The cost of customer service is often overlooked. After all, it's not as visible as marketing or sales. But poor customer service can be extremely costly for businesses in multiple ways, from lost sales to damaged company reputation.
In order to measure the cost of customer retention and determine if your current strategy is working, you have to consider both what it costs to acquire a customer and how much revenue that customer generates for you over time.
Here's why: Customer acquisition cost refers to how much it costs (in marketing dollars) for each new customer who converts into an actual paying account. If a company spends $20 on advertising and gets one signup, then their customer acquisition cost is $20. The return on investment (ROI) method calculates the percentage of revenue generated by every dollar spent on marketing (i.e., if they make $100 per month off each new user).
Companies with high ROIs can spend more money on acquiring new customers without significantly decreasing their profits because they're turning so many customers into revenue generators for their business.
In addition to the direct costs of providing poor service, there are also indirect costs. These can include loss of sales and cross-selling and up-selling opportunities lost due to a lack of customer service.
For example, if you don't provide your customers with an easy way to contact you when they have questions or concerns about their purchases—or if they have problems that can't be resolved with an email—you won't be able to cross-sell them on related products or services. Conversely, you won't be able to upsell them on higher-priced items either: after all, if someone has already purchased one item from your company (and not just any old random thing online), it's likely that they trust your brand enough already!
Your company's reputation has a huge impact on your bottom line. How does it impact your business? For example, let’s look at hiring and recruiting. Having a bad reputation can make it difficult for you to hire new employees because they may not trust or want to work for your company. Your customers are also the people who will tell their friends about what they think of your business; those social media posts can affect the perception of your business. The same goes for sales and revenue: if current customers don’t trust you, then they won’t buy from you again! Finally, your company's reputation has an impact on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
How does customer service affect SEO? The Google My Business rating is key in determining how your business will rank in the local search results. The higher your rating, the more likely you'll be seen by potential customers and clients who are searching for businesses like yours.
Trust is the foundation of any business relationship and is an essential element of any type of relationship.
Trust is the foundation of any friendship, family, and community. When we lack trust, we are concerned about what might happen next. We become worried and distracted, which affects our personal and professional lives.
Trust is also a very important part of our lives because it helps with self-confidence and self-esteem, which makes people feel happier overall.
Have you ever made a purchase from someone you did not trust?
Ultimately, the cost of customer service is not just about money. It's about trust and loyalty. If you're willing to do the work and treat your customers like people instead of numbers on a spreadsheet, you'll be rewarded with repeat business and referrals that keep coming back for more.