Customer Service Is Not Just About Service
by Terry Stidham
We know that “Everyone is in sales,” or should be according to many along with Joe Maddalone in his Forbes article, "Five Essential Sales Tips Everyone Must Master".
This is especially true for the customer service department. For many companies their customer service team is the main point of contact. They work on the front lines, and often are the ones who know the most about the customers’ specific wants and needs. So, it makes sense that they should be in a position to make additional sales, right?
Whether this task has been outsourced to a call center or there is an in-house team, these employees should be doing more than taking calls. In addition to providing quality customer support that will keep customers coming back, your customer service team should be upselling customers to increase revenues and improve the lifetime value of your customers.
Targeted Upsells
Successful upselling starts with attention to the customer’s wants and needs and who knows them better than customer service. They have access to a CRM system that tracks each customer’s purchase history and interactions with the company.
They also know the specific reason why the customer has contacted the company, how to resolve their issue, and what type of product or service the customer may be receptive to purchasing at that time, oftern making them the right people to upsell successfully.
Customer service reps should take into account the customer’s history and needs in order to provide an upsell or cross-sell that is valuable to the customer at that moment. The particular needs of the customer should determine what the rep chooses to market to them. If the customer does not find value in it at that time, the upsell will not be successful.
Limited Time Offers
Customers don’t call to say, “I love my purchase, sell me more!” Oftentimes, they have a specific issue or question that they want to resolve. However, the customer service reps shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to sell to customers, since they’ve already crossed the biggest hurdle to sales: making contact.
Customer service reps can take advantage of the contact by telling the customer about the promotions, sales, and limited-time offers currently available to them. As stated above, these offers should be targeted to what the customer wants or needs.
For example: “I see your service contract is about to expire. We’re currently running a limited-time offer that provides 3 free months when you sign up for a 12-month contract. Would you like to renew your contract with us today?”
Bundled Services and Deals
Because the customer service representatives know the customers so well, they can predict what kinds of sales, upsells, or cross-sells would be most successful. Have them look for products that customers might want to buy together, and provide them as a bundled service. Purchased as a bundle, the array of services cost less than purchasing each one individually. Offering to bundle a customer’s current product with other complimentary products or services can give customers the impression of added value – in addition to cost savings.
Top-Notch Customer Service
Of course, the most important aspect in sales to customers through your customer service team is the quality of the service itself. If customers aren’t happy with the service that they are receiving, they won’t be receptive to any sales efforts through that funnel. However, high-quality customer service can improve customer satisfaction and result in more sales.
Two-thirds of consumers would be willing to spend more with a company – 13% more, on average – following an excellent customer service experience (The 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer).
A properly trained customer service team can not only keep the customers coming back; they can also help customers find the products and services they need, and increase the lifetime value of each customer through thoughtful, personalized upselling techniques.
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