Traditionally, marketing and customer service have worked independently of each other, but in today’s world, separating these two departments makes it harder to deliver excellent customer experience. And when it comes to deciding whether to continue doing business with you, quality of experience is exactly what customers will consider first.1
There are several ways customer service and marketing work can be in close synergy to improve customer experience. Here are just a few of them:
Creating Effective Content
Who knows your customers’ pain points better than the client-facing team? Take their insights into account when it comes to creating marketing materials that your customers actually want and need - think blog posts, guides, tutorials, infographics, product demos or checklists that are meant to solve your customers’ problems.2 These tools can be shared on social media or distributed via email as part of your content marketing strategy. Make sure your marketing team brainstorms content ideas with customer service on a regular basis, and you will likely be able to find good candidates for case studies too.
Precisely Defining Buyer Personas
Defining buyer personas is a prerequisite for creating effective marketing campaigns. As your customer service team communicates with your customers most often, they have more knowledge about your buyers than any other department in your company. Likely, they understand their needs and interests better than your marketing team, so make sure they participate in the feedback loop to improve your buyer personas. It will boost your marketing activities, help deliver better quality leads, and improve your products in the long run.
Setting the Right Customer Expectations
Customer service will be the first to learn if a given marketing campaign sets inaccurate expectations among customers. If a product doesn’t satisfy a specific need as advertised, complaints will start flooding your customer service department. Ensure that your the team is able to pinpoint such cases and inform marketing about them immediately. This will give marketers the opportunity to react to and rectify such instances, reducing dissatisfaction and churn. It will also help ensure that customers are not misled in the future.
Rewarding Customer Loyalty
Given that getting new customers is seven times more expensive than concentrating on keeping your existing buyers3, you should make every effort to keep your most loyal customers happy. When marketing and customer service join hands in creating loyalty programs, the deals will be more attractive to users and give them an increased incentive to engage with your brand. Think about how to make them feel special, and they may share a good word about your business. Remember: Your most loyal customers represent the largest chunk of your revenue;4 so treat them as they deserve.
Using Positive Feedback for Promotion
Customer service will be the first to know about the issues your users face, but they will also be first to know when customers are satisfied. Utilize these instances of positive feedback in your promotional materials and try to create case studies around them. If you feel you aren’t receiving enough feedback, collaborate with your customer service team to solicit it via surveys or other relevant means. Even if you don’t receive the information you were expecting, you will probably collect useful information that may help you improve your product in the long run.
While as much as 80% of companies claim they deliver excellent experience, only 8% of customers agree. Incorporating the above tips in your marketing strategy planning will go a long way in giving your customers what they need.
Bridging the Gap Between Customer Service and Marketing
In today’s competitive landscape, the synergy between customer service and marketing is essential for delivering an outstanding customer experience. By integrating these two functions, you can create effective content, precisely define buyer personas, set accurate customer expectations, reward loyalty, and use positive feedback for promotion.
MarketStar’s customer service solutions are designed to bridge this gap, ensuring your business growth and success. Partner with us to elevate your customer service and marketing efforts, and watch your business thrive. Reach out to MarketStar today to discover how we can help you create exceptional customer experiences and drive sustainable growth.
References:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2018/07/15/customer-experience-is-the-new-brand/#45dce0067f52
https://www.weidert.com/whole_brain_marketing_blog/customer-service-marketing-plan
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/why-and-how-customer-service-is-the-new-marketing-02053673
https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2011/12/28/why-customer-service-is-the-new-marketing/#73187de5fb14
https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2018/07/15/customer-experience-is-the-new-brand/#45dce0067f52
