According to a survey by American Express, 78% of consumers have abandoned a transaction because of poor customer service.
Meanwhile, 70% of consumers would spend an average of 13 percent more purchasing from companies they feel provides excellent service.
Ensure you can bring in more business thanks to excellent customer service by leveraging the power of testimonials, case studies and unique customer service channels to build trust with potential customers and keep your current ones happy.
Website testimonials
Collecting loyal customer testimonials can give your company credibility and a boost to your service experience. Skeptical buyers can look through your website or on social media sites for testimonials to build up their trust in taking the plunge and making a purchase.
Testimonials aren’t written like slick sales advertisements and instead speak to your customers’ experience. Zappos, an e-commerce retail company renowned for their exemplary customer service, offers pages of testimonials ranging from one sentence to paragraphs about their quality service.
There’s another benefit to using testimonials on your website. A new customer may zero in on something you never thought of, like how an issue at a hotel was handled that gives them peace of mind.
Send your customers a survey, or scour the Internet for any reviews on sites like Yelp that you could re-purpose into a testimonial.
YouTube
There are plenty of videos on YouTube featuring horrifying customer service stories, like the Comcast technician who called his own company for customer support and was on hold as long he sleeps, but it’s an equally powerful mode for sharing positive experiences.
Video can provide a powerful case study or testimonial for your brand. Encourage customers and fans of your product to post a review on their YouTube account and create a channel. You can also ask clients to sit down and talk about their experience with your company in a one-on-one interview.
Case Studies
An in-depth case study can help potential customers better understand how your products and services can help them. Show your potential customers how you can help by showing them the success of current clients.
Companies like Apple Rubber use case studies targeted towards engineers to give their core audience a thorough understanding of not just how their products work, but what their features and benefits are and how they impact a business.
Inbound marketing company HubSpot uses case studies targeted at companies, ranging from education institutions to start-ups, with insights on increased web traffic and conversion rates.
Companies like Jet Blue have been using Twitter for years to address customer complaints, get passengers information they need and keep an ear out for how their brand is discussed.
Nike takes an innovative approach with a dedicated Nike support feed to help athletes figure out how to use complex devices to enhance their physical performance.
Instead of leaving customers and clients on hold or taking hours to return a phone call, Twitter can give people a sense that your company is listening and working to resolve the issue quickly.
Yelp
Yelp has quickly morphed into a go-to source for reviews of brick and mortar businesses as well as virtual services.
Companies can carefully study the feedback and leave comments offering their side of the story or to rectify the situation or offer a free follow-up visit. Use quality, in-depth and positive Yelp feedback on your own website to add a boost of credibility.
Companies like Findwell real estate in Seattle rely on positive reviews to generate business, but take negative reviews seriously too. They use it as a resource tool to figure out what customers want and what they need when business goes wrong.