Marketing Strategies for Customer Service Staff
Every day, we interact with various companies, with some interactions being more pleasant
than others. The perception that is gained from these interactions is not always determined by
the actual quality of the good or service, but from the way you are treated and how the
interaction made you feel. This is the result of customer service (or lack thereof) and how your
customers perceive you is largely shaped by it.
In this guide, marketing strategies for customer service staff will be presented, with information
on topics such as the importance of customer service, using social media in customer service,
gathering and using customer testimonials and reviews, which tools are effective for customer
service staff, and using Live Chat Support on your website.
The Importance of Customer Service
As stated previously, the customers’ perception of your company is somewhat based on your
customer service reputation, not just the quality of your product or how much it costs. Look at the
list of companies below and consider your perception of them and what you are basing that on.
What is your opinion of these companies?
Comcast/Xfinity
Time Warner Cable
Bank of America
United Airlines
AT&T
Delta Airlines
McDonald’s
Zappos
Amazon
Disney
Apple
Hilton Hotels
UPS
Lowe’s
The companies on the left have reputations for
providing the worst customer service in the
U.S., while those on the right are considered to
be exceptional. In both cases, these companies
have built their customer service standards into
their culture, for better or worse. If you are
interested in being more like the companies on
the right, customer service has to become a
cultural habit.1
An article on Forbes.com entitled “Why Customer Service is the New Marketing” states that
consumers have become disillusioned with advertising and marketing of all sorts and that 90%
of consumers trust peer reviews and 70% trust online reviews. 2 If your customer service is
lacking, you can bet those online reviews won’t be positive for your company.
The Role of Social Media in Customer Service
Social media has changed the landscape of customer service and how important your reputation is.
When you have a disgruntled customer, the world is going to hear about it! In fact, people are
much more likely to complain about bad service than praise a company for providing good service.
1
“The Customer Service Habit: Why Your Company Culture Needs to Catch It”, Micah Solomon, Forbes.com, June
16, 2014
2
“Why Customer Service is the New Marketing”, Matt Mickiewicz, 99Designs, December 2011
However, social media presents opportunities to provide excellent customer service and identify
unsatisfied customers, although roughly 70% of complaints on Twitter go unaswered.3 These
unanswered complaints represent missed opportunities for “service recovery”, the practice of
turning a complaint into a positive experience for the customer, resulting in greater loyalty. Larger
companies have realized this and now employ teams of employees who scour social media for
negative comments and engages these customers, like in the example below.
The keys to effectively using customer service on social media are to be responsive and attempt
to take the conversation private (via email or a phone call) to resolve the issue. This will show
your commitment to fixing the problem, while reducing negative posts. Peggy Penlow from
Palace Arts & Office Supply (IS #426) shared these comments about how they use social media
in customer service:
We interact with our customers on our Facebook page as much as possible by posting photos of
our employees (with permission), new products, community events and happenings within our
company. We address any negative comments or feedback right away in a positive manner to
3
“The Ignored Side of Social Media: Customer Service”, Wharton Research, Forbes.com, January 2014
resolve whatever negative feeling the person initially had and have them feel heard and
relevant.
By treating customer complaints on social media as an opportunity, not as something to be
hidden or ignored, you show potential customers your willingness to satisfy your clients. An
American Marketing Association study found that 88% of consumers are less likely to buy from
companies that they think ignore customer complaints online. 4 An online complaint represents
a chance to delight your customers and get publicly noted for doing so.
Capitalizing on Your Quality Customer Service with Testimonials
As stated above, research has shown people give much more credence to peer and online
reviews and testimonials than to company’s marketing messages. Therefore, your customer
service successes and compliments can be used as powerful marketing tools. You can use
these testimonials and positive reviews on your website, on social media, in marketing
collateral, and even video. The most effective forms of these testimonials are 5:
•
•
•
Authentic feeling and specific – If the testimonial or review seems canned and forced,
people will dismiss it almost immediately. Many companies have been caught “buying”
reviews or writing their own, which has made consumers more cautious. A major
reason reviews don’t feel authentic is they are too vague to inspire any real confidence.
“ABC Company is fantastic!” is unlikely to have much effect on your audience.
Current – In the digital age, people will see an old review from 2010 as having little
value in determining your competency in 2014.
