Why Customer Support Is The New Marketing

Nowadays, people don't want to be fed with conventional advertisements. Instead, they'll rather find ways to skip ads or avoid them altogether.

Recently, an increasing number of people are expressing their frustrations with advertisements. In a global survey by the Edelman Trust Barometer, less than 49% of people believe the information provided within advertisements.

Evidently, it's time to switch up your promotional strategy.

It might seem a little scary to brainstorm a new way to make a mark in your industry, especially as a SaaS business.

Without conventional advertising to rely on, it's only natural to feel that way.

The main thing you'll need to have on your mind if you want to create better exposure is creating a better customer experience through customer support. If traditional marketing is no longer what it used to be, customer support is taking that spot spectacularly. 

According to the survey highlighted earlier, 62% of people reportedly trusted their community, and 74% trusted the people they work with. What this means for your SaaS business is clear. The success of your marketing and advertising strategy lies in the ability to deliver good CX.

Deciding to switch from strong investments in marketing towards better customer support can yield some fantastic dividends for your company.

But, beefing up the CX is a crucial step to get to the stage where it is extremely rewarding. The best way to attract newer customers is by ensuring that there is positive word of mouth about your business.

In order to achieve organic word of mouth reaching the ears of your potential audience, there are a few areas that need to be closely monitored. We'll highlight some of these as we explore the new ways in which customer support has evolved in the organizational sphere.

How customer service impacts your brand

A lot of brands fail to realize the importance of customer service. The issue is so apparent that even customers are aware of the lack of priority from businesses. 

According to a survey from the CMO Council, only 14% of marketers believe that customer-centricity is a hallmark of their company.

This is pretty interesting because it shows a significant gap in the willingness of many marketing teams to switch to customer experience focused strategies.

Taking advantage of this gap and becoming the company that uses customer support as a marketing strength will elevate your brand as a stand out performer by your customers.

Personal recommendations are also on the rise as people have realized that speaking with a fellow customer will only be in the best interest of both parties.

Naturally, it will be very potent to discuss with someone else who has nothing to gain from saying good or bad things about a company; instead, getting the direct truth from a user becomes the best option.

Although marketers channel a lot of their resources towards acquiring new customers, doing that might not be the most optimal solution for growth.

Choosing to acquire a new customer is something that can quickly ramp up your budget, with the process costing up to five times as much as retaining existing ones.

Tailoring your service to suit a current group of customers is ideal because you'll be able to create a strong brand with great word of mouth. It's better to have fewer clients that are loud and proud of your relationship than multiple clients that consistently voice out frustrations with their customer experience.

Amplify the voices of your brand supporters

If you're looking to gain a stable level of growth, your brand should learn to tap into the power of feedback from customers and learn to project their voices when receiving excellent responses.

Internally, you should also learn how to use feedback to help make decisions regarding the best ways to address concerns and adapt to the expectations proposed by your customer base.

A great customer experience is the marketing you need

When thinking of CX, you should define the metrics that will capture the quality of your business.

Using the right technology and blueprint, your business can up the customer support game to new heights.

This is best done by investing in the right tools and considering a few other things.

Empower your customer support team

A customer service team needs to feel valued and empowered to significantly contribute to a good customer experience and customer retention.

According to a survey from Forrester, 53% of customers are highly likely to abandon online purchases if their questions aren't answered.

Another 73% stated that valuing their time is the most important thing that a company can do to provide them with good customer service.

These facts seem like a no-brainer, but you'll be surprised with the ways your organization can fail to deliver on these factors even with seemingly good reports.

There's always room for new improvements and a better job, so your team needs the right tools to access the technology that improves their data-gathering capabilities from different support channels. A solid system to measure CSAT and improve CX is a sure way to become a leading service.

Your customer team also needs motivation and training to deliver consistently, so you should not undervalue their presence.

Take advantage of automation

Using chatbots might seem counterintuitive, considering that many users would rather speak to a human on the other end.

However, modern AI chatbots have evolved significantly to the extent that they serve as a considerable relief when dealing with multiple queries at once. 

Rather than responding to tickets alone, chatbots are now capable of becoming a part of the mix in terms of customer engagement, marketing, and consistency rather than responding to tickets alone.

Over a human, they also benefit from being present for omni-channel communication at all times, instant communications, processing of payments and a plethora of other features.

Strengthen your community through customer support

As we've all realized, customers don't hesitate with switching to a competitor after lousy service. Your business can still tug at the hearts of a rocky relationship if your brand can build a strong community through the power of good customer support.

By making your community more interactive, brands can listen to customers and develop new focused strategies.

Making your customers feel like a part of the brand would mean giving them priority and offering them a satisfying service at every opportunity.

You'll also get to build loyalty when customers record milestones regarding how long they've been associated with your company. 

Additionally, your most seasoned customers will provide a unique perspective on your service that can be integral to growth. Since they see things from the outside looking in, they probably have a lot of input to share regarding improvements that might be overlooked internally.

Drive customer acquisition strategies with customer support

An essential part of running a business is having customers. However, channeling new customers is only possible if you can give them a reason to choose you over the competition.

Luckily, most consumers are likely to switch to a competitor after a bad experience. With most of your competition already being marketing focused, your strength in customer support is sure to shine through in the moments where the competition is unable to deliver in terms of support and promises.

To keep the momentum going, you'll also need to exceed the expectations of new customers as they roll in.

Good CX means that your loyal customers will spend more on your service after their initial purchase.

Create a message through your customer support

Company slogans are only going to amount to something if you're able to deliver on your promises. Therefore, it's great for your success and marketing if your organization can lead through actions.

When companies focus on acquiring new customers rather than customer retention, it will be difficult to witness them thriving in an increasingly consumer-centric market. 

All the data from experts point towards a world that demands personalized care and human responses. To become a leading SaaS business, you must maximize that concept at the core of your customer experience.

Customer Support Software for marketing your SaaS business

It can be challenging for SaaS companies to provide good customer support because of the complexity of their products. With so many features and integrations, it can be difficult to troubleshoot problems and offer solutions specific to each customer's needs.

Additionally, since most SaaS products are subscription-based, companies often have to spend a lot of time and resources on upselling and cross-selling to keep customers happy and engaged. This can sometimes take away from the time that's available for providing support.

Finally, because SaaS products are constantly evolving, it can be difficult for customer service representatives to keep up with changes.

This can lead to frustration on the part of the customers. As a SaaS company, you know that customer support is essential to your success. But providing excellent customer support can be expensive and time-consuming.

Although customer support is not replacing marketing, it's more important than ever to get it right.

By amplifying the voices of your brand supporters, providing a great customer experience, and driving customer acquisition strategies with customer service, you can create a message that will reach more people than ever before.