. As customer reviews seem to be more reliable than what a brand speaks about itself, collecting as many positive reviews as possible may be a good move for your business.
One of the easiest ways to get more reviews is to ask for them right after a customer service interaction. It’s the ideal time when your agents just deliver excellent support and thereby customers are more willing to leave reviews.
It’s also important to show off excellent customer service in your public responses to reviews.
By responding politely to customer reviews, your customer service team builds customer loyalty and gives prospective customers a taste of the great experience they will have if they do business with you.
Create customer advocates and increase referrals from them
Brand advocates are satisfied customers who are willing to refer your brand to family and friends. Research shows that 88 percent of people have the highest level of trust in a brand when a friend or family member recommends it. Brand advocates are not only your customers but also your partners, and brand ambassadors who spread the good words to other people.
Brand advocates are 50% more likely to influence a purchase. This could be through sharing by word of mouth or using social media.
Treating customer service as an integral part of the buyer’s journey is a productive step toward creating brand advocates for your customers. Below are some practical ways that your customer service team can provide delightful support and encourage customer advocacy.
- Answer to customer queries as soon as possible
- Provide customers with omnichannel customer service
- Provide tailored support
- Avoid asking customers to repeat basic information
- Reward customers with discounts, promotions, and loyalty programs
- Be polite, professional, and helpful to customers
Instead of waiting for customers to spread good words about your brand, your customer service team can proactively ask for a referral. If the customer is happy with your product and support, they’re willing and happy to do you this favor. If it is cost-effective for your company, you could also offer customers incentives to recommend your solution to friends and colleagues.
Increase the customer lifetime value
It is shown that retaining an existing customer is 5 to 25 times cheaper than acquiring a new one. This is because repeat customers are 300% more likely to spend more with your brand.
Retaining customers with excellent support builds close customer relationships and increases revenue from customer service. Therefore, it’s vital to provide great customer service which satisfies customers and nurtures their loyalty.
To increase customer lifetime value, your agents should go the extra mile more than supporting customers. For example, let customers know about upcoming product features, best practices, and of course, premium offerings that might generate additional revenue for your business. With a revenue-oriented approach, your agents can make the best out of every customer interaction to upsell and cross-sell.
Turn your customer service team into your best salespeople
Today’s customer service no longer sticks to an expensive cost center that doesn’t contribute to the bottom line of a business. Support agents now are more and more proactive and have many chances to increase revenue from customer service while interacting with customers.
All you need to do is give your agents the tools they need to increase revenue from customer service. With the right tool in place, your team can have a 360-degree view of the customer, order history, and conversation history. As such, it becomes easier for your agents to know customers’ preferences and provide tailored product recommendations.
Using a customer service platform like NestDesk, you can easily view customer profiles and create orders for customers while chatting with them. This way, customers can skip the long buying process and you also win sales faster right from the chat portal. Stop switching all day long and turn every customer interaction into a sales opportunity.
Collect insightful customer feedback to improve your product
Successful products or services are the ones that solve customer problems and meet their needs. So if you want to develop a winning product, don’t neglect what customers say and feedback when contacting your support team.
Customers’ questions to your support team are the exact reflection of their requirements and expectations. Ensure that your support agent notifies your development team anytime a customer has an idea or a problem that your current solution can not solve. Here’s when you get the most helpful feedback and proven ideas to improve your product.
Besides, it’s also necessary to label your customer service message to easily track common issues and requested features. Labels/tags assist in bringing to light the areas that require the most improvement so that your development team can focus on them with ease.
Start closing more sales from customer service from now!
With a revenue-driven mindset, your customer service can also turn into a powerful sales channel and turn more visitors into customers. Make sure that your customer service team works on the same page and is equipped with the necessary tools to better support customers and close sales.
If you are finding a customer service tool to convert your customer service into a profit center, try NestDesk for free now!