From a named person – Anonymous reviews and testimonials can have some value, but
the most effective ones have a real name associated with it, giving it much more
validity. The complimentary tweet from “NFL-Fanatic057” will obviously have less value
than one from Sally Jones.
There are many ways and sources to get quality testimonials and reviews of your customer
service, especially in the era of social media. Scan your social media platforms for positive
mentions and re-tweet, share, “Like”, or “Pin” those mentions frequently. Your inbox is
another great resource for testimonials, as customers on occasion will email their thanks for a
job well done. With email however, you need to get permission from your customer to quote
them, as they are considered private correspondence. 6 Customer surveys with a blank area for
comments can be another good source to gather positive comments. Finally, consider running
a video contest to get testimonials in a format that is powerful, effective, and frees you from
recording the videos yourself!
4
“Customer Service is Your Marketing Strategy”, Joshua March, November 2012
“How Do I Effectively Incorporate Customer Reviews On My Website”, Shama Hyder, Social Media Columnist, July 2014
6
“4 Strategies for Getting More Customer Testimonials”, Melissa Rudy, October 2013.
5
Marketing Tools for Customer Service
There are many tools for providing customer service that a company can utilize, from standard
tools such as business cards and catalogs, to more advanced tools such as CRM (Customer
Relationship Management) programs and Live Chat Support. The more marketing tools
customer service agents have at their disposal, the more effective they can be.
Peggy Penlow from Palace Arts & Office Supply (IS #426) offers these tips on the tools they find
most effective in their business:
Acsellerate- we use this program for many customer service related functions:
 Improve margin on contracts, invoices and items
 Uncover cross-selling and up-selling opportunities
 Benchmark customers, sales reps and product categories
 Track performance compared to goals on key business metrics
 Manage leads through the sales pipeline
 Easily monitor sales tasks and activities
 Keep customer data and email lists
Catalogs - We put a lot time and energy into the creation of our catalogs because we know this
means a lot to our customers and helps them order with ease. We have several catalogs that
specialize in different categories that we distribute to appropriate customers.
Websites - We take pride in both our main website and our ordering site and we understand
how important it is to keep them updated and running smoothly for our customers. It is a huge
advantage to be able to refer our customers to our website in order to help them find something
they’re looking for.
One of the most popular new customer service tools is Live Chat Support, which is a chat
window that connects you immediately to a representative from a website. Live Chat Support
offers customers a quick and immediate way to ask questions, place an order, or discuss a
problem. This support feature can be toggled on and off when staff is not available and
multiple staff members can help assist customers.
Palace Arts & Office Supply (IS #426) has recently started using Live Support and shared these
comments:
We are averaging one to two customers per day using Live Person Support. We are finding that
customers using this think it is a valuable and useful tool. The interactions have been positive.
We started with one inside team member using Live Support and then that user assisted in
writing guidelines and standards for chat that are expected of representatives of Palace
Business Solutions. We currently have three team members using the Live Chat feature.
Given the growing popularity of Live Chat Support on websites, companies interested in
providing high-level customer service should consider adding this feature.
Giving your customer service agents the tools they need to be successful is a crucial part of
creating a culture of customer service. Tricia Morrow from Mid-City Office Supply (IS #573)
shared that their customer service representatives have access to a regular monthly special
they can offer to customers to give them additional savings. Developing innovative marketing
tools such as this to complement more traditional ones can result in even higher levels of
customer service.
Conclusion
The reputation of your company in the marketplace can be greatly affected by your customer
service competency, for better or for worse. By following basic best practices for customer
service, effectively using social media, utilizing customer service testimonials and reviews,
handling customer complaints promptly, and providing staff with the tools they need, your
business can attract and retain customers more efficiently.
Sources:
“The Customer Service Habit: Why Your Company Culture Needs to Catch It”, Micah Solomon,
Forbes.com, June 16, 2014
“Why Customer Service is the New Marketing”, Matt Mickiewicz, 99Designs, December 2011
“The Ignored Side of Social Media: Customer Service”, Wharton Research, Forbes.com, January
2014
“Customer Service is Your Marketing Strategy”, Joshua March, November 2012
“How Do I Effectively Incorporate Customer Reviews On My Website”, Shama Hyder, Social Media
Columnist, July 2014
“4 Strategies for Getting More Customer Testimonials”, Melissa Rudy, ChamberofCommerce.com,
October 2013.